Page 18 - Demo

18%u0004%u0010%u000c#%u0001%u0007%u00103%u0006%u000b%u0006ffi%u000b%u0001%u0006%u0009%u000f%u0010%u0001%u0003$%u000c%u0006%u0009%u0004%u0005%u0005%u0006#,%u0006%u0009-%%u0006%u0009%u0013+%u0015/%u0006%u00094%u0014%u0014%u0015/,)%u0006Colin Cummings served in the Supply Branch for 31 years. After a series of station tours, mostly in the Far East, he spent a significant element of hisservice involved with IT systems, within the Supply Branch and in the Directorate of Flight Safety, eventually becoming the first Supply Officer to manage an aircraft Support Authority (the Jaguar). Author of a series of books on aircraft accidents, he holds an RAFVR(T) commission and is a member of the RAFHS Executive Committee. The Second World War saw a major strengthening of the RAF by the addition of many thousands of men and women from the occupied countries and you will read about these people in later papers. However, by far the largest and most effective contributions to the RAF came from the Commonwealth countries and it is this effort which I shall summarise in this paper. First, however, I shall briefly consider some other non8UK citizens who served with, or in support of, the RAF but who fall outside the main thrust of this presentation. These fall into two categories: individuals and formed groupings. At the start of World War II, the RAF was already employing numbers of Commonwealth personnel and these were almost exclusively aircrew on short8service commissions who had enlisted pre8war. The threat of war and its subsequent reality brought forth a rush of enthusiastic young men from the Dominions and countries which were neutral. Terence O%u2019Brian, an Australian who served with distinction in Coastal and Bomber Commands before fighting throughout the campaigns in South East Asia, describes in his book. Chasing After Danger,1 how he abandoned his life as a planter in the Solomons and made his way to England on the Imperial Airways flying boat service to join up. Others, similarly disposed, also travelled great distances to %u2018do their bit%u2019: Michael Bentine, the comedian, was eventually to wear his RAF uniform with the shoulder flash %u2018Peru%u2019, whilst others crossed from the USA into Canada and joined the RCAF, despite committing a federal offence in so doing.