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Red Arrows to Marham, Sculthorpe, Cranwell or Scampton and what about that
Dog?
I never heard, either, the
suggestion that the Team should be mothballed and the pilots and ground crew
sent on extended leave
On 16 May 1995 the
Eastern Daily Press proudly proclaimed
the news that the Red Arrows were moving to RAF Marham near Kings Lynn. An
editorial (reproduced by permission) commented:
'Confirmation that the Red Arrows are to move to Marham will be welcomed with
anticipation and pride in Norfolk, a county whose links with the Royal Air Force
are unusually strong. Although its famous home at Scampton is shortly to fall
victim to defence cuts, the future of the world's premier aerobatics team was
guaranteed in last year's Defence Costs Study. Marham, the RAF's biggest base,
and Norfolk, with uncluttered airspace and a relatively sparse population, are
obvious long-term homes for the Red Arrows.'
That announcement in the Eastern Daily Press, and later in other newspapers, was
to cost a Lincolnshire man a lot of money: the Team's self-proclaimed number one
fan, promptly moved home from Lincoln to Kings Lynn.
'People may think I'm mad chasing them about but I'm their number one fan,' he
told the Lincolnshire Echo. 'Wherever they go, I go, and I'll follow them to the
four corners of the earth if I have to.'
Sadly for No 1 Fan, no sooner had he moved into his new home in Kings Lynn than
the MoD announced that the move to Marham would be delayed at least two years,
'for operational reasons', and that in the meantime the Team would be moving to
Cranwell.
'As soon as I heard the news I got back on the next train to Lincoln,' said the
unfortunate fan. 'If they're staying in the County, then I'm staying in the
County.'
From time to time the national media picked up on elements of the story. For
example, Harvey Elliot, the Times' Air Correspondent reported on 31 July 1995
under the headline 'Homeless Red Arrows may be grounded'. The story (reproduced
by permission) stated:
'The future of the Red Arrows, the RAF's world renowned aerobatic display
team, has been thrown into doubt because defence cuts have left them homeless.
Their base at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire is to close in September and the
Ministry of Defence has been unable to find them a new home. One proposal, that
the team's British Aerospace Hawks should move to Marham in Norfolk, has been
dropped – because nuclear weapons are stored beneath the runway and experts have
said that it would be unsafe for the team to perform overhead. Under-used RAF
stations in Germany were also suggested as a temporary home. This too was turned
down partly because it was considered “inappropriate” that a British institution
should be based abroad.
'Now senior officers are suggesting that the squadron's 12 aircraft are
mothballed in Cyprus when they return from a planned tour of South Africa in
October and that all 80 members of the squadron are sent on extended leave. The
Red Arrows cost the Ministry £17 million per year but half of this is offset by
charges averaging £5,000 plus VAT for their appearances.'
I am not aware that there ever was a suggestion that the Team should move to
Germany but I am certain that would have been politically unacceptable to the
German Government who would not, since the Ramstein accident of 1988, permit any
formation aerobatics over their territory. I never heard, either, the suggestion
that the Team should be mothballed and the pilots and ground crew sent on
extended leave. However, Mr Elliot's story did cause a flutter of alarm in the
MoD because the RAF has never made any comment about its nuclear dispositions.
Harvey had telephoned me, the day before his story was published, to ask if I
could confirm the reason why the Red Arrows were no longer going to move to
Marham.
'I'm sorry,' I said. 'You'll have to call the Defence Press Office.'
'I've done that,' he replied. 'and I've also called the Press Office at your HQ
in Gloucester. It's a waste of time - they never tell anyone anything. The
business about the nuclear weapons at Marham is in the public domain you know –
I got it from an American open source on the Internet.'
'Thanks for that,' I said patiently. 'I learn something new every day in this
job.'
He rang off. As soon as I put the phone down it rang again. It was my colleague
in the Defence Press Office to tell me to expect a call from Harvey Elliot at
the Times. Harvey was a good professional. He had checked his story with three
official sources hoping that one of us would have said something different that
he could use to enhance his next story. The following day Harvey Elliot had
another story under the headline 'The Red Arrows remain in Limbo'.
'The Ministry of Defence said last night that it had no idea where the Red
Arrows would be based when their home closes at the end of September. The
dithering over the future home of the team has caused confusion and distress
among families of the 80-strong squadron. Marham in Norfolk remains favourite as
the eventual base for the team, but not before 1998 when the RAF gives up its
nuclear role and WE177 free fall bombs stored beneath the base are dismantled.'
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