Name.
Patrick "Paddy" Conlon
Home town. Belfast, N. Ireland.
First Posting. RAF Ballykelly, N. Ireland.
Résumé. 26/04/01
From an email to Malcolm Murray.
Paddy Conlon is now
retired and living in the beautiful city of Seattle, Washington.
"My first posting
was to RAF Ballykelly, at that time it was the last outpost as no one was ever
dressed properly as I recall. I was there until June 1956 when I went to RAF
Yatesbury for a fitter "Gen" course. It was there I met Blackie again,
we both had motor bikes and tore around the country. (Carved our initials on
Stonehenge). After the course at RAF Yatesbury I was sent to RAF Leaconsfield,
Lincolnshire, but I cried so much that I wasn't qualified to work on their
airplanes that after 3 weeks they sent me to N. Ireland to RAF Aldergrove on
helicopters "air sea rescue".
August 1958 the squadron was transferred to RAF Leuchars,
Scotland where I stayed until December 1959 when I got a compassionate posting
back to RAF Ballykelly, where I could be close to my father, who passed away in
Dec 1959.
On June 29, 1960 Joan and I were married in Belfast. Our first
child, and only son, Gary, was born in October 1961.
In January 1962 got my overseas posting to RAF Changi, Singapore,
where our oldest daughter Julie was born in Singapore on the same date in
October 1963 as our son. My overseas tour finished in March 1964 at which time I
returned to RAF Ballykelly.
I was demobbed in July
1964.
During the time in the RAF I managed to get time for school and
do the ONC and the 1st year of my HNC in EE which I completed in 1965.
My first job on leaving the RAF was a production supervisor for
Grundig, who were slave drivers and I decided to quit after 2 years and took a
job with Short Bros and Harland as an aircraft electrician who paid better than
Grundig even after the extra money I was offered to stay.
Anyway, Shorts couldn't give me a job I thought I was qualified
for after all the years I put in at school and when Boeing were interviewing in
Belfast I was picked up and came to the USA in 1967 and never looked back.
I retired in March of 1999 at the age of 62 and since then I have
wondered when I ever had the time to work.
I will try to get some pictures scanned and send them to you for
my folder.
regards,
PJC."
