C.A.Lewis

[ace-rimmer]

Hi all,

This is a little thread on my great uncle Cecil.
Cecil Arthur Lewis was a pilot during the first war, he flew first with the RFC as a spotter and later as a recon pilot, then a fighter pilot in the SE5a, although he always said he preferred the sopwith!. He flew with some of the best british pilots of WW1 and was awarded the DFC,DSO and bar.
After WW1 he went to china to train pilots for the fledgling Chinese air force and commercial fliers on trade routes.He said that the chinese were the worst pilots and was frightened out of his wits every time he handed control of the kite over to one!!!. He then came home and wrote his first memoir, Sagittarius Rising, about his exlpoits during the war and his time in china, He also became good friend with Bernard Shaw and later started the makings of now what is the BBC.

The second world war for him was the last time he would fly, He was first stationed at RAF Uxbridge with my grandfather, and then at RAF Cranwell training pilots for basic flying and later combat flying, aerobatics.He was instructor to some of the top british pilots of WW2 and the battle of Britain.

After WW2 he wrote another book, Sagittarius surviving, and All my yesterdays before concentrating on family life and other pursuits.

He always maintained he was just at the right place at the right time, and never had so much as a scratch during the war, although fliying over the front during the great war he said were some of the saddest and most horrific sights of his life, and preyed that later generations of family and people would never have to witness anything like that again.

We are very proud of him and all he achieved.
"smoke me a kipper....I'll be back for breakfast"

ace-rimmer
Recruit

Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:29 pm