LAC. John William Hayhurst
Royal Air Force
from:Sunderland
John Hayhurst was born to Harry Hayhurst, who himself had been in World War 1. From the couple of letters that have been kept, it would appear that his plan was to help his Mother by signing up and sending money back home. He was, at one point, unable to write home and got a message back to his mother stating that he was well and enjoying his time in the RAF. His service in the RAF was not something that he ever spoke about. He was so good at shooting, that he got banned from the funfair in Portsmouth, where he moved after the War. It was though he was a gunner, however records reveal that he was basically a scavenger.
He went by ship to Egypt and records at Kew indicate that there was hardly ever any flying in that area due to poor weather conditions. The people who went out to take parts of planes that were shot down are mentioned however and he was part of that team. He always had a desire to fly, which one can presume is why he signed up in the first place. Records also show that he was in hospital for a considerable amount of time. It is not known why, but he did tell his wife when she asked about his scar, that it was him, or so one can presume it was some sort of injury. He was then put on outlook duty.
A Visit to the RAF Museum revealed, 42 OTU was a Training Unit at Ashbourne (Glider Squadron) Whitleys were used to pull up the gliders, he was part of 6644 Servicing Echelon.
His character is shown as "Very Good" and he moved through the ranks from AC2, Aircraftsman 2nd Class, to AC1, Aircraftsman 1st Class and then to Leading Aircraftsman. He passed an Armament Course with 50% and then the next exam with 62.3% and LAC exam 82%
