Memories of Wg Cdr JFD (Tim) Elkington

18.02.06

Memoirs

The Chariot Race by Dave Hazell

A new event in the July 1963 Sports day.

This was intended to be two people push/pulling a chariot with one ‘driving’ it. Ours completely defied the rules being built from a mechanical hay rake, with two wheels five feet in diameter and weighing a hundredweight plus each. All needing 16 people as ‘horses’ dressed in denim overalls wearing ‘blinkers’ (dark glasses),  to propel this juggernaut along.   The chassis was constructed from scaffolding tubing and wooden ‘horse-shafts’ clamped across the main tube for the 16 ‘horses’ to push/pull, making this behemoth extremely heavy. The driver was very convincingly dressed as a Roman soldier in armour (silver painted linoleum) with a magnificent gleaming brass ‘Roman’ helmet from a 19th century fireman’s rig and brandishing a ‘sword’ of silver painted wood.

Having a number of our Entry in the Apprentice Wing band, with a few others, we brought the sports day to a hushed standstill as we appeared over the rise of the ground slope on to the sports field.  Preceded by our illustrious ‘dignity;’ one of our number dressed in sheets posing as a Roman ‘Emperor’ complete; with a laurel crown, carrying the baton of authority, and carried on a palanquin made from a standard mattress covered bed frame, by four ‘slaves.’  Who presented the baton to Wing Commander Elkington. The silence erupted into cheering and near pandemonium.

Lining up with the other proper chariots; each two wheels; two people pulling / pushing, Wing Commander Elkington came to inspect the race contestants. He was not amused by our chariot. He said: “You know I cannot disqualify you; or I’d have a riot on my hands!”  Which with the massive disparity in weight, size and numbers is what the race turned into, becoming chariot and ‘horse-shafts’ splintering, wheel-flattening  uproar.

That was the last sports day chariot race.

Taxi to the Pub by Dave Hazell

Dave also remembers the Wg Cdr taking a car full of Apprentices from our camping place on the Mendips near Priddy on a freezing cold night in early December 1961 to a Pub nearby for a drink, strictly speaking we weren’t supposed to go to.   The ride in luxury heated comfort in our muddy overalls, in this beautiful Rover P5 driven like a low flying Hurricane was an experience never to be forgotten.

Apprentice Christmas Dinner by Mike Farmer

At the 1962 (I think) Christmas dinner (served by the officers) he was presented with an Indian headdress with “Big Chief Moaning Elk” on the headband.  He wore it for the entire duration of the event.

V7.