The career of Group Captain Roy Perry
The following text is courtesy of his son, Robert Perry.
Roy Perry completed his secondary education at Ashford Grammar School in the summer of 1939, just a few weeks before his 18th birthday. Too young to join up when war broke out, he joined Shell as a trainee in Cheshire.
Early in 1940, he and a colleague were at the cinema in Chester one Saturday afternoon. During the intermission, an advertisement appeared indicating that the RAF was now recruiting young men of their age; so they didn’t bother to see the rest of the film but went straight to the RAF Recruiting Office in Chester High Street.
Roy was sent as a Leading Aircraftman to the Initial Training Wing in Torquay, Devon and commenced his basic flying training in December 1940 at Sywell (even flying on Christmas Day!).
April 1941 saw him continuing his flying training at the RAF College Cranwell, followed by the No. 2 School of Air Navigation at Cranage in July having been commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and subsequently No. 14 OTU at Cottesmore in September.
January 1942 saw him posted to 144 Squadron at RAF Hemswell flying Hampdens, with his first operational mission on January 22nd. With 5 operational missions behind him, in March he undertook his conversion to the Manchester at 25 OTU at RAF Bircotes. He was posted onto 49 Squadron in April 1942, initially flying Manchesters then converting to the Lancaster.
In July1943 he was promoted to Flying Officer. After a full tour of operational missions, he was posted out at the end of December. There followed 4 months flying on the Beam Approach Training Flight and 3months with 1485 Target Towing and Gunnery Flight, prior to 2 months conversion onto the Mosquito on 1655 MTU.
Having been promoted to Flight Lieutenant in August 1943 and posted to 139 (Jamaica) Squadron, he immediately started a full tour of 33 operations on the Pathfinder Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in June 1944. On completion of this operational tour, his time until VE Day was spent as a flying instructor on a number of Units, including 18 and 27 OTU, and he was made Acting Squadron Leader in February 1945.
In July 1945 he was appointed as Officer Commanding No19 Staging Post, Gatow (Berlin), and he was transferred to the Royal Air Force (General Duties Branch) in September 1945 in the substantive rank of Flight Lieutenant, retaining the Acting Rank of Squadron Leader. He remained at Gatow until February 1946 when he became Officer Commanding the Main Staging Post, Gibraltar. Returning to the UK in early 1947 and reverting to his substantive rank of Flight Lieutenant, he served for 2 years in a staff appointment in the Air Ministry. Promoted to the substantive rank of Squadron Leader in 1949, he was seconded to the Ministry of Supply at RAF Defford for experimental flying duties as a Squadron Commander.
In 1952 he served for one year on the staff at Headquarters Maintenance Command, and this was followed by a year as a student on the RAF Staff College, Andover. Following conversion to the Meteor in 1954, he was appointed as Personal Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Middle East Air Force initially in the Canal Zone and then Cyprus. Returning to the UK in 1957, and converting to the Vampire, he served at No 8 Flying Training School, Swinderby.
Promoted to the rank of Wing Commander in mid 1958, he served as the senior administrative planner in Headquarters RAF Germany and 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force until 1961. Returning once again to the UK, he undertook specialist training at Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA prior to being appointed as Officer Commanding Operations Wing for the deployment of squadrons of Thor Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles at RAF Driffield and 4 satellite stations.
In 1963, following the end of the Thor era and the closure of RAF Driffield, he became a student at the College of Air Warfare, RAF Manby, following which he served as a member of the Directing Staff of the same course from 1964 to 1966.
Promoted to the rank of Group Captain on 1 January 1966, he was appointed as Station Commander of RAF Oakington (No. 5 Flying Training School). In late 1968 he moved to the NATO Headquarters Allied Forces Southern Europe in Naples as Chief Air Branch.
Although he had been selected for promotion to Air Rank, he chose to take premature retirement in 1970 under the arrangements for the introduction of the Military Salary.
Shortly after leaving the Royal Air Force, he was appointed as an Air Advisor to the Singapore Armed Forces as Officer Commanding Tengah Air Base.
He returned to the UK in 1972 and spent the following nearly 20 years as a Senior Planning Inspector with the Department of the Environment.
He passed away aged 71 in June 1993.