Hartshorne technician goes the extra 15,826 miles for the RAF

Little did Hartshorne Potteries Workshop Technician John Pettitt realise when he was asked by his boss to go off-site to repair a truck at a customer’s premises, that it would involve a round trip of nearly 16,000 miles and a journey to the Falkland Islands.

It all began when the Commanding Officer of the Mount Pleasant RAF base on the South Atlantic islands contacted Hartshorne Potteries’ Service Department at Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Royal Air Force workshop, he said, needed some technical assistance with the diagnosis and repair to the fuel system of a Volvo FL6 fire tender operated by the base.

Although Hartshorne’s Service team at first gave technical advice over the telephone, it became apparent that they were going to have to send a Workshop Technician to the Falklands to sort the job out. The RAF have been a Hartshorne customer for some time as the company supplies them with Volvo Genuine Truck Parts and the team were delighted to respond positively and travel plans were quickly made.

Volvo Technician John Pettitt was ‘volunteered’ and he was quickly on his way to the military air-base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to catch the 17 hour long scheduled flight to Port Stanley - stopping only to refuel at Ascension Island. A range of Volvo Parts, including an injector set, was also despatched in the hold of the DC10.

On arrival, John was taken straight to the base, which is located about 35 miles from the capital Port Stanley, where he worked with two RAF Technicians to diagnose the fault and fix the problem – which turned out to be fuel pump related.

John reports that his only mistake in the rush to prepare for the long journey was to pack full thermals and winter clothing. When he arrived, he quickly discovered that it was mid-summer and a baking 80 degrees.

However, the welcome he received from the RAF ground crew made up for that and he describes the trip overall as a “once in a lifetime experience.”

….and John’s take on the Falklands. “Like Derbyshire ….. with penguins !”