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This story is taken from an interview with Wing Commander JH (Jack) Simpson, OBE, DFC, AE RAF retd. at the Dublin WW2 Commemoration, and has been added to the site with their permission. The authors fully understand the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was David Reid, and the transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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[You started flying at age 18, so you
wanted to be an RAF man from the word go]

No, I wanted to fly aeroplanes. I was not politically aware. The coming war did not interest me. All I wanted was to fly aeroplanes. Then I started flying at the weekends, at Sydenham. And I did about 60 hrs flying. Then the war was declared on 3rd Sept, and I was called up full-time in the Air Force.

[Full record:]
4 feb39 started flying aged 18yo
24 feb 39 solo before aged 19yo
feb 39 — oct 40 further training
oct 40 commenced ops Leuchars 233
dec 40 — aug 41 aldergrove 233
aug 41 — oct 41 st eval 233
oct 41 — dec 41 courses
dec 41 — sept 42 instructor — Thornaby
sept 42 — nov 42 ops — various stations, Cornwall 500
nov 42 — nov 43 Gib & N Africa 500
nov 43 — apr 44 Italy, Corsica, Sardinia 500
apr 44 — july 44 Staff job, Malta
july 44 — dec 44 Commanding 221 sqdn — Italy and Greece
Dec 44 — may 45 Hospital & Staff job, leghorn
May 45 — june 46 Commanding 38 sqdn, Italy & Malta
July 46 — Jan 48 UK — aircraft controller
Retired with rank Wg Cdr w.e.f 48

[NB: research indicates that 233 Sqdn was a Coastal Command unit consisting of Blenheims and Hudsons. They were tasked with destroying German U-boats, and would have been useless in the defence of Belfast from the Luftwaffe]

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