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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0840.PDF
FLIGHT, AUGUST 7, 1931 THE DARK BLUE AEROPLANES : Four " Bristol Fighters " and eight " Lynx-Avros " at Eastchurch. A dark blue line is painted on each fuselage. (FLIGHT Photo.) the Army. Air Force officers must be taught to fly beforethey get their commissions, and something roughly equivalent to the O.T.C. was obviously necessary. Thesquadron provides this flying training. This year five members of the O.U.A.S. have been selected for regularcommissions. But the gain to the State does not end there. In the present composition of the O.U.A.S. there are26 members who are officers in the Air Force Reserve. That is a valuable and very inexpensive addition to thedefence forces of the country. Each year about 20 K.A.F.O. are provided by Oxford. Of course, the Reserveofficers get training at the civilian schools as well as in the University squadron, and consequently make fasterprogress. The composition of the squadron is distinctly interesting.The majority of the men are reading classical schools, but they seem to fly none the worse than those with anengineering turn of mind. Among the present 75 there are six Rhodes scholars. Most of the colleges are representedaccording to their size. Christ Church, as the largest college, has 10 members. Balliol comes second with six.Athletics are largely represented, but, strange to relate, the K.A.F. medical othcers sometimes turn down aprominent athlete. Quite recently a pole-jump Blue was refused ; which certainly seems astonishing. The groundsfor such rejections, we understand, are usually not really physical, but are on account of eyesight. Still, athletes doloom large in the Oxford Squadron. It would be strange if it were otherwise, considering the numbers who wantto join it. II. R. A. Edwards and Clive were mentioned above. They won the Goblets at Henley. Both theEdwards brothers have rowed in Varsity crews. In the last Varsity race the youngerEdwards did not row, as he was busy over his Schools and could not afford the time.But at Henley this year he rowed No. 5 in the London VIII, which won the Grand ;and he rowed 3 and steered in the London four which won the Stewards. Anothermember of the squadron is D. C. G. Raikes, who kept wicket so well in thehistoric cricket match this year, and only let five byes be added to the huge Cam-bridge total. Another member is \V. L. Lang, who won the long jump tor thecombined English Universities against Yale and Harvard. H. G. Lafieur is amember of the Oxford Ice Hockey team which beat practically all Europe. He isa French Canadian. Mr. Belton has already seen something of life outsideacademic circles, for he has worked in Persia for the Anglo-Persian Oil Co., andclaims to have discovered a valuable well himself. Another member of the squadron Flt.-Lt. Mellersh, A.F.C. discourses on theelevators. (FLIGHT Photo.) is to join the staff of the Royal Aircraft Establishment.Taking things all round, the above by no means exhaustive account of the members and their qualifica-tions shows that they are a very useful lot of men, and it is good to think that they are all members of the ilyingcommunity. The winning of the King's Cup by a recent member of the squadron on a day which required thehighest degree of piloting skill is not the least ground which the Oxford Squadron has for feeling satisfied withits work. It is to be regretted that there is no Chair of Aero-nautics at Oxford. If there can only be one such institu- tion at a residential University, then it must be admittedthat Cambridge, with its well-known devotion to the sciences, had the prior claim. Still, it would be a goodthing if one could be founded at Oxford as well. If that were to happen, it would tend to increase the dignity ofthe squadron. Dons have a great capacity for despising pursuits which fall outside their own little circle of in-terests ; but no Don can pretend to despise a science which can boast a professorial Chair at his own University. Fromthat it would follow that the said Don must respect men, even undergraduate men, who pursue the art with whichthat science deals. Dons have come to realise that there is merit in gaining a Blue. They reached that point someyears ago. We wonder, are the two Dons and the one lecturer who belong to the Oxford Squadron typical ofOxford Dons in their attitude towards flying, or is it still generally regarded as one of those foolish things whichundergraduates will persist in doing? The aeroplane cannot yet be regarded as the motor car is regarded, with 783
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