A glider, a tailplane weight and a sore bum

How lovely to read of the history of 487 Squadron ATC. I was a cadet through to Sergeant from 1951 to about 1955, In which time we won the Wing Cup for football on 4 occasions. I was fortunate to have achieved my Gliding Certificates A and B I was very lucky to still be alive after a crash at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome. Someone, unknown to the instructors or I, positioned a tail plane weight which was to take the place of the sand bag for going solo. At 1500 feet I realised something was not quite right, released the cable and both the instructor and I, with our feet against the joystick could put the nose down. I ended up with a sore bum. My dear friend Brian Davis was awarded a Flying Scholarship in 1953/4. You mentioned Don Swan. What a lad he was, very smart and proud.. Thank you for the opportunity of recalling some memorable times at 487