Airman 3rd class, Royal Flying Corps.

My Grandfather served in the Royal Flying Corps durring WW1. Here are his details. Airman 3rd Class 162865, Matthew Blood, Royal Flying Corps.
We know much about the officers who flew in WW1, but does anyone know what a simple Airman 3rd class would be doing?
I am sad to say I know little about the man as he died when I was very young.
Any help would as always be appriciated.

Hello there, first post on this forum, which I hope will be of use in your search for information.

Matthew Blood:

04-Jan-1887: Born Shepshed, Leicester
04-Aug-1913: Married Florrie
17-Jan-1917: Daughter born: Edith Olive
01-May-1918: Called up for service in the RAF: Trade – Misc (Bricklayer)

Address given as Church Street, Shepshed, Leics

25-Jun-1918: Posted to Manston
07-Oct-1918: Posted to RAF France; served at No. 1 Aircraft Depot (Guines)
10-Dec-1918: Posted to Home Establishment; Pulham
29-Jan-1919: Posted to West Drayton
13-Mar-1919: Posted to Harrowby Discharge Centre
12-Apr-1919: Discharged to Class G Reserve

Medal Entitlement: British War & Victory Medals.

I am currently researching certain RFC/RAF other ranks for an article and Mr Blood’s service record was in a file I recently consulted.

Best – Bill.

He would have received 1/- (one shilling per day). Boy entrants were accepted into the RAF,up until the early 1960s.

John

theres a grave in thornton hough from RFC days, and the poor souls rank is ‘boy’

True, but we usually only do events in summer, and it’s hot enough with coveralls over the wool shirt and trousers! Plus my jacket insignia is always changing, so be a bit of a pain to sew more things on/off it (it’s been marked up as Leicesters, West Yorks, Royal Engineers, no markings for the Hovis advert, and that’s just in one year!).

Currently battling my way through ‘Notes on rigging for Air Mechanics’ published in 1916 so i’m genned up for an event at Hendon

They did all sorts really, mechanic, rigging, to just starting up the engines and holding down the tails etc. I’ve got the uniform of an Air Mechanic 3rd class which I use at living history events when working with WW1 aircraft etc, also got a few documents

You should ‘promote’ yourself to AM1 and sew 2 blade prop badges on yer arms 😀

cheers baz

They did all sorts really, mechanic, rigging, to just starting up the engines and holding down the tails etc. I’ve got the uniform of an Air Mechanic 3rd class which I use at living history events when working with WW1 aircraft etc, also got a few documents

From memory also…in ‘flightpath’ FTC mentioned that there was one other airman pilot with RFC wings …quote ”but he was an AM1” 😀
Trenchard (ranked Major at that time ?)did not want FTC to go to france because of his specs,but he managed to anyway,for quite a while post WW1 he was Cierva’s test pilot on autogiros.

cheers baz

There were three distict parallel non commisioned ranks in the RFC Technical, Disiplinary, and Clerical. Air mechanic 3rd class was the lowest rank in the technical trades on 2/- (shillings per day). Disiplinary tended to use army ranks and clerical were various grades of Clerk. His pay was better than Disip 1/6d and clerical 1/8d per day in old money.
He probably joined the RFC late on as Airman 3 was not an early rank. His records might be at Kew and his medal entitlement on line(if any, ie if he did not serve overseas). His duties would be prop swinging, handling aircraft movements,fueling and assisting senior mechanics

A good book is A Contemptible Little Flying Corps.

John

Hi R and M
I did not know that such a rank existed in the RFC (AM3)
Have you ever read ‘Flightpath’ by Frank T Courtney?
He was an apprentice and got his ‘ticket’ at the Grahame White school at Hendon pre WW1.He joined the RFC as an AM2 (Airman 2nd class) ,due to a chronic pilot shortage and because he was already a civilian pilot he took on the less popular flying tasks and despite wearing spectacles was eventually given RFC wings whilst still an AM2.He eventually managed to wangle his way to france to operational sqdns and became a freelance test pilot post war.
Fascinating book by the way…really unputdownable 😀

Edit …FTC might have been an Air Mechanic 2nd class,so his duties might have been different to Airman (3,2,1) class ,away from home so cannot check,all from memory !!

regards baz