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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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John Ivan Roy b:
28 Mar1923
r: 4 Jan
1978
d: 2 Oct 2010
CB – xx xxx 1977, CBE – xx xxx 1971 (OBE - 10 Jun 1961, MBE - 1 Jan1952), CEng, FCMI, FRAeS
A/App: xx xxx 1938, LAC: xx xxx xxxx, Cpl: xx xxx xxxx, Sgt: xx xxx xxxx, Act Plt Off (P) (Emer): 27 Apr 1944, Plt Off (P) (Emer): 7 Sep 1944, Fg Off: 7 Sep 1945, Flt Lt: 27 Oct 1947, Sqn Ldr: 1 Jan 1955, Wg Cdr: 1 Jul 1959, Gp Capt: 1 Jan 1967, A/Cdre: 1 Jan 1971, AVM: 1 Jul 1974.
xx xxx 1938: Aircraft Apprentice, No 1 School of Technical Training, Halton (574620)
xx xxx xxxx: Fitter (E)
27 Apr 1944: Appointed to a commission in the Technical Branch
xx xxx xxxx: Technical Officer
1 Jul 1946: Appointed to a Permanent Commission in the rank of Flying Officer
xx xxx 1946: U/T Pilot, ?
xx xxx 1951: Engineering Officer, Hong Kong
xx xxx 1956: USAF Research and Development Establishment at Wright Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, Ohio
xx xxx 1961: Attended RAF Staff College
1 Jan 1962: Staff Officer, Directorate of Operational Requirements (C)/(3) [Space Directorate]
xx xxx 1966:
xx xxx 1968: Officer Commanding, No 23 Maintenance Unit/RAF Aldergrove
xx xxx 1970: Attended Royal College of Defence Studies
xx xxx 1971: Director of Engineering Policy
xx xxx 1973: Air Officer Engineering, HQ RAF Germany
The son of a RFC pilot, he attended Great Yarmouth Grammar School, he joined the RAF in 1938 as an apprentice and after qualifying continued his studies at Leicester Technical College, being commissioned into the Technical Branch in 1944. Specialising in salvage and repair, he lead teams to various stations in East Anglia to repair damaged bombers and in 1945 moved to the continent to recover and repair damaged fighters.
During his secondment to the USAF Research and Development Establishment together with Bill Elkins of the USAF he designed the crew station of the Mercury single seat space craft in which the first American astronauts entered the 'space race'. In fact NASA had hoped he would remain on in the USA after his four years to continue work on space vehicles but he was unable to get his release from the RAF.
In 1946 he was awarded a place on a scheme designed to give selected engineering and medical officers the opportunity to learn to fly.
Whilst working at the Ministry in the early 1960s he was involved in an Anglo /French project group on space flight but with little backing from the UK Government, he found this very frustrating, although he did receive approval for a military satellite communications system, which did eventually get built and enter service.
After retiring from the RAF he joined the British Aircraft Company (later British Aerospace) working in Saudi Arabia assisting the Royal Saudi Air Force with their Lightning fighters.
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