In 1929 when I was a young schoolboy in York, I was fortunate to become one of a small band of nomadic gliding enthusiasts centred around a most enterprising chap called Percy Watson, who had built himself a German Zoegling training glider above his chemist's shop in Micklegate. Each weekend we flew this machine — on which one sat in the open with an awe-inspiring view of the ground—from a wide variety of hills and precipices in the country to the east of York in the direction of Scarborough and Whitby.

In 1936, as a result of this exciting and sometimes quite terrifying activity, I joined Slingsby Sailplanes at Kirbymoorside, where I became happily involved in the design and development of Kirby Cadets and Tutors and the like. It was a most satisfactory occupation for a young chap dedicated to gliding and in consequence I developed a love of the wolds and moors of East Yorkshire from Sutton Bank to the sea, which continues to this day.