Michael Spence - Photos of 615GS
Slingsby T.31B Cadet TX.3, XA307, at Kenley.
Viv Cotton (Photographer - Michael Spence)
Slingsby T.31B Cadet TX.3, XN243, at Kenley.
Viv Cotton (Photographer- Michael Spence)
Gliders of 615GS at RAF Kenley taken around 1960.
Michael Spence via Viv Cotton
Michael Spence in 1962 just after his time as a National Serviceman in the RAF Police.
Viv Cotton
We are grateful to Viv Cotton for these photos taken by her father, Michael Spence, who completed his National Service at RAF Kenley.
National Service started in January 1949. All physically fit men between the ages of 17 and 21 had to serve in the armed forces for 18 months. In 1950, the period of engagement was extended to 2 years and National Servicemen took part in various military operations such as Malaya, Korea, Cyprus and Kenya. National Service ended in 1960, with the last National Servicemen being discharged in 1963. – Michael was one of the last and had to delay his wedding because of it. His brother, who was only a year younger, didn’t have to do National Service at all. Michael joined the regular police force at the end of 1961 and finally managed to tie the knot in 1962.
Viv has told us that:
Mum did mention that she had visited Dad one time in Kenley. Dad had arranged with a glider pilot to take her up in one, apparently she screamed and just wanted to be put down on the ground again! He delighted in telling the story and she never went up in one again!
In Michael’s photos, dated roughly 1959-1961, we can see two Slingsby T.31B Cadet TX.3 gliders of 615 Gliding Squadron at RAF Kenley. Amazingly, XN243 is still in existence, currently on display at The Gliding Heritage Centre, Lasham. XA307 was written off after it hit a tree on landing near RAF Halton on 13th August, 1962.
Contributor
Viv Cotton Reference number
KRP0260 License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC-BY-NC-ND)
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