Walking to school one day in 1952 something small and silver whistled overhead and my mate said “Republic F84E Thunderjet”. Asked how he knew he produced a copy of “The Observers Book of Aircraft” and showed me the correct page. I knew then that I had to have a copy and was soon cycling from my home in Canterbury to sit at the end of the runway at RAF Manston with my new “bible”. Post war Britain was an austere place and to a twelve year old watching fighters with names like Shooting Star and Sabre was pure heaven.