Another day in Paradise .

[Air Ministry .]

And F2B ! , Bristol F2B Fighter ,



Major Keith Park standing next to his Bristol F2B Fighter.
Park flew with 48 Squadron, he and his gunner, Arthur Noss claimed five aircraft destroyed and 14 (and one shared) "out of control". They were was also shot down twice.
Park would go on to command 11 Group as an Air-vice Marshal, responsible for the fighter defence of London and southeast England, in April 1940.

Toffee noed accent neccesary due to english clas structure , not limp wristed . A.o.C. 11 Group , Then Training Command , then Malta , then S.E.A.C. , not bad for an olde git













Battle of Britain commander Sir Keith Park in Malta for the inauguration of RAF Safi, May 1943. His personal Supermarine Spitfire Mk V wears his rank pennant
Was for comunication , but doubt armament unloaded .

 Air Officer Commanding, No. 11 Group
Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park M.C., D.F.C.

Born in New Zealand, 1893, Park served in World War One as a gunner before being transferred to the Royal Flying Corps during 1917 and receiving a commission in the Royal Air Force. He commanded No: 48 Squadron in 1918, the first to be equipped with the Bristol Fighter. He was awarded the Military Cross (M.C.) and the Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.).

After RAF Staff College he was appointed Air Attaché to Argentina and by 1938 had become Dowding's right-hand man as senior Staff Officer in Fighter Command before being appointed as Air Officer Commanding of No: 11 Group. Like Dowding, Park was transferred to a new command (a Flying Training Group) after the Battle of Britain due to his criticism of the “Big Wing” tactics.
He became Air Officer Commanding in Malta, 1942, before the appointments of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East in 1944 and Allied Air Commander-in-Chief of South-East Asia Command in 1945.

After his retirement from the R.A.F., he returned to New Zealand where he died in 1975, aged 82



Oh Deere .

[John Park]

If I ever find that I'm related to him, however distantly, I will be a very proud man.  When I was a small boy in the early 1950s, my father would take me on Sunday mornings to the nearest main-line railway station, where we'd spend an hour watching the trains go through: they were all pulled by steam power, and seeing one of the 'Battle of Britain' class locomotives was a high point - the two names I remember best were Fighter Pilot and, of course, Sir Keith Park.  Then back on the BSA A7 Twin and home to Sunday Dinner.  It's good to have memories like those.