OT 4 Norman re Otterburn

[LES A W HARRIS]

Norman,
Otterburn camp/range:
Would that be a long hours drive NW of Newcastle? Hang a sharp right & up the road to the camp gates, a hadpainted sign read:

Welcome to happy valley, abondon hope all ye who enter here.

July 1959, hurled a few dozen 3" mortar rounds up range, do not recall any low flying aircraft.
Ying Tong, Ying Tong, Ying Tong Skibble Aye Doo.
Les H.

[malbenbut]

Its still there with lots of low flying craft. Otterburn site of the battle of Chevy Chase between the house of Percy (dukes of Northumberland)and the Douglas clan.See poem battle of Chevy Chase. More castles in Northumberland than any of the English counties due to activities Of border rievers(bandits)
The Romans had to build a wall across Britain which passed through Otterburn to keep people north of the river Tyne out of the Roman empire. the first Viking raid in Britain took place at Holy Island on Northumbrian coast.

[This message has been edited by malbenbut (edited 01-14-2006).]

[Norman Atkinson]

Les, and M.,
How incredibly small this World!
BillyBoy and I were hurling insults and were hurling 25lb shells. well, he was. Here was me all inocent like, carrying a Mountain Rescue stretcher and some weirdo comes in on the radio to say that we had 10 minutes to vacate the area. In 5 minutes the Battle of El Alamein started! Well, it seemed like it. I'm a live coward- not a dead hero!

Now Les, Happy Valley is not Otterburn Range. It is on the Wooler side and further along is Langleeford and up onto Cheviot itself. Sir Walter Scott wrote Marmion there but not under 25 pounders!.
Oddly, there is any number of low flying aircraft and one is still stuck there. It crashed on the day thatGlenn Miller died.
A B-17 and its remains still come out of the peat from time to time.

M. is perfectly right about our heritage.
My house looks over the Cheviot Hills- and BloodyBush Edge!
The aircraft still fly over Cheviot on theiir way to Moscow where they still drop their bombs. M. do I lie?

I still have my name down to fly backseat in one of the Tornados who regularly visit.
Damn it, one lot are my Squadron! Ain't no justice. At one time, I was ordered into my Squadron's aircraft. A bit like the Goon Show really.

M. there is the family castle up for sale.
Fancy a go?