OneGuyFromBarlick

Well spotted, Ian, it is a cake. And you're not far off with the telecoms suggestion. It was made for someone who uses a piece of equipment that looks like the cake. It isn't to do with communication. I'll wait a bit longer to see if anyone has a closer guess. You might see that person out in a field.

An OS surveyor?

China.... "A lot of nostalgia in that picture." Thanks, I have always thought so, lots of clues......

Survey, yes, but not OS. You will have seen these things on the TV (not the cake but the real thing!).

Listener/Viewer survey?

I'll bring this one to a close. I gave a clue that you might have seen someone using this bit of equipment in a field, and Panbiker had spotted at the beginning that it was a cake. The cake was made to celebrate the work of an archaeology team and and is made in the image of a geophysics resistance meter like the one shown on this web page: LINK

What's this about?

Practicing for formation flying.

I'm with Ian. Possibly for some sort of display.

I'd love to see them practising barrel rolls and loops.

I think it is brilliant.
Theory is one thing, but what a great way of making things gel in the mind. Full marks for whoever thought of it!

In these times of austerity we must all be thankful for small mercies. Undaunted by deep cuts to the defence budget our brave lads venture forth on their new machines, their indomitable Battle of Britain spirit shining through in this time of need. Every man and woman will remember this day. We will never be conquered!

Elliptical wings, so potentially Spitfire related.

Don't laugh. We used to practice our injections on oranges when I was a student nurse.
I'm sure it saved a lot of agony...

They've got the wings and the propulsion unit so I suppose this photo is of a trial carried out before fixing a body to the frame. Supermarine dabbled in light aircraft designs and competed in the Lympne Light Aircraft Trials and this may have been intended to be an entry. But I guess this design never got off the ground.

PanBiker has got it absolutely correct. Image taken from a 1940-45 nostalgia book. Although captioned as 'Formation Training' there's something of a comedy element in it. The sleeve stripes would suggest that there are flight sergeants leading the group. Slightly reminiscent of when I was a kid leaving the saturday matinee with arms outstretched making engine noises. Tizer is not far off with the first prototype of a flight simulator that never took off.

What is this, had to put a piece of paper over some words on front because it would give it away. 4.5cm across

Craft knife or a retractable key?

Court pass for a tennis club?

Again I think Ian is right and I'll go with him. Like putting a pound coin in a trolley....
P, we used to do that in the playground, arms outstretched and running round, we even banked for the turns. I remember that after seeing one film during the war I was usually 'Night Plane to Chunking'.

Locker key?

Oh I thought this would be a simple one. Big Kev is halfway there. Just waiting for Tize.

Thanks Cath, I'm always a bit slow off the mark, haha! It's obviously something retractable. Could it be a nail file or a letter opener?
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A postscript to the `flying bicycles' mystery object. I'm currently reading `Somerset at War' by Mac Hawkins (Hawk Editions, 1996). On page 167 in the chapter `Wings over Somerset' it relates how a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Fighter Control School was started in 1941 with a glass Direction Centre built on top of a manor house. It says: "Trainee controllers learnt their trade by directing WRENs pedalling radio-equipped ice-cream tricycles around the airfield dispersals." The FAA then established 790 Squadron to which the controllers were attached. So there is good precedent for the use of bicycles in training air force personnel!

Oh so close. It could be used in some sort of craft , it is something retractable. It isn't a nail file or a letter opener.

Is it a tape measure?

No sorry it's not a tape measure.