A note about highlights in Lovegreen’s career.

The low points of which there are many are a different story but it is in overcoming those that made the highlights.

These are given here so that people at large are made aware that Alan Lovegreen is a capable person with a sound record in the matter of getting things done.

At the age of nearly nine Lovegreen came to London to live with his Uncle and Aunt, Albert and Mary Lewis. A.G.Lewis was the marketing director of Duckworths the publishers. The first task would be to get Alan to school and he was found a place at St John’s junior school, cousin Charles Lewis, a keen rover scout immediately set about getting the boy into the cub scouts. He succeeded and Lovegreen went into the 21st Wimbledon Group then run almost entirely by the Rolf family. To this day Lovegreen’s way of life is the scout’s way of life and it is enough. Baden Powell was still alive in 1929 and visiting Scout organisations, Alan saw him with his Rolls Royce car that had been paid for by the boys at a penny a time.

So Alan Lovegreen was in the Scout movement as a cub, a scout and troop leader. In later life Lovegreen was Secretary for the North Berkshire Scout Movement and Secretary of the Wallingford Guild of Old Scouts. But back to boyhood. At one time, having won a running race and having been noticed Lovegreen was asked to change troops and become troop leader of the 2nd Wimbledon Troop where his Group Scout Master was Fred Gover brother of Alf Gover the Surrey cricketer. When Alan was fourteen Fred took his scouts to a very special event; Jack Hobbs Captain of the England cricket side and Don Bradman Captain of the Australian side were due to give an exhibition match at the John Innes Ground. Alf Gover arranged a pre-lunch meeting at which the scouts had some expert one to one advice from the very best players in the World. The scouts were also the means of Alan shooting at Bisley. Charles Lewis was a good marksman so it was natural for Lovegreen to be interested, then having worked for his marksman badge with the 5th East Surrey Territorial Regiment, shooting at Bisley was his treat.

In late 1937 with no desire to stay on at school to become a legal clerk or an accountant Lovegreen left Pelham School at aged sixteen to become a junior planner at Hawker Aircraft Ltd. In late 1938 he was promoted to be a personal assistant to Director Mr. Neville Spriggs who, after a while suggested that Lovegreen should go to go to NPL to be properly trained in all aspects of engineering workshop practice. His advice being that if you wish to successfully control the work force you must be able to do the things they do better than they can. NPL can teach you how to do that. In his own time Lovegreen was cycling over the south of England, camping on farms at times or at scout camps mainly Wimbledon Park House home to the exiled Russian Royal family, St Georges and Polyapes near Cobham and on Leith Hill or dinghy sailing on the Thames between Kingston and Hampton Court.

Moving to NPL in February 1939 Lovegreen began a wide ranging training in workshops practice in the Electro-technics Division of NPL under life time friend and colleague Alan Felton with George Hughes as his day to day instructor. The change for Lovegreen was a culture shock. From Hawker’s noisy, fast paced tin bashing factory with all the smells of building aeroplanes, of hot cutting oil, paint, dope and welding smoke, into a warm quiet slow workshop was a happy one. The sports field was a mere step away for training runs before the day started, the sports club also provided ice skating at Richmond and nets for cricket practice in lunch hours.

The Second World War started that autumn and NPL moved up a gear or two. But Lovegreen was effectively trapped in the one workshop though with a great deal to do. The projects came thick and fast, protecting barrage balloons from lightning strikes, developing moisture meters to hasten the growing of flax for uniforms, searching for land mines or demagnetizing ships and this while engineers worked on bombs outside the window. NPL really was on the move in its war effort.

For the history of NPL look on the web for The Glazebrook Society until we can set up a net link for you.

In early summer 1940 with Dunkirk just passed, the Local Defence Volunteers formed. Lovegreen and his rifle shooting friends joined the East Surrey Company the first day but within a few more days Lovegreen transferred to a company set up at NPL as part of the Middlesex Regiment and then had his first experience of firing a Springfield long barrel rifle with its skin cutting sharp edged sights. Not for NPL the broomsticks and pikes of other less fortunate commands. Everyone had access to a new Remington? 0.300” infantry rifle and brains were brought to bear on catching the enemy and everyone ate extra carrots to help their night vision.

In April 1941 volunteer Lovegreen was awarded an Army Certificate for Meritorious Service for rescue work at NPL Teddington during the bombing raid of November 29th 1940. In the middle of the operation Director Sir Charles Darwin and Laboratory Secretary Major Christelow had taken the nineteen year old to one side to ask how he saw the operation and how the rescue work might be taken forward. His ideas were put into action but to everyone’s regret, one by one the injured people died from being crushed. A few days later Lovegreen was assigned to Major Davies G.C., of the Royal Engineers Army Bomb Disposal Team famed for his dealing with the 1000 lb bomb at St. Paul’s Cathedral, this time to find the remaining unexploded bombs in the Laboratory and map their positions. The trio of the Major , his adjutant and Lovegreen accounted for scores of bombs that were later taken into Bushy Park and blown up. Except the biggest, which was slowly extracted from beside and 30 feet below one of the famous ship tanks. That 1000 lb bomb was removed to Richmond Park for emptying before spending the rest of its days like a sentry outside the entrance to the Tank building.

In September 1941 Lovegreen joined the RAFVR for pilot training. His call up was deferred and Lovegreen attended navigation, mathematics and Morse classes at Wimbledon Technical College. After a while he was lecturing in all three subjects. Lovegreen became Cadet Lovegreen in February of 1942 Following his EFTS and learning to fly Tiger Moths Lovegreen then trained as a navigator under his old school mathematics master by then Squadron leader C.H Lee, first at Bridgenorth and then under Lt St John at SNS West Freugh. Life was good with plenty of running, sailing and skiff rowing. However there was a down side coming to the top. Sitting sideways in an Anson aircraft was very different from piloting a Tiger Moth and Lovegreen was very sick and losing weight fast. Before being taken off flying Lovegreen was invited to take part in some experiments to see what could be learnt about the sickness and if methods of overcoming the problem could be found. After a few weeks there were good signs. It was possible to fly and not be ill but by then Lovegreen was too unfit to continue. The Air force told him it would not be wise to try and retrain him as a pilot. It seemed to ATL 1600124 that his purpose for being in the Air Force had totally gone.

Lovegreen took an early opportunity to discuss his future with Sir Charles who advised him to stay in the RAF, make himself useful, learn all he could, keep alive and come back when it was all over to give the NPL the benefit of his experiences.

After a few weeks of being grounded and learning what life as an ordinary airman would now be, he was posted to the RAF’s Central Intelligence Unit at Medmenham. On his way he was diverted to No 4 Maintenance Unit, he was not expecting this but there had been a severe workshop accident. The man running a wood working machine shop had cut off some of his fingers. A planing machine had been lit by the sun coming in through a window high in a wall that had a fan in it. The stroboscopic effect of the suns rays made the planing blades look as though they were static. Lovegreen stepped into the man’s shoes for a few weeks and his team continued to make crates out of green timber. One of his last tasks was to take a team on a train to Liverpool with two men to a waggon finishing off packing drop tanks. With a whistle blower to warn of bridges ahead and other trains approaching the moving workshop moved smoothly and got the cargo on board ship ready to sail. Back at base the soot covered men were all put on a charge for the state they were in by an officer a bit green behind the ears. There was nothing for it but for a lot of very tired men to get cleaned up and instead of getting into bed, parade before the CO who was very decent about it when Lovegreen explained. So some sleep, a very special meal and some unexpected leave put matter right.

When he did finally arrive at Medmenham Lovegreen worked on photographic interpretation, modeling bombing targets and putting his skills as an aerial photographer into good use. Lovegreen was well aware of Dr Barnes Wallis’s experiments at NPL and the RAF planning connected to the Dam Raid at Phyllis Court Henley. At Medmenham these matters came together. Group Captain Guy Gibson was a quiet visitor moving among them as the models of the Ruhr dams were displayed for him to study prior to them being used by his aircrews. The event unsettled Lovegreen who asked to go back to a more active life. The C.O. who was leaving to resume flying himself, promised to do what he could and he did.

In mid 1943 Lovegreen was assigned to the R.N. Admiral in Command of Western Approaches in Liverpool’s Liver Building to solve an unspecified problem. The Admiral explained that a vital flow of equipment from the USA and Canada, mainly Radar valves, Camera lenses, Periscope parts and Gyroscopes for the Armed Forces had ceased for a period of four months. As all our ships had not been sunk at least some of the valuable items had to be somewhere but where and who had them and why? Lovegreen established the cause, located the blockage, cleared it quickly then re-organised procedures to enable the operation to function reliably. That episode made quite a story for telling another time.

In 1943 his work in Liverpool done and having recovered his good health, Lovegreen was free to seek a more active duty but with the advice that he should now do a steady job, he moved to the RAF air sea rescue service where he might use his navigation training. He spent more than a year in the Marine service at Pembroke Dock mainly as a coxswain and built a reputation for under water swimming examining hull damage and that sort of thing. He was fortunate in that he was sent in his marine tender and with a larger boat as an escort to fetch a Catalina down in the sea between Wales and Ireland. The aircraft was taken in tow and the tow transferred to the larger pinnace and the three boats made a careful journey back to base. The aircrew had been on the water for about a day and a half. In late 1944 the long awaited Fairmile ‘D’ boats were nearing completion all over the south of England and Lovegreen joined the first, No 017 skippered by Squadron Leader Saville at Osborne’s yard at Littlehampton. 101 Squadron of eight Long Range Rescue Craft was forming up to go to Japan. Saville had been best cadet of his year on the Arethusia and he kindly shared all his prize instruments and books with Lovegreen.

On April 14th 1945 Alan married Valerie Thomas a Homerton,Cambridge trained school teacher from nearby Neyland in the Milford Haven. The marriage took place at Surbiton Methodist Church because the service could be arranged at short notice when the Squadron was made ready to move off earlier than planned. In the event the departure from Plymouth was delayed until August so the young couple managed to spend a fair amount of leave time together.

Close to the eve of sailing Lovegreen was somewhat surprised when a signal came denying the use of cameras so suggested that as he held documentation permitting him access to classified photographic reconnaissance material there might be a re-think. Permission was immediately given and all facilities rapidly provided to set up a darkroom in the bilges together with all the necessary supplies. Full picture coverage of events was the norm from then on.

Becalmed off Trafalgar in a fog Saville suggested that the fog might be low lying and sent Lovegreen up the mast to have a look. Sure enough it was sunlight up there so back down to collect his bubble sextant and Lovegreen was soon taking sun sights that Saville turned into fixes over the noon period. They were about 18 miles off shore and were able to set course for Gibraltar with some confidence.

Later still in 1945 and having changed boats Lovegreen was invited to volunteer for the second time to be dropped in sea far off N.Africa for his crew to practice finding him. This time would be different, he would carry cameras, food, a rubber dinghy and an aluminium tube to be set up for a search aircraft to try to find by Radar. As his skipper was an extremely good navigator Lovegreen agreed. Several hours later a specially designed Warwick Air Sea Rescue Aircraft located him. The aircrew then dropped five parachutes carrying an Uffa Fox dinghy capable of carrying 13 men. Lovegreen photographed all the action then boarded the boat, rigged it and sailed for shore to mark the success. His RAF boat LRRC 106, with Flt Lt. Whiteside in command found Lovegreen happily sailing along but the task was over so he was taken on board with his cameras and returned to base.

In early 1946 the squadron was laying up the boats in the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. With service discipline breaking down in India due to delays in repatriation, Lovegreen was given task of so running the RAF domestic camp at Fanara that there should be no mutiny. There was no mutiny. Instead everyone learned to drive a range of vehicles, a good library was established with the aid of the local padres, classes in democracy were held with mixed groups of British personnel and German prisoners. Valerie sent material from home and the events were much enjoyed. The Egyptian labourers were taught how to conserve their crops, to apply silt to the sandy soil and to make and add compost. Everyone learnt how to operate a bull dozer and all staff joined in building a pier and landing stage for getting in and out of home made dinghies. The few Maltese among them were keen kite fliers so every day men and kites were flown and Lovegreen himself experimented with formed aerofoils as flying wings. The British took the other nationals on shrimping swims and all exchanged help. No thoughts about mutiny ever entered anyone’s head from day one. But everyone left for home better able to become a civilian again. With the lorries all loaded with home going men the local Egyptian people turned out in large numbers to kneel in the road to pray for the RAF men who had treated them as equals and shared their food at all times instead of whipping them with thongs and throwing them in jail for venturing into other villages without a passes. Lovegreen would have liked to have stayed to develop farming methods but Valerie was at home and he had a job to go back to.

Arriving back to the UK to be demobilized Lovegreen then took several months leave and spent all of it with his wife and her family using his petrol coupons to get around Wales visiting family. This was a time of considering job prospects. He turned down the offer of an ironmongers business and a bakery business because he was contracted to NPL that had paid his wages all through the war.

However when considering his future in N.Africa and realizing he would only stay at NPL for a year Lovegreen had been ordering equipment to set up a mobile workshop to take around the UK repairing war damage. This stuff had been collecting ready for him. One piece, a welding outfit, was soon to come into use.

In 1947 Lovegreen returned to Electro-Technics Division. NPL had been at peace for a couple of years and Lovegreen found the transition cause for concern. Promotion would be measured in tens of years or more. By midday on his first day he had decided to move on so went home to tell his wife that he was going to college as soon as he could find a place. His purpose in being at NPL had gone. No one needed fighter aircraft and Lovegreen had no ambition to remain a laboratory technician. People were desperate for homes of their own and houses were very scarce. Luck was with him and began studying Building construction at the Kingston and Richmond Schools of Building under headmaster Harry Hey who became a good friend. At the Laboratory he set about picking up the threads of his earlier training under the kind guidance of George Hughes and Alun Felton the scientist in charge of them. George Hughes was a master cabinet maker in the Makepiece tradition. In electro technics division in those days all the staff were encouraged by Superintendent R.S.J.Spilsbury to become skilled in workshop practice in their own time with the result that many interesting things were built. Telescopes, short wave radios, televisions, cars and motor cycles were stripped rebuilt and tuned, tennis courts built with Lovegreen welding all the fencing and gates, sports practiced, bats oiled, scarves knitted, allotments cultivated and wells sank. Lovegreen having acquired two allotments because he found civilian rations to little to live on, designed and built a gas fired incubator that took 100 hatching eggs and the set up a small poultry establishment to help with food. He also got hold of a twenty hutch rabbitry . By paying his way with eggs and rabbits and cropping the ground, the new Lovegreen family and many others lived well. At the Lab. the community spirit was very strong and the group discussions led by ‘Wudja’ Spilsbury at coffee breaks much enjoyed. ‘Wudja’ came from the Superintendant’s way of asking you to do something. It was always ‘would you please’ and you happily did.

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