Its easy and its fun and takes less that 5 mins to register ….just take a look

The 6 Nations is almost upon us, the best International Competition in World Rugby and probably the most open its been for years.

The competition is being run through sportguru.co.uk, the same site we used for the Rugby World Cup tipping competition. So if you participated in that you should already have login details – if not see below.

COMPETITION: RBS Six Nations (2012)

START DATE: Sat 4^th February 2012

COST: £10

PRIZE MONEY:

1st Prize = 50% of pool

2nd Prize = 20% of pool

3rd Prize = 5% of pool and 25% of pool goes to the club.

HOW TO ENTER: Log onto http://www.sportguru.co.uk/ click on the “Register Now” button, then select the “Six Nations” from the drop down bar, then fill in your details (they don’t ask for many). Once you have done this, search for the pool called “Pinner Rugby Club” and apply to join pool. Once I have accepted you into the pool you will be free to enter your tips by following the instructions. Payment of the entry fee will need to be made by 10/02/2012 ( 2nd weekend), or you wont be able to win a prize.

I will send the relevant Bank details once all participants have registered.

RULES: Each entrant must submit their picks and margin before the deadline stipulated on the Sportsguru website. You can only enter your tips once so make sure you are certain of your tips before entering them as you cannot amend them afterwards! There are 5 rounds contain 3 matches each. You will receive points for correctly tipping the result of the game and also bonus points if you are within 5 points on your margin. There will also be bonus points and grand slam points awarded, check out the “Scoring System” tab for more information on how the comp will be scored. If you forget to put your tips in for a game you will be given the default tip by sports guru, check out the “Defaults” tab for more info on this. The person with the highest number of points at the end of the comp takes the top prize, the two closest runner ups will also receive some prize money and the club will earn a share. Actual prize money breakdown will be sent once we know how many people are playing.

If you think anyone else would be interested feel free to forward this on.

Round 1

Saturday, 4 February 2012

France v Italy, 14:30

Scotland v England, 17:00

Sunday, 5 February 2012

Ireland v Wales, 15:00

Round 2

Saturday, 11 February 2012

France v Ireland, 20:00

Italy v England, 16:00

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Wales v Scotland, 15:00

Round 3

Saturday, 25 February 2012

England v Wales, 16:00

Ireland v Italy, 13:30

Sunday, 26 February 2012

Scotland v France, 15:00

Round 4

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Ireland v Scotland, 17:00

Wales v Italy, 14:30

Sunday, 11 March 2012

France v England, 15:00

Round 5

Saturday, 17 March 2012

England v Ireland, 17:00

Italy v Scotland, 12:30

Wales v France, 14:45

Good luck!!

You might want to have a look  at the Presidents Lunch post to watch a very entertaining video of the clubhouse in full swing with their rendition of ‘Lion Hunt’ are the current first team missing out on something…………….. enjoy

Pinner RFC match report Sat 28^th January

Lack of a kicker cost P&G’s dear.

In front of a large crowd who had enjoyed a good lunch hosted by Club President David Hiles and with the Middlesex CRFU President Paul Astbury and Old Grammarians RFC President Keith McGuiness among the guests P&G’s narrowly lost by one point to visitors Old Grammarians.  Within five minutes the home team were 3 – 0 down having conceded a penalty on their own 22 in front of the posts.  Almost immediately after the restart P&G’s drew level when Simon Griffiths converted a penalty for killing the ball.  Five minutes later yet another penalty taken quickly allowed O G’s centre Jon Watkins to score the first try which was converted by the visiting fly-half.  Pinner immediately retaliated with their own quickly taken penalty by captain Reza Sibilant which saw the ball move through several pairs of hands for centre Richard Southern to score close in. Fly-half Simon Griffiths added the two points to bring the scores to 10 all.  Play ebbed and flowed with both sides evenly matched. However, yet another penalty for not rolling away from a tackle saw the home side once more behind.   Pinner had further scoring opportunities and eventually the referee’s patience was exhausted sending an O G’s flanker to the sin-bin for constantly killing the ball.  With half-time approaching two more penalty chances went begging which should have put the home aside ahead at half-time but the trailed 13 – 10.

The second half saw a much more spirited start by the home side egged on by increasingly vocal supporters.  An injury to fly-half Simon Griffiths required a reorganisation of the Pinner backs.  Mid-way through the half Pinner under pressure made a poor clearance which fortunately was fumbled by O G’s just outside the home 22. The ball was gathered by Sibilant who produced a fine up- field kick behind the visitor’s defence which was no match for the pace of home centre Chris Jepson who easily won the race to touch down.  Replacement kicker Alex Gorring was not able to add the two points but the home side were now 15 – 13 in the lead.  On the half-hour O G’s took advantage of having two reliable kickers to regain the lead from yet another penalty for pulling down in the line-out.  The referee’s enthusiastic use of his whistle did not help the home side.  And so although scoring two tries to the visitor’s one Pinner lost 16 – 15.  The crowd of former players returned to the Clubhouse to enjoy an evening of reminiscence and song that at one time was standard in all rugby clubs but now seems to be out of fashion with the younger players.

With the start of the Six Nations Internationals clubs at this level have a few weeks break from the league programme.

Sunday 29th January

Owing to a clash of matches at Pinner, with the Youth Under 15’s hosting a four way mini friendly tournament the Under 12’s had to change the venue to Bank of England who stepped up to accommodate the fixture. below is a match report by one of the team players: Paul Nash. Also photographs provided by Graham Souster; big thanks to both

After a thirty minute drive from Pinner RFC, our U12s arrived at the magnificent club of the Bank of England (Roehampton) to play our final matches, prior to the Middlesex festival in March.  Results from these games decide which pool we play in at this end of season finale.

Match 1

Pinner 57 v Bank England 0

A rampant Pinner dominated from the start with Ben Stone scoring a try in the first passage of play, instantly followed by Kai Gordon getting another one over the line. Charlie Gascoigne scored Pinner’s 3^rd try, a fantastic effort straight from the restart.  Kai scored again and Marc Souster finished off the 1^st half with yet another try. All the play was in our half with Bank of England prevented from getting anywhere near the try line by our strong defence.

With only a minute gone in the 2^nd half Pinner scored again, this time with Luke Barrowman scoring his first every try for his new team –  Pinner were playing for show now!  Marc scored Pinner’s  7th & 8th tries and Brandon Cotter finished off the impressive haul -  9 tries in all.  Conversion kicking (done at the end of each half) was a little erratic, with 3 kicks missed, but the 6 converted tries and 3 tries made up the 57-0 white wash handed out to the home side.

Match 2

Pinner v London Welsh

Pinner faced a much tougher challenge with another South of the river team – London Welsh, who are favourites to win the championship. They had already convincingly beaten Bank of England in the first game of the morning.  London Welsh took the lead going seven points ahead after a solid converted try.  A stout defending performance by our Pinner lads kept London Welsh at bay.  Pinner had plenty of possession but went in at half time still seven points adrift.

In the second half, Pinner came back out with solid resolve, the breakthrough finally coming when Marc Souster dramatically scored our one and only try of the game.  Then followed a determined defence from both sides and a try saving tackle from Freddie Hart, in the last play of the game, which kept the opposition at bay. Pressure was now on Freddie Hart, who had missed a conversion in the first match. He stood up to take the kick shooting a true and high ball that sailed between the uprights to level the score.  Honours even, what a match!

Pinner RFC U12s now look forward to showing what they are made of in the Middlesex Festival on 18th March at Grasshopper.

We have now completed all our matches prior to festival, 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

Sunday 27th November

Victory for Pinner U12s at the second round of the Middlesex Championships at Hackney Marshes

Pinner U12’s ventured further East than ever before to play the second round of the Middlesex Championships at Hackney Marshes, on the very edge of the Olympic Park near Stratford.

The sun was shining once again, although a brisk wind was an unwelcome addition this week, both for the players who had trouble kicking conversions and the parents, cowering on the sidelines.

Despite the distance to travel, Pinner had a strong turnout of 12 players. This wasn’t quite enough for the 13 needed at this level so once again they were very pleased that 6 players from Kilburn were able to join them to assemble what turned out to be a formidable team.

Fortune once again shined on them and they weren’t required to play the first match. The benefits from this were twofold; firstly allowing almost an hour to practise and work out team positions and secondly providing an opportunity to spy on the other teams as they played their match, which incidentally Hackney won against Wasps in convincing fashion.

Eventually it was Pinner’s turn to take to the field against Hackney. A really tough game was anticipated and for the first couple of minutes it was just that. However Pinner piled on the pressure and were able to ruck the ball close to the Hackney try line, allowing Carter to pick it up and put it down for a try. This was soon followed by another try by John and suddenly the previously formidable looking Hackney were 10-0 down and looking hopelessly lost.

Hackney dug deep, coming back strongly and eventually scoring after a period of intense pressure. Pinner didn’t buckle though and following a couple of penalties, Charlie Gascoine was able to run in a try, only to have it disallowed for handing off. He didn’t take it badly though, and within two minutes the ball was back in his hands and he ran in an almost identical try – without being penalised. Pinner were back in control 15-5, with only minutes to go until half time. In what turned out to be the last play of the half Hackney were able to run in another try to narrow the gap once again. Charlie and Niall converted two tries at half time to take the score to 19-14.

The Pinner scrum had been formidable throughout the game, winning almost every ball, regardless of the team that put the ball in. A significant change for the second half therefore was the request from Hackney for uncontested scrums as a result of an injury to one of their forwards. Ten minutes passed of hard fought rugby before Hackney broke through for a try in the corner and tying the score with one conversion opportunity in hand. Following this the Pinner coach, Steve George, made a shrewd substitution, bringing Sam Marchant back on in the right wing position. Within seconds he was handed the ball and was able to run the ball in for what proved to be the match winning try. Although Hackney continued to fight back Pinner held on for the victory, 24-21.

Pinner were in confident mood heading into the second match. They’d beaten Hackney who had previously thrashed Wasps and were expecting to be able to do the same. Needless to say, this wasn’t to be the case! Right from the first whistle Wasps were able to press forward and the Pinner team, which had been re-organised to take advantage of the uncontested scrums, were struggling to come to terms with their new positions. It didn’t take too long for Wasps to find a gap in the defence and run in a try to take them into the lead; the first and only time that Pinner found themselves behind that morning. The effect of this was to shock Pinner back into action and they soon retaliated with a brace of tries, first from Marc and then Brendan. The game moved to and fro in the middle of the field for the remainder of the half until the whistle blew to call time. After Niall successfully kicked another conversion the score was 12-7 in Pinner’s favour.

The second half was just as tough as the first, Pinner continued to play the great rugby that they had demonstrated all day; their rucking, mauling and scrumming was better than in any other game they had played. An unwillingness to retire seven metres for penalties caught them out on several occasions and a few too many handling errors resulted in many uncontested scrums in awkward positions. Nevertheless they persevered and were the first to score again when Charlie ran in his second try of the day. Pinner came close to scoring again when Louis George charged repeatedly at the Wasps defence. It wasn’t to be though and in the final play of the game Wasps were able to score a consolation try, resulting in a final score of 17-14.

Not since the Middlesex Finals in May had this team enjoyed such a successful morning’s rugby. The hotly anticipated chocolate cake then made a fleeting appearance before being demolished by the victorious Pinner and Kilburn players.

report: Nick Marchant

Mouth on a Stick

Singer/bassist (Howard) and guitarist (Keith) – both formerly of 80s rock band ‘Liaison’ – renew their musical relationship in this energetic and fun acoustic duo. Performing a variety of hits and album tracks from the last 4 decades, the pair mix dual vocals with acoustic and bass guitar. Both talented singers, they share the lead and backing vocal duties during their diverse set of rock and pop covers.

Mouth On A Stick specialise in the eclectic. They are not your average duo – nor do they wish to be. Their set consists of a carefully chosen mix of songs from the 1950s through to the present day.

We think you will be pleasantly surprised by the song choice – from award winning pop singles like Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ and ‘The Fear’ by Lily Allen to pop/rock anthems such as Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ by The Who.

There are also some obscure gems that you will undoubtedly remember but rarely hear these days. Brian Protheroe’s ‘Pinball’ and ‘Dance With Me’ by Orleans being two such examples.

And just to keep you on your toes, there are a few classic album tracks like Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’, from their million-selling ‘Rumours’ album, or Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ from the album of the same name.

So please don’t be upset if you don’t hear ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ or ‘Mustang Sally’ – we like to leave that to the others.

David Hiles made his usual great speech and mentioned the sad loss of Bill North, the current performances of the 1st XV and the continuing development of both the Youth and Mini Sections.

After an excellent meal an auction was set in place by Pinner RFC Chairman Andy Wright for 10 tickets for the Saracens v Harlequins match at Wembley. After a slow start a bidding war developed and unlike usual auction bids did not go up at a steady pace; one wasn’t sure but a bid of £100 was keenly added to by an amount of £130 some jump! The final winning bid was for £185 the winner will remain nameless at this point just in case members of the family were looking forward to a nice weekend away with the bid money!

Following the meal, past members ventured out on to the bitterly cold fields of Shaftesbury playing fields to watch the 1st XV home League fixture against Old Grammarians – see match report on website

Please find below a number of photographs from the lunch (taken by under 12’s hooker Jacob Talbot; current 1st XV match photographer)
Also a little treat: ‘Lion Hunt’ those who know, know!

Pinner suffer second heavy defeat.

Before the kick-off both teams and all the spectators stood in silent tribute to the former Pinner & Grammarians President Bill North whose funeral, attended by nearly 200 people, had taken place two days earlier.  Bill was not only an unsung war hero as a young Lancaster bomber pilot but had worked tirelessly on behalf of his own club and all sports clubs in Harrow over many decades.  This was recognised by the people from many walks of life who attend the wake in the Pinner RFC clubhouse and by the respect shown by the Harrow players and supporters before and after the match.

The New Year started badly for P&G’s when they played hosts to promotion chasing local rivals Harrow.  Without a few key players Pinner soon found themselves 7 – 0 down.  Harrow were awarded a penalty on the P&G 22 and elected to kick for touch. From the ensuing line-out Harrow moved the ball across their backs for the no. 12 to score near the posts giving an easy conversion for the scrum half.   Ten minutes later an almost copy was repeated but this time the no. 12 scored further out and the kick was unsuccessful.  Pinner forwards were getting the better of the set scrums but Harrow’s more precise drills proved dominant in the lines-out.  Sloppy handling in mid-field led to Harrow’s next try.  The fly half kicked for the right corner and the bounce favoured the visitors wrong footing the defence and enabling the no.11 to score.  Very soon the no.11 was on the score sheet again when a quickly taken free kick, awarded for a crooked feed into the scrum, caught the home defence off guard.  On half time P&G’s had a chance to get on the score sheet when they were awarded a penalty on the harrow 10 m line but fly-half mark Razzel’s long range attempt fell just short.  Harrow went into half-time with a 24 – 0 lead having already secured their bonus point.

Soon into the second half Pinner lost a scrum on their own 5 m line allowing the visitor’s scrum half to score.  P&G’s now entered their best period of play several spirited attacks were thwarted by the Harrow defence.  No. 8 Bernie Richter made a couple of impressive breaks from his own 22 to set the backs in motion but the wingers were bundled into touch. The score remained at 29 – 0 until the last ten minutes of the match when the home side’s lack of fitness after the holiday lay-off  proved yet again the need at this level for better training facilities.  In that 10 minute period Harrow ran in a further four tries but fortunately for the home side only one was converted.  The final score was 51 – 0 to Harrow.

Next Saturday P&G’s travel the 50 miles to Royston in north-east Hertfordshire in much need of a win to cement their place in the middle of the league.

Bill North: 30th May 1922 – 14th December 2011

Pinner & Grammarians President 1977-2002

President Lunch link

Hero bomber pilot’s amazing untold story

Bill North and his crew with a Stirling Bomber (Pic: Phil Harris)

Left to right, P/O Bill North (Pilot), F/Sgt Norman Jarvis (Bomb Aimer), F/Sgt Dave Crowley (Navigator), Sgt Monty Monteith (Wireless Operator), Jock Pork (although present is not a crew member), Sgt Les Morton (Flight Engineer), Sgt Eddy O’Shea (Rear Gunner), Sgt Dennis Bartlett (Mid-Upper Gunner). Standing next to a Short Stirling Bomber, Bill and the crew had two nearly fatal crash landings in Stirlings during RAF training.

EVERY day for nearly 70 years, Dennis Bartlett silently thanked bomber pilot Bill North for saving his life.

The last time he’d seen his Second World War comrade was in July 1944 on a pitch-black hillside in France where Bill crash landed their bullet-ridden Lancaster after a Luftwaffe attack.

Wounded Bill, then 22, bravely decided to down the plane rather than bail out when he learned another crewman’s parachute strap was damaged and he couldn’t jump.

Bill North and his crashed Lancaster Bomber (Pic: Phil Harris)

The pilot thought Dennis had parachuted out but when the bomber hit the ground, his friend was still on board.

The men were captured by the Nazis that night and when they were taken to separate prisoner-of-war camps, Dennis feared he would never see his pal again.

But last week they were reunited at the retirement home where the former RAF pilot now lives, and relived the incredible, untold story of their great escape.

As emotion welled inside him, Dennis, 87, said: “The memories of that night in France have been with me for 67 years.

“We all owed our lives to Bill. Without a thought for himself and while terribly injured he stayed on board our doomed bomber in order to save us. That still moves me to this day.”

Bill is now 89 but he remembers what happened so vividly it could have been last week. He said: “I was never scared of flying. My fear was of letting my crew down.

“We had become the firmest of friends as well as comrades and had complete confidence in each other’s abilities. It would have been a bitter blow if any one of my crew had been killed.”

Bill and Sergeant Dennis, of Camberley, Surrey, were part of Bomber Command’s 61 Squadron based in Skellingthorpe, Lincs.

Their mission was to attack the German base in St Leu d’Esserent, France, as part of an Allied force of 231 Lancasters and 15 Pathfinders.

They dropped 1,000lb bombs to cut communication to the base but 12 Lancasters and 83 lives were lost. Bill recalled: “We dropped our bomb load and suddenly we were being attacked. Bullets were ripping into my Lancaster.

“We lost our port inner engine, flaps and one of our petrol tanks. I was shot in the left elbow and thigh, my left arm just dropped down useless because the nerve had been severed. The aircraft was not responding to the controls so I gave the order ‘abandon aircraft’.

“But then one of our men said his parachute harness had been shot off and he couldn’t jump. I decided the only option was to crash land the aircraft. I was not going to leave him behind.”

Bill, of Basingstoke, Hants, brought down the aircraft over tree tops and landed tail down to prevent the wings from combusting.

To his surprise, Dennis appeared from the wreckage and helped get him out. But they were captured by the Nazis and Bill spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft 1.

“Fortunately the crash landing was successful,” he said. “My overriding feeling was one of immense relief and satisfaction my crew survived.

“I wasn’t decorated but then no-one in authority knew of our crash landing.

“For my part, I was only too pleased we survived the war. Every night we flew in the shadow of death. I think about it every day.”

The touching reunion was down to Chris Keltie, a former neighbour of Bill’s who was fascinated by an old photograph of the crew. Three years ago, he decided to track down Dennis and write a book on the hero pilot’s life.

Chris said: “I think Bill should have been awarded a VC. His story needs to be told.”

Chris’ book Riding In The Shadow Of Death will be published soon.

RAF Lancaster pilot

F/Lt Bill North

61 Squadron.

THE FOLLOWING EXTRACT IS IN BILL’S OWN WORDS AND IS HIS ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT

F/Lt Bill North

“On the night of the 4/5^th July 1944,I was the Pilot of Lancaster EE 186, QR—D for Dog 61 Squadron, Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire. Earlier in the day my crew had taken the same aircraft on a 35 minute NFT—Night Flying Test—flight, and found it to be satisfactory in all respects.

Prior to take-off my Crew and the other involved 61 Squadron Crews would have attended a “briefing”. This briefing would have included target details (the V-1 site at St. Leu), weather forecast during the flight, visibility, particularly in the vicinity of the target, our bomb load and bombing height. When we took-off to set course for the target the weather as I recall it posed no problems. The time for takeoff was 22.30 hours. As the mission was during the night the entire flight would have been planned to take place in the dark.

Our flight to the target area was uneventful. On reaching the target area I was able to see that our target had been suitably “marked” by our Pathfinder Force and therefore set the pre-determined course and height for our bombing run. It was at this stage that as was usual on our operational trips, my Bomb Aimer, Sgt Norman Jarvis took control. I maintained the bombing course and height, ensuring that the Lancaster was kept “straight and level”. From time to time during the bombing run I altered course as necessary in line with Sgt Jarvis’ instructions. We completed our bombing run, dropped our bomb load and as soon as my Bomb Aimer said “Bombs away, Skipper”, I turned very steeply away from the target area which of course was also the danger area and set course for home.

So far so good, the mission was proceeding according to plan. Then suddenly my Gunners Sgt Dennis Bartlett and Sgt Eddy O’Shea called out the dreaded warning “Corksrcew Port, Go!”. This was an evasive manoeuvre that was taught to Bomber Pilots to escape from an attack by a Night Fighter, we had practised this many times during training. It was a violent dive to Port that put incredible stresses on the airframe and it wasn’t for the faint hearted. We were being attacked by a German Night Fighter and machine gun bullets were ripping into my Lancaster. We lost our Port Inner Engine and flaps and one of our petrol tanks. I was immediately wounded in the left elbow and thigh, my left arm just dropped down useless because the nerve had been severed. In addition the aircraft was not responding to the controls. In these circumstances I gave the order to “Abandon Aircraft”- it being my intention to attempt to bail out when the crew had left the aircraft. However at this stage Sgt Hackett (the replacement Flight Engineer for Sgt Les Morton who was off sick) said his parachute harness had been shot off and he couldn’t jump. I therefore immediately decided the only option was to crash land the aircraft, not something I wanted to do at night over unfamiliar terrain; I was not going to leave him behind. When I took this decision I was not aware that two other crew members were still on board the Lancaster. In retrospect having this information would merely have confirmed my course of action.

I did what I thought was best. Initially I judged my height by my altimeter and visually as we neared ground level. I managed to regain some control over the aircraft as we came across the tree tops. I straightened up and I saw a gap in-between the trees on a hillside, this was our one and only chance to make it. I decided our best chance of survival was to land the aircraft tail first from a height somewhat higher than that adopted during a normal landing. I was of course anxious to avoid creating too much friction on hitting the ground and thus creating a situation where the petrol in the wings could ignite with disastrous results. Fortunately the crash landing was successful in that all three members of the crew on board plus me survived the impact.

What is my overriding feeling about what happened to my crew and to me on the 4/5^th July 1944? Firstly, one of immense relief and satisfaction that my entire crew survived. We had become the firmest of friends as well as comrades and had complete confidence in each other’s abilities. It would have been a bitter blow if any one of my crew had failed to survive. In the event two evaded capture (Navigator F/Sgt Dave Crowley and Flight Engineer Sgt Hatchett, with me for the first time in place of my regular Engineer, Les Morton) and five became POWs. Secondly, it is a source of amazement that I managed to crash my Lancaster at night without serious injury to anyone on board. I was never scared of dying, the only fear I ever had was of letting my crew down. Whilst I hesitate to suggest we were unique—I have yet to meet any Lancaster Pilot who has had a similar experience. Which leads me to ask “Was there a Guardian Angel looking after us?”

Bill had been shot twice through his left arm, the nerve had been severed and it was useless. He had two bullet wounds to his left thigh and was bleeding profusely, wind was rushing through the shattered Cockpit and down the fuselage and the altimeter was spinning out of control as they plunged towards the ground. The night fighter had also come in for a second time giving them another fatal round of cannon shells and bullets. Bill and the Flight engineer were fighting with the controls which were barley responding; they were approaching the ground fast when Bill suddenly regained some control over the Lancaster. Baring in mind it was nightime, Bill had used the altimeter to judge their height off the ground, but said he couldn’t rely totally on this; so when tree tops suddenly came into view he now had seconds to adjust the aircrafts position. The underside of the Lancaster was brushing the tree tops when Bill suddenly spotted a gap between the trees, “This is it we are going down now,” said Bill. They came down onto a French hillside with the nose up and tail down to try and avoid creating friction that might ignite the fuel in the petrol tanks. The Lancaster came down with a hell of a bump throwing the flight engineer into what was left of the cockpit and breaking his arm. They all sat there in a stunned silent daze, the plane hadn’t exploded on impact which they so often did. All of a sudden Dennis and Monty appeared from the fuselage behind Bill “Come on let’s get the hell out of here” shouted Dennis. They all helped their respected Captain out of the wrecked plane, and were all extremely concerned for him because of his serious injuries. Bill doesn’t know to this day how he managed to save the crew and the plane that night, but does put the sequence of events down to his RAF training and his Guardian Angel. I do agree with Bill, but it must be noted that Bill’s outstanding skill as a Bomber Pilot, his courage and coolness in the face of adversity played the major part in their saving. I think Bill should have been awarded a V.C. for his selflessness and courage in saving his crew, but sadly that was not to be.

F/Lt Bill North

“No, I was not specially decorated. I simply received the normal medals. Of course one has to remember that no-one in authority would have learned of our crash landing and I for my part, was only too pleased that we survived the war – particularly as I have recently learned of the extent of the RAF losses on 4^thJuly. I was not afraid, there was so much to do and think about what would follow. Above all I was concerned about how strong my father would be when he received the telegram telling him I was missing.”

Above. Bill and Dennis reunited after 67 years on 20th Mar 2011.

Les Morton now lives in Australia.

The match report will be duly uploaded when it is recieved but you should know the form by now; here’s some of the action shots from the first half, Aarons try, ’skinnyJim’ Jepson crossing the try line, Mark Razzell putting the ball between the posts a couple of times, anyhow, enjoy………….. just in

Pinner pack powers much needed win.

P&G’s entertained Old Isleworthians at Shaftesbury Playing Fields on Saturday.  Both clubs are mid-table in Herts- Middx division 2 so a win was vital. The first twenty minutes saw both sides testing each other but then mid-way through the first half the ball got to right winger Chris Jepson whose pace proved too much for the defence enabling to score near the posts.  Fly-half Mark Razzell added the conversion to put the home side 7 – 0 up.  Almost immediately Pinner’s lack of discipline enabled O I’s full-back Richard Hewison to reduce this lead to 7 – 3.  Pinner’s pack now began to dominate the set pieces to provide scoring chances but poor passing or over elaboration nullified these opportunities.  Both teams were feeling the effect of some strict refereeing and on the half-hour O I’s were penalised for a high tackle 25 metres from their goal line.  Razzell was once more on target to stretch the lead to 10 -3.  Five minutes and several penalties later P&G’s were in the O I’s 22. The visitors failed to retire the necessary 10 m allowing scrum-half Lane to break quickly before passing to captain Reza Sibilant who found hooker Aaron Nicholas along side to complete a score in the right corner.  This conversion proved too far for Razzell. With Pinner thinking of half-time they relaxed to let O I’s take a quick penalty for flanker Tom Nadiu to score. The half-time score was 15 – 8.

The second half stated with P&G’s playing into the low Sun but with their pack really on top in the set pieces.  After 15 minutes yet another quickly taken penalty caught the defences napping and home scrum-half Lane darted through to score. Razzell added the two points to give Pinner a comfortable 22 – 8 lead.  The home side strived for the fourth ’bonus point’ try but several promising attacks petered out through lack of concentration. The pack, with the front row prominent, provided plenty of ball but some ill-conceived kicks threw away possession.  The game was losing direction through Old Isleworthians causing too many stoppages whilst they reorganised their replacements and having a player sent to the sin-bin for yet another high tackle.  Pinner’s defence was again caught off guard. Quickly taken penalties were the order of the day and now it was O I’s turn. Pinner, penalised for not releasing the ball, allowed the visiting hooker to charge through to score under the posts. Hewison added the two points to give O I’s a losing bonus point.  P&G’s were pleased at least to have the 22 – 15 win but knowing that it should have been more convincing.

Next week P&G’s visit promotion hopefuls OMT’s at their new home at Merchant Taylors School.  The club will hold its annual Boxing Day match at Hatch End when any local players can join in.  Kick-off is nominally 11:30 am.  The league programme resumes on 7^th January with local rivals Harrow being the visitors.

DFH  12/12/11.