Born in a darkly depressing mining valley in South Wales, I went to the local Grammar School (‘County’ School’ then) via the "11 Plus".  This event coincided with the outbreak of the Second World War, and soon my strongest desire was to join the RAF to become a Spitfire pilot.  I was not alone.

Unable to wait for what then seemed an age I sat the Apprentice entrance examination and was called to Halton for induction into the 50th. Entry (48M3).  I failed the medical, being declared ‘too thin’.  Six months later, fatter and keener than ever, I was accepted into the 51st.Entry at Cranwell (48M9).  I learnt many things during those three years, not least of which was a measure of integrity and recognition of and sympathy with the needs of others.  All very salutary stuff.  From the technical tuition, despite some considerable effort, I gained and retained little.

St. Athan, the ARF’s "Improver" station, known to many as "Stalag Luft 19", was not too far from Cardiff, and taking advantage of that, I spent my weekends and all my pay on flying lessons at Cardiff. £3.10s for an hour’s tuition.  Of course I flew my ‘Tiger’ up the valley and scared my parents - and myself - severely.  The Tiger Moth was my first solo aircraft.

My first ‘proper’ posting was to Little Rissington (where my Number 2 daughter was married many years later).  On arrival, I was told by the ‘Chiefy’ that there was no such trade as Air Radio Fitter.  Most of my fellow airmen were National Service conscripts, and they soon bestowed upon me the soubriquet "Dai Regular".  Later, when they learned that I had no knowledge of the location of various bits and pieces in aircraft, that changed !

Only two months at Rissington and my flying training course began, and geographically it went like this.....Wittering..Jurby (IOM)..Feltwell..Swinderby..Leeming.  And then to my first Squadron, No. 151 at Leuchars.   Between Leeming and Leuchars was Chivenor in Devon, and the three weeks I spent there were unusual I think.   I had been flying, both at Swinderby and Leeming, Mosquitos, but 151 was in the process of post-war reforming.,..with Vampire Nfs !!  So, to the disgust of the CO there, I was ‘attached’ to his Ground Attack OCU in order to "Gain Jet Experience", minimum of 5 hours.  I read pilots’ notes ‘til they were engraved on my gray matter (being kept hanging around in the crew room waiting for an available Vampire Mk 5).  No trainers in those days, so it was out of the Mossie with its enormous pair of Merlins and into that tiny machine.  I won’t pretend that I was no more than a tad apprehensive.

Whilst stationed at Leuchars I met Rosemary via her Dad who talked me down in below limits GCA one day.  Rosemary and I were married in Sutton Coldfield in '54.

Then came the well-worn Night Fighter trail - two operational tours, instructing at Leeming (from where I went to N. Luffenham instructing on NF 14 Meteors.) and, if you had enough service time left, another Squadron.   I didn't, and went to Halton as a Flight Commander in 3 Wing, dishing out the occasional (!) jankers, and - much more enjoyable - flying the boys in Chipmunks.  I enjoyed my time there and believe I did a good job from all points of view.

I flew Tigers, Prentices, Harvards, Mossies, Meteors, Vampires and several other ‘little’ ones.  I was a Fighter Weapons Instructor (three months course at Leconfield) and enjoyed the whole RAF thing enormously.

As a civvy, I did 18 years with Ferranti, Edinburgh after I had done a little ‘funny flying’ for MoD and was supposed to carry on doing so with Ferranti, but that went pear shaped and I became a "Liaison Engineer", which meant spending nearly a year at Coltishall with the Lightning Proving people.

After the 18 years I, went ‘bang’, chucked-in my job and bought a lovely pub in Burford, but after a year, my wife, more or less, said ‘pub or me’, so I sold up handsomely and trained as a hypnotherapist and set up in Cheltenham which was said to be full of neurotics.  I did this for some time before, out of the blue, came a letter from Bae at Filton.  After two interviews, I became a Project Manager and packed-up after exactly ten years, done.  'Retired' was not for me, so I took over the tuck shop at a College of F.E. nearby and spent ten years there too, by which time I was, as near as dammit, 70.

I have two beautiful daughters, each having two girls and a boy. Rosemary and I are 'going for gold" !

FIN.