We spent 5 happy years at Coningsby between 1970 & 75. My Dad, also called John Benton, was posted there following his fitters course.
He was a Sooty and worked on the flightline, in the Servicing Flight and the Engine Bay. He left the RAF in '75 as his chances of promotion were almost zero at that time. A decision he regretted until he passed on the 20th April 2022.
I joined the RAF in January '88 as a Sooty. The look on his face at my Passing Out...
I was posted to Wyton, to work on Canberras, an aircraft he'd worked on out in Germany on 213sqn, before his fitters course. I was supposed to go to Wildenrath to work on Tombs, but ill health meant I missed that opportunity to follow in my Dad's footsteps again. I left the RAF in '91, after the first Gulf War.
If anyone remembers Dad, I would love to hear from them. He was never the biggest fan of Phantoms, if I'm honest, but I know he loved Coningsby, and all the mates he made there.
I miss him terribly. We would talk for hours about absolutely nothing. A very "Mob" thing to do. Civvies just don't understand.
