Serving the nation

In the November 1957 edition, Warrant Officer Sydney Pegg’s story is told. Pegg joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1913 and spent the following 40 years in service. During WWI he repaired the fabric coverings on aircraft wings before later becoming an engine fitter, a trade which he carried out for the rest of his RAF career. His four decades of service ran from the string and wire age to the jet and nuclear age, and at the time of his demobilisation in 1953 he had served for longer than any other airman in the RAF. His long service made national news, with one photographer capturing Pegg being carried on his comrades’ shoulders at the end of his final day.

As well as individuals like Sydney Pegg, many RAF families can also claim extraordinary lengths of service when their terms are combined. In the April 2020 issue, former Squadron Leader William Corser featured in Air Mail’s letters pages to say that, between himself, his father, grandfather, two uncles and an aunt, his family had totalled an impressive 140 years in the RAF.

One family partnership which may be unique in the annals of the RAF is that of the Zeyferts, a Polish father and son. The pair escaped Poland after the Nazi invasion in 1939, and travelled through Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, France and North Africa before arriving in the UK. The Zeyferts flew together operationally with the son piloting and the father navigating for two and a half years with Coastal then Ferry Command, and logged 400 hours flying as a team. By May 1949, when their story appeared in Air Mail, the pair had settled in the UK and become core members of the Association’s Cheltenham Branch.

While ‘service’ is often thought of as being service to the nation, it also means service to others. In August 1951, the Wellington on which Flight Lieutenant John Quinton was aboard collided with a training aircraft 5,000 feet above the village of Hudswell in Yorkshire. In the rear section with John Quinton – a veteran of three operational tours on Mosquitos during WW2 – was 16-year-old Air Training Corps cadet Derek Coates. Quinton’s swift reactions over the next few seconds would later see him awarded the George Cross for bravery. Describing the scene inside the wrecked fuselage, his George Cross citation reads:

“The force of the impact caused the aircraft to break up and, as it was plunging towards the earth out of control, Flight-Lieutenant Quinton picked up the only parachute within reach and clipped it on to the Cadet’s harness. He pointed to the rip-cord and a gaping hole in the aircraft, thereby indicating that the Cadet should jump. At that moment a further portion of the aircraft was torn away and the Cadet was flung through the side of the aircraft clutching his rip-cord, which he subsequently pulled and landed safely. Flight-Lieutenant Quinton acted with superhuman speed displaying the most commendable courage and self-sacrifice, as he well knew that in giving up the only parachute within reach he was forfeiting any chance of saving his own life. Such an act of heroism and humanity ranks with the very highest traditions of the Royal Air Force, besides establishing him as a very gallant and courageous officer, who, by his action, displayed the most conspicuous heroism.”

Flight Lieutenant John Quinton ©Public Domain

Though Coates survived, the entire eight-man crew of the Wellington were killed. From photographs, Coates recognised John Quinton as the man who, in saving his life, had sacrificed his own. The story of Quinton’s selfless act of heroism, as well as a larger celebration of his RAF career, was featured in the August 1959 issue of Air Mail.

Finally, with today’s recruits being at the vanguard of the RAF’s advance into space, it is interesting to look back to one of the RAF’s earliest members. William Riches Parker appeared in the August 1948 issue of Air Mail with a simple question: “Am I the oldest member?” Parker was born in 1864, the year the First Geneva Convention was signed and Abraham Lincoln was president of a United States wracked by civil war. Having already fought in the Boer War, Parker joined the British army in 1915 before transferring to the RFC in 1917. As a physical training instructor, one of Parker’s cadets was ‘Captain Windsor’ – the future King George VI. Parker was present when the RFC became the RAF in 1918, before leaving in 1920 to work for the Air Ministry. When the RAF Association’s Truro Branch first opened he was one of the first to join. In a later issue of Air Mail, Parker was confirmed as being the Association’s oldest member at the time. The accompanying photograph showed him resplendent in Association tie and pin badge.

From these earliest pioneers to the newest recruits, the RAF Association continues to provide support for every member of the RAF family who needs us. Not only during their time serving the nation, but for the rest of their lives.

Non-members can receive Air Mail, plus other membership benefits, by signing up here.

Featured image: Sydney Pegg on his final day in the RAF. ©Air Mail