STARTING my RAF career as a 102nd entry Halton brat I finished my 12-year stint as a Sgt Aircraft electrical fitter.

One of my best postings was Boscombe Down which was on and off during a total of two years.

Some of the time spent there was in a room wearing ear defenders with an assortment of rotating machinery.

At any one time some machines would be speeding up, some slowing down and some oscillating around a fixed speed.

The noises produced would somehow produce what I can only describe as an eerie, beautiful symphony.

Decades later I read a book about WW2 Bomber Command and found that some crew members witnessed this same experience maybe caused by the engines being out of synchronisation.

I will never forget the kindness shown to me as a 20-yearold erk (Junior Tech Airman) by the professional and dedicated test pilots who would take me up for my pleasure.

With their permission I was able to fly in an Andover, Anson, Argosy, Beverley, Comet and Hercules; some of these multiple times.

When flying in the Comet airliner I would be temporarily promoted to coffee jockey (first class) making 12 cups at a time for that number on board.

Strict adherence was observed at all times to the military NATO standard which is milk and two sugars.

This is absolutely true about standard NATO coffee.

If you walked into a crewroom you would always be asked if you wanted your coffee standard NATO.

The Flt-Lt captain of the Comet sported a traditional RAF handlebar moustache and one day when handing him his cup said, “I was the most important man on the boat”.

After one uneventful twohour flight I stood amused as the captain drove away in an old Standard 10 car and promptly hit a kerbstone.

Since writing this letter I have met an ex-soldier.

When asked what standard NATO meant in a crewroom he replied milk and two sugars so it must be general in the forces.

Derek Weeks, Martin Way, Andover