South Yorkshire Times February 2, 1957
Memories of the R.F.C.
Swinton Man who was recruit 1740.
Reminiscences of the old days of the Royal Flying Corps recall last week by one of the first men to join it at the beginning of the 1914 – 18 World War, Mr T.W.Eyre of the Masonic Hall, Swinton.
The occasion was a meeting of the R.A.F. Association at the Mexborough Drill Hall. There Mr Eyre met a former colleague of the R.F.C. days, Wing Commander J. Bradshaw from York, who is the Chairman of the Yorkshire Region of the Association and who was an A.C.2 at the outset of the first War when Mr Eyre was a corporal.
Mr Eyre can remember first going down to Farnborough, the” of the R.F.C.and been told by the officer in charge that the he was really too small for the R. F.C.as he was specially recommended he would “be given three weeks training, and then no one knows what.”
“Those were the days,” recalled Mr Eyre, “when a pilot was nearly a nervous wreck, and almost invariably stammered.”
It took a lot of courage in days of the R.F.C.to fly a plane.
“None of the modern securities end,” said Mr Eyre. As a fitter in those days at the beginning of the war, I can tell you that if the engine bolted in all right everyone was satisfied.”
He recall the words of a capable pilot of those days, when asked if he could fly a rather insecure looking biplane – “Fly that – good heavens, I could fly a beef tin if you put an engine inside it.”
Mr Eyre thinks that is old RFC number – 1740 – puts him about the 1st to volunteer at the outset of the world War. He would like to hear from any challengers.
Mr Eyre spent only a short time at Farnborough, after a few weeks in the Corps he was sent over to Pont-de-Larche in France, where unit took over a château, home of a famous French operatic writer stop
But before he went he remembers one particular incident at Farnborough when, with a pilot, Lt Moorhouse, P.C., he unearthed an old engine which the lieutenant believed to be the 1st to be used in a plane.
Shortly after this Moorhouse was killed, and Mr Eyre was posted to France. Mr Eyre wonders where the engine got to.