Hello. I am Flying Officer
Ted Little. Welcome to the first in a
series I’ll be writing for the Carterton Crier.
I am the son of the Mayor of Carterton, Lynn Little,
and mascot fundraiser for SSAFA – for which I fly around the
world with RAF Brize Norton, No.99 Squadron under the leadership of
Flight Lieutenant Harry Slade. I was a Pilot Officer but I am proud to say I have
been promoted following a recent top secret mission to Afghanistan to remove
equipment from Camp Bastion.
Flight Lieutenant Harry Slade has been my boss for a year now and I’ve
accompanied him to places that once upon a time I could only have dreamed
of visiting. Neither myself or my mum can believe what’s happened for me;
that I came to be just two years ago courtesy of Giles in Alvescot Road (sadly
now closed) and have since travelled to Kenya, Norway, and Cyprus, as well
as Minneapolis, Texas and South Carolina. I have covered 70,000 miles of the
globe and for what I believe to be a crucial and wonderful cause; it is my aim on
these trips to raise money for SSAFA (Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families
Association). So far I have raised £10,000.
Flight Lieutenant Slade suggested that I keep a photo diary of my year with 99
Sqn which he has kindly turned into a book. There are only 5 copies but fingers
crossed a real publisher may turn it into a charity best seller for SSAFA. To raise
even more money would be a wonderful thing, and a fantastic addition to the
money I have already raised as SSAFA mascot fundraiser. Watch this space!
I would also like to thank all those who attended my Teddy Bears Picnic in
September. I hope you took full advantage of the gloriously sunny day we had
and were amazed by the awesome RAF Falcons. I was fortunate enough to drop
into the picnic by parachute with them – spectacular! The Falcons have been
the official parachute display team of the RAF since 1965; it was an honour to
jump with them on their 50th anniversary. I also got to spend time with them for
the close of their 2015 season…what a finish! A really moving display at the
Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, Manston marked the Battle
of Britain’s 75th anniversary and I had an experience of
what life was like on the airfield during the famous
air campaign of World War 2.
The Adventures of
Flying Officer Ted Little
68
