RAF’s 106th Birthday: Leeds Grandad Malcolm Shedlow

National World - LocalTV

Ahead of the Royal Air Force marking 106 years since forming on 1st April, we meet Leeds grandad Malcolm Shedlow who worked in the RAF but only flew for the first time aged 90.

Transcript

00:00 I can't stop telling my children what I did when I was in the RAF and of course

00:08 I told them that I was a fighter pilot but they never believed me.

00:15 After joining the RAF aged 18 for National Service, Malcolm Shedlow began his

00:19 training in Padgate before moving to the Records Office in Gloucester.

00:24 The RAF personnel that were abroad came back to Gloucester to be demobbed so I was one of the

00:31 personnel that did the paperwork.

00:34 An opportunity then arose for Malcolm to move to Lytham St Anne's.

00:38 I was there for the next 18 months waiting of course for the Germans to come which they didn't

00:45 because they knew I was there you see. I did actually see a plane in the two years

00:51 that I was in the Royal Air Force but I never actually went into a plane until

00:57 last year to France. My son had bought a house there and they persuaded me to go.

01:05 Malcolm received VIP treatment on his Jet 2 flight and got the opportunity to

01:09 meet the pilot and sit in the cockpit.

01:12 The takeoff was very very smooth and once we were in the air it didn't seem as if we were moving and yet I'm

01:21 sure we must have been doing a few hundred miles an hour. I would advise

01:25 anyone that has never flown before not to worry at all because you're in good hands.

01:33 With the Royal Air Force marking its foundation on the 1st of April, Malcolm has fond memories of his time there.

01:40 I was very happy to go into the RAF as opposed to going in the Army or the Navy.

01:46 I was a bit sad when I got demobbed to be truthful because I was very happy there.

01:50 I did an important job actually even though it wasn't flying.

01:55 I don't think I was educated enough for that to be truthful.

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