Yep, this is Stafford Roger.

As for the RAF in WW1, I presume it was the same as the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, the RFC branch of which became the WRAF – married women were allowed, however only if their husband was on another front (so you would be alright if based in the UK and husband was in France, or in France if your husband was in Italy/Salonika etc)

I do have a few other photos, but I was mostly there for the WW1 stuff, will try and add more later.

Cheers, Rob

No problem there, i’ll have my student loan next time!

John, I think i’ve figured out the mystery behind the Bristol’s Lewis and why it has the Norman Vane sight. A photo in the book ‘Pi in the Sky’ which shows the top Lewis installation (and is probably what the museum’s example was based on) has it with the Norman Vane sight. Presuming it’s not easily removeable, it would still be there as Lewis’s with the forward muzzle clip were used on the Scarff ring too, although they didn’t need them, with the Norman Vane sight and the large aiming ring.

This means that the Lewis’s would have been interchangeable with either the Scarff ring or the top Lewis installation (which at least two other 22 Sqn Bristol’s had), which of course makes sense because if you go to the armoury and they didn’t have a Lewis available without the Norman Vane/forward clip, you could be stuck without a Lewis!

The following was posted on The Aerodrome;

On 2 April 1918, 2nd Lt Ernest David Jones and 2nd Lt Robert Francis Newton, No 52 Sqn, were shot down and killed in RE8 A3868, the 75th victory credited to Manfred von Richthofen. The date of the deaths of these two has also been recorded as 3 April – most likely the result of being reported late in the day. Why they shoud have been reported as an F2b crew is a bit of a mystery.

So it appears the author spelt Jones’ name wrong, and for some bizarre reason managed to confuse an RE8 of 52 Squadron with a Bristol of 22. Certainly worrying about information in the rest of the book

The Osprey book mentions them as 2 Lt ED James and 2 Lt RF Newton.

Cheers, Rob