Pull up a snadbag, swing a lamp. This is a tale of when GEM had hair so it is from a long time ago.
1974 in fact, the idiots in Ireland were busy shooting eachother and anything that looked remotely military so prior to posting to aldergrove RAF types were allowed to grow the collar length hair in the style of the times and of course pancho taches.
SAC GEM gets shipped out to Akrotiri when the Turks decided to invade the Island, ( now boys that was a proper war, no shooting, not dry, no mortaring and LOA to boot but I am getting sidetracked here). Just before being shipped out the squadron discip Sgt, (remember those?) tore me a new ******** over the length of my hair but I was in akrotiri before I had chance to get it cut. 2 days later bump into the SWO at Akrotiri who lays into me about how I looked all sandy Shaw with my fecking ladylike hair and that I was to immediately get it cut. Quick thinking liney plumber that I was said "but sir when I get back to Coningsby I join the rocks in Aldergrove and have permission to grow my hair". SWO "where's your chit laddie?" Me "I was sent here straight from night shift sir and didn't have time to pick it up, hell I didn't even have time for sh1t sir" He looked a bit sus but gave me a chit valid for Akrotiri as I was detatched to 6 sqdn from my own unit and he had no way of checking short of sending signals.
8 weeks later I was the plumber staging the tonmbs back from akrotiri through Malta when guess what I bump into the SWO who accuses me of being all sandy shaw with long ladylike hair and told me to get it fecking cut! Well I proudly produced my akrotiri Swo chit and SWOs are like plumbers, we always believe what another plumber tells us so SWOs always honour another SWOs chit and he writes me one for Malta bless him.
2 Weeks later back at Coningsby after 2 a weeks leave and 8 or 9 weeks in the med my locks a nice bleached blond by the summer sun and resting neatly on my shoulders I returned to work on my own squadron. For 2 days the beret and the liney hat hid them from the discip Sgt but then horror just as i walked past his door my own plumber Chief betrayed me and whipped the wooly hat from my head,
The discip sgt went ape, I've never seen anything change colour so many times since we stood a chameleon on an uckers board as his face did. even the chits from the SWOs in Akrotiri and Malta didn't help, I d forgotten he knew I wasn't off to Aldergrove. Doubled down to the barbers and short back and sides TWICE FFS
Well anyway that is how I finished up with a 3 inch wide white band around my suntanned head in september 1974.
DT_Xtremez_21:
