01/05/2014 · 9:23 am

My father’s wartime Tiger Moth

My father (Flt Lt Bryan Wild) learned to fly at Prestwick in 1940, on Tiger Moths.  Amazingly, and thanks to some legwork by Ian Grace of Prewar Prescott, he has traced one of the Tiger Moths which my father flew back in those days, and it is still flying.  Perhaps you can imagine how wonderful a connection that is for me.  Moreover, its owner has kindly agreed to fly it overhead at Prewar Prescott, where Chattie will be on show.  If only my Dad could see this!  While working on his memoirs ‘Flying Blind: the story of a night-fighter pilot’ (to be published in August this year by Fonthill Media), I have discovered the networked world of aviation enthusiasts to be highly knowledgeable and helpful, and here is another case in point.

Ian Grace’s is from a family that worked for the De Havilland factory during the war, and he himself is restoring a Tiger Moth of his own.  If you’re interested in Tiger Moths, visit http://www.n5490.org/.

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01/05/2014 · 9:04 am

Prewar Prescott appearance

Chattie’s first outing in public is now announced.  We have been kindly invited to Prewar Prescott, a hill-climb event for pre-war cars in the glorious setting of the Bugatti Club’s Prescott hill climb.  Saturday 19th July is the day for a garden party and hill climb, and the chance to see spectacular vintage cars in action.

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30/04/2014 · 8:38 pm

Chattie carrier

Our thanks to Faz (Faisal Chaudhary) and Manny (Manuel) from 4x4xfaz, who supplied and delivered our new recovery van from Oxford, and stayed in the rain to give me a demo on how to load and unload the car – not easy at the moment because the wheelbase is really too narrow for the ramps.  We have to find someone with an angle-grinder so that we can cut slots in them and move them inwards a bit.  However, we got her up safely, as you can see. Next thing is that I have to get used to driving the van, as well as getting used to driving Chattie.

Faz was telling us that both his maternal and paternal grandfathers served in the second world war.  His grandfather served in the Punjab regiment and was posted in Africa where he was captured by the Germans, held captive for 7 days before he managed to break out of jail and return to safety.  He retired as a Captain.

Manny was very taken with the car.  He was – literally – born in a garage, he said; and virtually grew up in one as his father was a mechanic.

Our new recovery truck with the car on the back.

Manny and Faz and our new recovery van.

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Chattie Chu Chu

Chattie Chu Chu

Let me introduce you to Chattie Chu Chu, my Singer Le Mans 9 special, which is a similar model to the one my father, Bryan Wild, bought towards the end of the second world war, when he was a night-fighter pilot with 25 Squadron, based at Castle Camps in Cambridgeshire.

This is the car in which I will be visiting all of the airfields he landed at during the war – nearly 60 of them, raising money for the RAF Benevolent Fund as I go, together with a couple of other charities.  This commemorative project will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, and I am writing a book  which will use the airfields to tell the story of how the RAF developed into a force that was crucial in winning the war.

I am new to blogging, so forgive any blips as I get under way. A link to my fundraising page will appear shortly.

I do hope you will follow me.

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17/04/2014 · 9:27 pm