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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