I arrived at North Luffenham in January of 1954 and worked at the Wing Hospital. Being a young man from the prairies, in comparison, I loved the Rutland and Lincoln settings with its lush meadows and tall Oak and other towering trees. My favourite town was Stamford-anciently Stanford and Staunford. This town has been described as one of the most interesting towns in England. It is situated where the Great North Road crosses the Welland Valley, 90 miles to London.
At the time there was a tailoring shop that made great suits that caught the interest of a co-worker Bill Coates and myself. In Rutland itself was the setting of the North Luffenham town and Oakham where some of the civilian workers lived.
The base itself was rather homey with good solid structures as evidenced in the pictures from 1954.
Part of my job was working in the Medical Inspection Room along with the use of Medical testing equipment.
One unique duty was to chlorinate the drinking water as I had done at 2 Wing. This consisted of mixing a measure of chlorine in a pail, then climbing a ladder to dump the mixture in the water tank for station use. I can't remember a complaint, but years later I realized how trusting we were with such access.
Dr. Ned Coons I remember wrote papers for, and making a good contribution to Aviation Medicine. That summer he received the Venerable Order of the St.John of Jerusalem Cross presented by the Queen herself at a garden part at Buckingham Palace.
The station had a radio station operated, in part, by another Med A, EB Smith. The meals on the base were excellent with excellent cooks and Officers in charge. An Air Force Bus travelled to Nottingham, a beautiful city, and to Leicester periodically. From May to August we had summer Medical students. One was P/O Hooper from Kingston, Ontario. In September we were saddened by the sudden deaths of two popular Pilots, F/O AM "Mac" Gillies and F/O LJ Elphick while driving on the Great North Road in Gillies sports car. I was most surprised, and pleased, to find their data and pictures on this web site. Mac would occasionally have coffee at the Wing Hospital and tell us how much he appreciated our Aircraft standby. Not the only reason, he also had designs on our Dental Assistant. Just after this accident I was whisked off to RAF Hospital, Eli, or Ely, due to appendicitis.
On October 16th 1954 I chose to return to Canada boarding a North Star for Montreal.
1954 Hospital Staff as remembered:
S/L Dr. Ned Coons, Senior Medical Officer
F/L Dr. W O'Brien
F/L Nursing Sister Fairbain
F/O Nursing Sister Meadows
Sgt. W (Bill) Atkinson NCO Med A in charge
LAW June Todhunter
LAC WJ (Bill Coates) Med A
LAC EB Smith Med A
LAC WR (Bob) Smith Med A
LAW Jeanette Macphee (Med Admin)
LAC Don MacLaren (Med Admin) (later to lose his life in a Car Accident at Marville)
Note: I regret those I have missed. I invite anyone to make additions.
Updated: July 28, 2004