Wednesday 13 June 2012

Jubilee Flypast

I'm probably the last blogger to say it, but hope everyone had a fabulous Diamond Jubilee weekend, however you celebrated and wherever you are in the world. One of my quiet highlights of the festivities was the flypast on the last day. I was actually working that day but my few colleagues and I who were in the office all climbed up to the fifth-storey roof terrace at 3.30 to see if we could spot the planes flying over on their way to Buckingham Palace. As it turns out, we were directly under the flight path so got to watch as the Dakota and two King Air aircraft flew over, followed by the Lancaster,  Hurricane and Spitfires rumbling over, and then the Red Arrows whizzing over, letting out their coloured trails just after passing us. It was pretty special! Like our own private airshow. 

Seeing (and hearing!) the Lancaster is always pretty special for me and makes me a bit emotional because my wonderful grandparents met when my grandfather was flying Lancasters in World War II.

My grandfather with his fellow pilots in front of a Lancaster

My grandmother enlisted in the WAAF and began as a Telephone Operator in Balloon Command, the unit responsible for controlling barrage balloons. She then trained as a Radio Telephone Operator and moved to Bomber Command, instructing the men up in the planes. Christened Edith, she was a Birmingham girl who trained herself to speak properly and earned the nickname Vicky, as she spoke as well as Queen Victoria.

My beautiful grandmother after the war

My grandfather, Ken, also enlisted when the war began. He began training as a pilot in Australia and then completed his training here in England. He was posted to Bomber Command in the RAF, based at Lichfield. He rose to the dignified position of Squadron Leader and bravely flew out on countless operations, from which thousands of men never returned.

My handsome grandfather in uniform

Apparently, the two met after my grandfather heard my grandmother's voice over the radio and, rather taken by it, sought her out when his plane was back on English soil. They began dating but had to keep their romance under wraps as there would have been trouble if they were found to be fraternising.


However, they stayed together and, once the war was over, they were married. The rest, as they say, is history, with children and grandchildren, and incredibly full and generous lives which still carry on today, into their nineties. I'm very blessed to be related to such a wonderful, beautiful pair, and to still have them in my life.

The lovely couple

And that's why I get emotional whenever I see a Lancaster!

16 comments:

  1. How gorgeous are your grandparents in those photos! They look so happy and what a wonderful love story. I can totally see why seeing the fly past would make you emotional. xx

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    1. They are gorgeous, aren't they? We had the two portraits up at home when I was a child and I always thought them lovely.

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    1. Isn't it perfect? I always tell people when I get the chance and it always warms people's hearts.

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  3. Fabulous and very romantic story :) I'd love to see a photo of them today! How lucky you are they are still around!

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    1. I was going to include a recent picture of me with them but realised that I forgot to check with them if they were happy for me to post current pictures as well as the older pictures. I'll find out and hopefully do an up-dated post to include them now. I'll tell them it's "popular demand"!

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  4. What a romantic love story and such a beautiful couple! All these photo's are so lovely and such a wonderful story to go with it. So happy for you that you got to see the Lancaster fly over and thank you for your lovely comment on my Jubilee post. I thought of you when I was putting it together, I knew that even if no one else appreciated it you would. :) xx

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    1. It's like something you read in a book, isn't it? It's definitely gone down in family folklore, hopefully to be handed down the generations! Seeing the Lancaster was definitely an unexpected treat - I'm so glad that my workmate was aware it was happening and alerted me to it. Definitely made it worth working the Bank Holiday! x

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  5. What a beautiful and heart warming love story! Ahhh....it really is true love when it lasts through the hard times! And how lucky that you had a lovely private show! Must have made the jubilee really special for you and you are going to have such a lovely story to pass down. Thanks for your sweet comment and have a fabulous week my dear!
    May x
    walkinginmay.blogspot.com

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    1. Was definitely a Jubilee highlight. I don't cope very well with crowds so avoided the main festivities as I knew there would be too many people there for me. So this was a definite treat, especially when I thought the weekend was all over and that I wouldn't have any more royal treats!

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  6. Both of your grandparents were such wonderfully lovely people. How beautiful that they found each other and that you shared their special tale with us. It warms my romantic's heart very much.

    Thank you very much for your comment on my vintage outfit post today, dear gal, I really appreciate you sharing some of your thrift store outfit tips, too. Great points!

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. I think it would warm even the least romantic person's heart! But maybe I'm biased...

      Glad you enjoyed my little tips - it's something I've thought about a few times. I'm in perfect health but get easily exhausted by shopping. I used to hate it with a passion until I found some nice shops I felt comfortable in, but even now, it's easy to become bothersome if I'm not well dressed for it.

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  7. Aye! It is a delightful story. There is a strong family resemblance between you and your grandmother too. Both elegant and pretty ;)

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    1. Aww, thank you! A truly lovely compliment x

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  8. Eeeh, my grandparents also met during world war 2, my grandpa is in the first photo and we have it blown up in our family home. Grandpa flew in a Lancaster called Betty, and met his future wife in England (also Betty!) where they married and moved to Australia to have my father and his siblings. Thankyou thankyou for putting this photo up. Laura xo

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    1. Oh wow! That's brilliant that your grandfather is in the same photo! I'm glad you stumbled across my blog and found the picture - I would have been so excited if the same had happened to me. And I love that both your grandfather's plane and his wife were called Betty - must have been fate or something.

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