The Few

Jimmy Corbin, Rodney Scrase and Peter Ayerst were kind enough to join us as Guests of Honour for the GForces Office Opening in July 2007. As well as being true heroes and men to whom we owe a great debt, they are also true gentlemen and forever friends of GForces.

Called up in 1939 to carry out his elementary training at Derby, Kent based Jimmy Corbin was soon posted to 7 OTU for conversion onto the Spitfire. Serving with 66 Squadron from August 1940 he remained with them until September 1941 when he was posted to 53 OTU as an instructor in the Gunnery Flight. In May 1942 Jimmy Corbin was promoted to Warrant Officer and was commissioned in June. He returned to operations in September 1942 joining 72 Squadron at Ayr.

Joining the RAF in 1938 on a short service commission Peter Ayerst was despatched to France when the war broke out. He is one of the few RAF pilots who flew operationally from the beginning to the end of World War II. Peter Ayerst experienced action in France, Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain, El Alamein and the D-Day landings. Peter flew the Spitfire aeroplane on intruder sorties over France before and during D-Day, on bomber escort duty against V weapons sites and in support of mass daylight raids deep into Germany.

After nearly 200 hours of training Rodney won his pilot's wings and went on to learn the fighter pilot's trade during campaigns in Tunisia, Malta, Sicily and Italy. As part of 72 Squadron Rodney completed 200 operational flights, in all 275 flight hours. Of that total 199 were in Spitfire Mk IX's, a plane that he holds very dear to his heart.