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Derek, sad news about Hugh, for Terry's sake I've copied the following from a previous page.
At Wallop I was donated to an ex Cavalwy type called Hugh Colquhoun, or Huge Balloon for short. One day I did cock up an engine off in a siuox, and as it sat there nodding slowly to itself, I looked across to apologise, that's when his huge fist hit my helmet. I responded and blows were traded. Hugh climbed out and stomped back to the crew room. When I got in the place was heaving with people retelling the tale of the sioux slowly winding down, as two pairs of white gloved fists flailed pathetically at each other , because the combatants were restrained by four point harnesses.
He took me to Salisbury Plain on our first trip together and told me to balance the sioux crossways on a brick wall, he then told me to land one skid on and hold the hover. A great improver of confidence.
Sadly missed.

Fighting with the instructor !! I had the same problem on the long nav to Germany. Not my normal instructor, Capt. Peter Abbot (Ex Med Corps Cpl.) was in the L/H seat for the leg Kokside – Wildenwrath (spelling?) Said I was flying through an active range. No I’m not, yes you are, bloody not! Yes you are. During the debate two widow makers passed under the gazelle. I was at 400ft !!. Then I got lost and had to ask for vectors from Wildenrath. Post flight debrief was a shouting match at one end of the hanger. He wasn’t a big man and I was so close to taking the court marshal options. But in the end I just shut my mouth and let him have it his way. Later in life we became very good friends.
On another tack, who were the pilots in Malta 74-75? One of them lifted a Wombat on to the ranges (the big range up north) for us during a small exercise and didn’t come back for it. It took us most of the night to get it over the rocks and on to the vehicle. Thanks 3BAS!!

Nobby, I have seen your name on the forum and was wondering if it was you. Neither you nor the anti/tankers are forgotten. And I am pissed that I missed the FI reunion. Through these pages I have just found Mac McIntosh and now communicating through emails. I would like to here from any of the old team. Fun days!! Are you still in the mob? terry@esenet.dk

Terry, Lt Steve Bidmead, Sgt Paul Braithwaite and I, delivered two Gazelles to Malta during the period 4th to the 9th March 1975. Greatest cross country and cross water I ever did, although the leg from Catania to Malta was 'interesting'!! According to my log book I then did refresher training for the resident pilots Rodney Helme and a guy called Blain, before returning to the UK by civilian airline.......they might be your culprits!
A flying tour in Malta with Gazelles must have been exciting......... anti-clockwise one day, clockwise the next!

Rob, Huge Balloon was always taking the p@ss about my being a Royal Marines Commando. One day he crept up behind me in the crewroom when I was briefing the students and grabbed me round the neck. I dropped to one knee, grabbed his arms and heaved. Big though he was, he sailed over my head and crashed onto the floor narrowly missing a coffee table. I then yelled and chopped him across the throat, just stopping in time. I don't know who was more shocked and impressed, Hugh or me! He was a great guy, and he never, ever, took the urine again.

Senor Bidmead did my gaz conversion, and intro'd me to icing conditions...............over Bristol. Still we managed to watch the new Concorde doing circuits and bumps, most impressive. I last saw Ken Blain in Sarawak, when the Royal Brunei Malay Regt came down to play us at rugby. Can't remember who won, didn't matter, it was always a great PU afterwards.
There must be something about us that jars with some of the Army and creates either jealousy or anger. I had a similar experience to Terry with an Army Capt who I was given to for a short period. he spent all his spare time trying to light my fires, telling me in no uncertain terms that I had two probs. 1) I was only a Sgt and an acting one at that! and 2) I was a Marine which as far as he was concerned was a dumb invertebrate. I just ignored his gybes until one very quiet dark evening when we were on exercise I advised him that he was taking advantage of his commission and position; but if he cared to remove his cover I'd remove mine and we would engage in equal opportunity discourse; but of course he'd lose. He stormed off and the return flight was with another instructor, a loony Irishman called Bob Rusk, sadly no longer extant, who asked what happened? I replied 'Nothing Bob', and he never raised the subject again.
I dislike abuse of power intensely, it's a form of bullying which raises it's ugly head in every form of life.