August 2022

1. Here’s the Southampton “Daily Echo” report on the Military Vehicle Trust Jeep Run we helped with on Sunday.
2. When Mandy met Tom (Cruise!)
3. Stories of Spitfire Makers we’ve not of heard before continue to be shared.

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 5th August 2022

Here’s the Southampton “Daily Echo” report on the Military Vehicle Trust Jeep Run we helped with on Sunday.

Apart from missing out several things I’d specifically asked to be included and putting RJ Mitchell’s grave in St Mary’s Church, rather than South Stoneham Cemetery, it’s not a bad write up…..

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/…/20592279.southampton…/

Military convoy pays tribute to man who designed the Spitfire

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 11th August 2022

When Mandy met Tom (Cruise!)

News from our co-patrons Sqn Ldrs Mandy Singleton and Dave Phillips.

Mandy is now the Engineering Professions Advisor to the RAF but is still involved with the BBMF as part of the PR team and, at the recent Royal International Air Tattoo, met “another (very famous) historic aircraft enthusiast” – Mr Tom “Top Gun” Cruise himself!

Mandy said, “What a special weekend at RIAT! Inspirational Mr TC was pretty amazing too – he knows as much about historic aircraft and flying them as we do. He truly is an impressive aviator as well as being awesome at everything else!”

Mandy finds her ongoing role with the BBMF “exceptionally rewarding”. The operational theme at RIAT this year was “Training the Next Generation Air Force” and Mandy added, “I’m sure the 1000+ air cadets who were there will testify to how enthusiastically I talked about the Flight, Engineering and the RAF.”

One of the lucky cadets, Corporal Alex Bardsley from 317 Failsworth and Newton Heath Squadron met Tom as he was on VIP duty on Saturday when Cruise arrived. (Picture: Karl Bardsley.)

Mandy’s photo with Tom C includes the Chief of the Air Staff, and three of the BBMF pilots.

Meanwhile, Mandy’s co-patron who took over from her as the BBMF Senior Engineering Officer, Sqn Ldr Dave Phillips, helped ensure that the BBMF Lancaster with a Spitfire and Hurricane escort flew on Saturday and Sunday. And Ted Coningsby, the BBMF mascot was there too!

“The PR team had a fantastic, if not somewhat hot, weekend,” added Mandy, “and are very much looking forward to Blackpool next weekend. Plus, a whole host of other shows throughout the rest of the year.”

Posted on Facebook by Alan Matlock – 30th August 2022

Stories of Spitfire Makers we’ve not of heard before continue to be shared.

Recently, Dave Key of The Supermariners project and Spitfire Makers chair, Alan Matlock, met with Glenys and Trevor May and heard about Glenys’ father, Claude Cox, who lived in Woolston and worked for Supermarine from the 1930s.

We would like to thank Glenys and Trevor for sharing Claude’s Spitfire-making story.

If you know of a Spitfire Maker whose story has not been told before please let us know.

Claude Cox 1916-1989

Claude started work as a Supermarine riveter before WWII. A rescuer noticed a hand sticking out of the rubble after the bombing in September 1940 and Claude was pulled out alive.

He continued working for the company after the war, returning to Woolston to work on early hovercraft and also working for Thorneycrofts. Some of his tools are shown here.

Comment by HM on Facebook – It’s been a very long time since I last thought of ‘chobert’ blind rivets, let alone the tools for installing them. Happy days I guess.

Comment by Spitfire Makers on Facebook – it would be great if you could explain what these tools were for and how they were used…

Comment by HM on Facebook – The yellow gauge is for selecting the correct length. The apparatus that resembles pop rivet pliers draws a mandrel through the rivet to expand it in the assembled structure. The next stage is to insert a sealing pin, a small dural slug that is an interference fit. The rivets come loaded in sticks held in place by a paper wrapping. The rivets are loaded onto the mandrel which is then loaded into the pliers. I’ve not a clue about the third item, sorry. I hope you find this useful, like I said it’s a long long time since I used them. For its time it was very much like the pop rivet but better. Cheers