Through adversity to the stars

Today is the centenary of the founding of the RFC - the Royal Flying Corps, which was the forerunner of the RAF.

My father was in the RAF during WWII, but my grandfather was in the RFC from the beginning. Before that he had been flying with the Royal Navy which he joined in about 1907. In his career, apart from being in 'just' the RN and the RFC, saw him also in the RNAS - the Royal Naval Air Service and finally in the RAF when it was formed in 1918. He left the services in 1919 and joined - a flying school!

I'm lucky to have inherited hundreds of photos taken during WWI, of all sorts of aircraft, many of which had crashed:) Also his Pilot's log and a wonderfully illustrated log of the various planes he came into contact with (he was also a bit of an artist). Here is a selection.

The title by the way, is the English translation of the RFC motto: Per ardua ad astra, which I think is also still the motto of the RAF.