A friend of mine (a pilot who was employee by BA) has reminded me of this video on youtube:
Whether true or false, it reminded me of my youth. My parents took me out to what was the Gold Coast, now Ghana, at the tender age of 3 in 1945, where I stayed (other than a few trips home when my parents were 'on leave') until returning permanently to England at the age of 11 - having been sent to boarding school. The trip by plane from England (Argonaut) resulted in stops at Tripoli, Kano, Lagos and then Accra via BOAC. To get to Takoradi, where my parents were, involved a transfer to a Heron.
In those days (late 50s) the pilots on the internal flights were all English and comprised one or two comedians. For instance I recall one who used to enter the plane by the rear passenger door wearing dark glasses, carrying a book entitled, in big lettering, "How to Fly" and would carry a white stick whilst tapping his way to the cockpit. Another pilot's favourite witticism would be to come on the PA, near the time for landing, asking whether there was a fully-qualified pilot on board as he had only been taught how to take off and had yet to learn how to land.
It may seem far-fetched, but the above is true. Oh for the days of non-PC when life was fun!
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