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Pictures and captions by Paul C Low

My car with me in it. 1932 Morris Minor named Lizzie, in the parking lot of Anglia Control.

Did 32 mph downhill with a stiff wind blowing from behind and got 32 mpg on a good day. I had a lot of fun with that car.  It had an electric start with a hand crank back up.Ran me to Stowmarket and Ipswich on many a day and was really good 'off-roading.'

 

   
Above left, my girlfriend Betty Hall on board Comet. Right, me in my bunk area in the barracks. With all those papers on the desk I was either studying for promotions or doing my college courses. Betty moved to Ireland with her parents shortly after this and I totally lost contact with her.  Photo was taken on the Bildeston Road, just outside Anglia Control.  The house in the background was the closest house to Anglia Control (just South, I believe).

 

<< Left is Rosie, our mascot (real name Dave). Picture taken in the mess hall at the service line for one of our many beer blasts.  I believe this was the Sergeants' Beer Blast (all newly promoted Sergeants got together and bought the beer for the rest of the airmen on the site.

 

<< This was the "Gang."  The one in the front with the v-neck sweater is Treavor who bought my 1939 Jaguar GT for 50 pounds ($175.00 back then). That's me in the plaid shirt.   Can't recall the names of the rest of the group (it WAS 1962!) I believe the photograph was taken at the Shepherd and Dog.

 

The Mikado Coffee House was a regular hang-out/meeting place for the airmen from Anglia Control and a lot of the locals from the Stowmarket area.  We would frequently go 'enmass' (what the Brits called 'mob handed,' Paul) from Stowmarket to Ipswich by train for the cinema or music hall.  Sometimes we would even go as far as London on a day trip.

Looking back on it I realize just how much they used to sacrifice of their hard earned cash and why it was frequently said of Americans that they were "Over Paid, Over Sexed, and Over 'ere."  My income every two weeks was equal to or more than they took home in a month; "Over Sexed --- well... and we couldn't do anything about being "Over 'ere."  I even remember the first "card carrying Communist" I ever met. Nice bloke. We had many a good drinking session at the Kings Head. We only really disagreed on politics and after the first verbal war decided it would be more fun to just talk with one another and leave politics outside the pub.  After that, we got along like long lost buddies.

 

The following four pictures were taken at the Mikado in Stowmarket

<< Daphne (Walters?)

<< Penny

<< Maureen (?)

<< Carol

<< Newspaper article in the Prince George's [Maryland] Journal 1978; photo by Staff Photographer Lon Slapicka. Corporal Paul C. Low, the county police officer who apprehended the 15-year old suspect in the shooting deaths of two county police officers at the Hyattsville station June 26, shown here with the Chief's Award for Heroic action in the apprehension of murder suspect Terrance Gaston Johnson, of Bladensburg, Maryland. Low was later awarded the Gold Medal of Valor for his actions, for risking his own life in the protection of others while making this apprehension, and for doing so without firing a shot.
Terrance Johnson shot and killed himself about 2 years ago after he was released from prison following a botched robbery of a bank with one of his brothers. He had allegedly told his brother, "I ain't going back." He had served 18 years of a 25 year sentence. 

<< Airman Basic Paul C. Low at his favorite hangout, the Enlisted mens Club, Keesler AFB, Mississippi, late summer 1960.

 

<< That was me in a serious mood whilst visiting the Queen - well, actually in London for a weekend - dinner with Duncan Sandes and friends - 1961 as near as I can recall.

 

<< Two girls I can not even tell you the names of. 1961 New Orleans, Louisiana in time for Mardi Gras and Hurricanes, a popular drink of the time.

 

<< Me and DeeDee Myers in Chicago, Illinois in 1958 - I had met her that summer at the Williamsburg [Virginia] Motor Lodge.

 

<< The HOBO PARTY was held in the mess hall at Anglia Control on 22 March 1963. Don't even ask me to name names.

 

<< The HOBO PARTY was held in the mess hall at Anglia Control on 22 March 1963.

 

<< Sgt's Beer Blast - in the Mess Hall - April 1963. That's me, drunk again - lower right hand corner

 

<< Front Row - Left to Right - Dave Cavanagh, Sgt McMillan and Glenn Wetherby - can't remember the guy in the back

 

<< "The Wall" a.k.a. "The Monument to the Sergeants" - around which many a "HYMN" was sung - I do believe that's me again, adding more material to the wall/monument

 

<< Glenn and Barry

 

<< Chester "Glenn" Wetherby

 

Television watching at Anglia consisted of whatever was on plus several that were "must watch" shows. My favorite, as well as almost everyone there, was Coronation Street and we would watch that religiously. Another was the puppet feature Thunderbirds. Another one of my personal favorites was an ITV show entitle "About Anglia". For radio we listened mostly to the Pirate radio station "Caroline" which was a ship anchored out in the English Channel and broadcast its illegal radio waves our way playing all the popular rock-n-roll tunes of the day.

The closest village, naturally, was Bildeston. As I recall, this was a very small village of perhaps no more than half a dozen homes, a garage, a church and a pub. This is where I first had warm lager, which I didn't care for, but the publican was a nice fellow and , if you called him up and told him you would be down that evening, would but a few bottles in the refrigerator for you. This was also where I met the infamous "Bugs" Bendle (Bendall?) [not sure of the spelling of his surname] for the first, but not last, time.

"Bugs" Bendle (Bendall?) was a hot shot, Cracker Jack pilot of the first order; the type of pilot that all those movie pilots in their World War II Spitfires would have been proud to have had as their wingman. "Bugs" was tall - perhaps 6'02"; slender of build; and he had the kind of good looks that gave him an edge with the girls but still reflected back on his ego that he knew he was somewhat good looking. "Bugs" was the epitome of the "pilots pilot". When I first met him he was flying English Electric Lightnings and was a member of the treble one Squadron, 111, the Queen's Honour Flight. His favorite routine, as I was to learn first hand, was to come over the top of RAF Wattisham's Control Tower, fly out several miles, make a leisurely turn and come back directly at the tower, full power. When he was within the proper distance, he would suddenly turn his aircraft 180 degrees and hit the after-burner, rocketing away from the tower at unbelievable speed and causing the tower windows to shake. He did that one day when a visiting RAF General was in the tower and he caused one of the windows to actually break and fall and slice off the toe of the generals shoe. Luckily the general was unhurt but "Bugs" was grounded for a while.

"Bugs" Bendle/Bendall was also one of the first RAF pilots to go to America and test fly the new [at that time] Phantom jets which were being flown in Arizona. "Bugs", true to his name, did some remarkable things with those jets; things that you were not supposed to do [or even be able to do]. He would do "outside" turns and "falling leaves" with no problems. Well, almost no problems. After he broke the wings off his third aircraft, they decided to send him home.

"Bugs" was quite the pilot. I can still see him now, in the pub, hoisting a pint, with the blood still running from his ears, nose and eyes. Here's to you, "Bugs".

One of several towns I visited on a regular basis was that of Stowmarket. Stowmarket was the place to go on a Friday night if funds and/or interests were limited. If you did not have a car, you could hire a taxi for 10 shillings [about $1.50 back then]. Frequently we would car pool and it would end up costing only 2 shillings six pence [two and six or roughly 35 cents]. Stowmarket had a number of places where you could go. There was the Kings Head in the High Street [which I understand is now a mini-mall], there was another pub located at the top of the hill leading to the train station, several smaller drinking establishments, and my favorite hang-out, the Mikado Coffee Bar. Outside of town was The Cedars [a private club] and the Shepherd and Dog. Of course you could go to the train station and board a train to Ipswich or London, which was only about 45 minutes away.

Stowmarket was also the place where I had my first "ham"burger with that mystery brown sauce. Ipswich was where I had my first "Eggs, Bangers and Chips". Also where I learned the difference between Chips and Crisps. I also tried my first "Fish and Chips" here but decided to leave the fish alone and stick with the eggs and bangers. I also learned to play draughts, pinnacle and cribbage in the local pubs.

In Ipswich there was the Cinema and the Music Hall. I can still recall seeing some great movies such as THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (1963 with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom) [released on video as THE HAUNTING and recently redone in Colour by the same name]. Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple in movies such as MURDER AT THE GALLOP (1963) and MURDER AHOY (1964). The Music Hall had musicians such as Pete Fountain, Herman and the Hermits, Stevie Richards, and the Beatles. The Beatles really bombed here. It was their first trip after having been to Germany. Their tour had taken them to London and they were on their way back to Liverpool. They really stunk. Of course that was before they hired Ringo Starr to do the drumming. There was also the USO club [where they allowed me to make my own style of tuna-salad] and several museums I used to visit. 

Some of the married enlisted men [and officers] lived on the "economy" in some of the bordering villages such as Lavenham, Chelsworth, Hadleigh, Bramford, Felsham and Needham Market as well as Ipswich.

On some occasions, frequently as often as once a month for several months in a row, I would travel to London for the weekend, leaving Stowmarket on Friday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. On these trips I would play the tourist and visit all the famous sights, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Soho, ride the underground to wherever it wanted to take me and back, go to movies [I can still recall the all cartoon all the time cinema] and see plays. Yes, I did get to see that famous one, The Mousetrap. I even went to the Talk of the Town on several trips to London. However, my trips usually carried me to the used bookstores in Charring Cross and I would inevitably return to Anglia Control with three or four old books [ which I still have].

 

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