Wilf "Chilly Willy" Robins

Chilly Willy's mother Dorothy lived to 104 years of age. I spoke with her on many occassions. Dorothy would speak of times before roads, Cars, planes, and World Wars. Dorothy talked about walking 5 miles for half a bannana ration for Wilf. She was in London when German Zepplin's bomb the streets, living with the masses in what is today's underground (subway). Her claim to longevity? Cooking in full lard! They were a hardy lot.

Unfortunately, Chilly is now deceased. I am working on retrieving the detailed information.

Chilly worked in Bldg 56 as a Ministry of Defense (MOD) Surface Freight Specialist at RAF Fairford from 1987 to 1999. He and his Mother lived locally in surrounding villages of Fairford.

My most memorable moment about working with Chilly is the time he was loading a seavan container with a forklift. As Chilly was exiting the seavan, one of the wheels dropped off of the ramp. Chilly reacted within seconds, jumping free of the forklift as it was going off the dock. 9 out of 10 forklift drivers rolling a forklift get killed. Please don't test this theory yourself! The recommended method for surviving a forklift incident is to remain in the vehicle with a seatbelt. Thanks to Chilly Willy's military background and parachuting experience, he leaped to safety.

Wilf loved birds, cats, and all wildlife. Wilf took time to appreciate nature. He was a master woodworker. One of the many classics include; Wilf making a coffin for the base Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) prevention team. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) base commander Colonel "Sun-down" Lundt had a policy that a funeral would be performed for each incident. The commander of the culprite, his First Sergeant, his Flight Chiefs and others in the squadron would meet at the main gate. A funeral march would commence with the charged DWI receiver marching out front of the coffin. The walk was between 1 and 3 miles depending on the location of the commanders office. The coffin was then displayed in the commanders office until the next DWI. In today's military, they would dish out a "Time-Out." We received "Wall-to-Wall" counseling in my day. Sun-Down got his nickname from getting people off base. If you screwed up you were out proceesed by sun down!