LIFESTYLE Living in the Slipstream
A collection of tales told by wives of RAF personnel, often hilarious, always witty and touching by Alison Bairsto, Jill Black and Holly Jeffers. Foreword by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
T
hese women reveal what life as a RAF wife is really like – when a whole family can be required to up-sticks and
move with almost no notice and when rank pulls favour even at home.
It also reflects on the grimmer realities of being in the services, when an unexpected phone call can mean a parent is suddenly off to war and won’t be around to read a bedtime story.
Living in the Slipstream is first-person testimony at its entertaining and informative best; an insight into service life and the changes that have occurred there and a valuable resource for social historians.
The inspiration
The three of us happened to be on holiday together, while our husbands were rolling out their flying stories we girls were reminiscing and laughing over shared memories. How many times have we wives done that? We never seem to run short of “Do you remember…?”
We decided to establish a framework for a collection of stories told by RAF wives. We then tasked ourselves to write some of our own amusing anecdotes and collect others.
We worked hard to get the manuscript together and were delighted when HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, a RAF Wife herself, agreed to write a foreword for us, in support of our chosen RAF
Charities. 100% of the author’s profits will be shared equally between The Royal Air Forces Association and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
An unexpected ‘spin-off’ of this project has been to put us in touch with many people we had lost contact and we have also become acquainted with new names. All of their messages and stories conveyed enthusiasm and have brought back old memories hitherto forgotten.
Cartoonist, Al Turner has illustrated some of the stories beautifully, for which we are more than grateful. In May 2013 the Book Guild agreed to become our Publisher.
Our own husbands have been hugely supportive and helpful with the project. We three wives have shared experiences and we have been part of a fully entrenched life within the RAF family, when a RAF ‘station’ was like a small self-sufficient town.
This image has changed, and life in the RAF has altered enormously over the decades. Nevertheless our charitable organisations remain vitally important to the continuing welfare of the RAF Family and we feel that this is our chance to give something back.
‘Living in the Slipstream’ launched in the RAF Club on 29th May. The event has been kindly sponsored by The RAF Club, L-3 Communications, Alium Partners, Utiliteam and Ernst & Young.
Reflections
I never realised before getting married that I would not be able to follow my own carreer, that I would have to move house 26 times, that my children would have to go to boarding school, that I would be left on my own for weeks at a time, that my husband would be sent to war, that we would lose many good friends through aircraft accidents, and that I would be constantly on edge in case one day it might be my own husband. It always annoyed me that on every holiday my husband could not wait to get back to his Squadron for fear of missing out on his beloved flying, and I really resented being referred to as ‘Wife Of...’
But on the upside we had a very varied and interesting life saw places and did things that few others ever get the chance to, we made
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hundreds of acquaintances and some very special friends who supported us in the most
bizarre range of emergencies, we developed independence, enjoyed a community spirit and for the most part we had fun.
It is hard to convey the atmosphere of those pre hi-tech days or make comparisons with family life in the modern Royal Air Force. So much has changed. As the manuscript neared its completion, I was left wondering who had vacated all of those less than clean quarters, when it seems our writers had all handed theirs over in immaculate order!
The Royal Medals
The big day came and Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester arrived at RAF Stafford and the children lined the side of the road and were told that when the big black car came into view they all had to cheer very loudly and wave their flags. No one expected the car to stop, that was not on the itinerary, but to everyone’s surprise, Princess Alice requested that she met the enthusiastic youngsters. The moment she alighted the vehicle, Alex could hardly contain his excitement. Here was a lady in RAF Uniform and she was heading straight for him. On her uniform she was wearing various medals and these had caught his eye. As she drew level with him and bent down to talk to him he flicked the medals on her chest with his flag and asked “Hey missus, have you been collecting Shell petrol medals as well?” The Station Commander looked mortified but the Duchess was still giggling as she got back into the car...
The US General
I didn’t see our General again – he flew back immediately after the conference – to Texas as fast as he could. I wonder what stories he told – “It’s like the Middle Ages over there – they live in freezing, old-fashioned, mice-ridden quarters with no electricity!”
LIVING IN THE SLIPSTREAM
by Alison Bairsto, Jill Black, Holly Jeffers Is published in hardback, £16.99. Also available in e-book, £5.49
www.bookguild.co.uk
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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