Off to be a pilot - Tony Cunnane's Life and Times

Continued from here

To say that I was flabbergasted when the AOC told me what he had done would be an understatement. Clearly either Dougie Fish or Hugh Lynch-Blosse had passed my letter on to the AOC when I had not really wanted that to happen. Some of my AEO contemporaries were outraged when the word leaked out; they thought I had abused my position. They were not in the least mollified when I passed the word around, discreetly so as not to upset the AOC, that I had not intended my letter to be taken seriously.

In fact there was one further hurdle I had to tackle before I could start my pilot training. I was summoned to the Ministry of Defence in London to be interviewed by the Deputy Director of Personnel (Air). It was the first time I had been to ‘Head Office’. I travelled by car and train from Mildenhall and presented myself in good time for the 11am interview. DDP(A), a group captain, kept me waiting in his outer office for about half an hour before I was ushered in by his secretary. I had done some research and I knew that he had been a Lightning squadron commander in his previous job. I had also learned that he had done all his service flying in single-seat fighter aircraft of one sort or another and had, according to my informants, little patience with, or liking for, non-pilot aircrew. I decided that it would be unwise to mention that I had not intended my letter to be forwarded beyond 3 Group HQ at Mildenhall.

"Come in Cunnane and sit down," said the Group Captain, rather curtly. He flicked, rather unnecessarily, through a blue Staff-in-Confidence personal file. "I have your letter to your AOC here," he continued, without having any eye contact with me. "A most remarkable letter I must say. Whatever possessed you to write such a letter?"

"I would have thought that was fairly obvious, sir," I replied. "As a good staff officer I wanted to ensure the AOC was aware of the unhappiness amongst his AEOs about their career prospects. I could simply have asked for an interview with my AOC but I decided to write that rather lengthy letter instead. The AOC told me that he approved of my letter and had forwarded it to the Air Secretary, Air Marshal Sir Brian Burnett, for a decision. I thought the whole matter was settled - I'm supposed to be starting my pilot training in a couple of weeks."

The AOC was two ranks higher, and the Air Secretary three ranks higher, than the Group Captain sititng in front of me.

"I’m aware of that and I cannot over-rule the Air Secretary. However, I wanted to make sure that you appreciate what you are taking on. Currently," he flicked through my file again as he spoke, "you’re a highly regarded officer and you could be in line for promotion in three or four years. If you go on a pilots’ course and fail you will never be able to revert to being an AEO and that will be the end of a promising career."

"I know that, sir," I replied.

"I expect you would like to go and have a bit of lunch and think it over," said the Group Captain. "Why not come back at 2-o-clock and let me know what you’ve decided."

"There’s no need, sir," I replied. "My mind is quite made up. I wish to accept the Air Secretary’s offer."

"Very well, Cunnane. Be it on your own head." He flung my personal file into his Out Tray and took up another from his In Tray. Clearly I was dismissed!

Air Marshal Smallwood dropped into my office at Mildenhall a couple of days later.

"I understand you were a little short with DDP(A). You'd better make sure you do well in your pilot training - he's not a man to be crossed and he'll not forget you. Good luck to you."

I seem to recall that I was very subdued and worried on the journey back to East Anglia. The enormity of what I had done was only then beginning to sink in. Nevertheless, there was now no going back and that was how I became the RAF’s oldest ever pilot student when I started my training at the age of 30.

Postscript 23 September 2011. The Daily Telegraph has just announced the death on 16 September 2011  of Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burnett GCB DFC FC BA at the grand age of 98. Although I never met Sir Brian there is no doubt that what he did on my behalf, as related on the paragraphs above, changed my career and life for the better and I have always  been grateful for that.

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