Back Ground to the Sir Andrew Humphrey Trophy

Although Sir Andrew Humphrey’s athletic career was limited to his time at Cranwell in 1939-40, he enthusiastically accepted the mantle of President of the RAF Athletic Association in 1968 and he remained until his death, in 1977, a constant supporter of all its activities. Sir Andrew immersed himself in the sport and was on first name terms with the RAF squad which included the youthful Don Halliday, Andy Williams and Roger Clark to name but a few. His love of athletics is remembered annually with the award of the Sir Andrew Humphrey Trophy to an individual who has made an ‘outstanding contribution’ to RAF athletics – an individual can only receive the award once. We are honoured that Lady Agnes Humphrey has been with us annually to present the Trophy to the recipients. Only a small number of new athletes to our teams, the majority of whom were born after Sir Andrew’s death, will be aware of the calibre of the man who lends his name to the most prestigious Trophy that the Association can award. This short history of Sir Andrew’s sparkling career attempts to redress this situation.

Roll of Honour

Most of the Previous Winners of the Sir Andrew Humphrey Trophy

MARSHAL OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE SIR ANDREW HUMPHREY
GCB OBE DFC AFC

In September 1940, 20 months after he entered the RAF College at age 18, he flew his first operational sortie and on 4 December, he claimed his first He111. For his ‘great keeness’ in pursuing further victories against enemy bombers he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941. After a short period as an instructor he returned to operational flying with a newly formed Hurricane squadron, where he achieved the Squadron’s first ‘kills’ by shooting down two Me109s from a formation of six that he had attacked. Then, in 1943, he was selected for the specialised low level attack role, remaining in this role for the rest of the war, working first in the Middle and then Far East.

He returned home in May 1946 to learn the art of photographic reconnaissance and, with 82 Squadron, based near Nairobi, he was involved in the first aerial mapping survey of British Africa flying Lancasters, amongst them PA474 which still flies today with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Flying exploits continued and in December 1953 he piloted ARIES IV, a Canberra B2, on its record-breaking flight from Cape Town to London, and in 1954 he flew the same aircraft on the first jet flight over the North Geographic Pole. He was also the first senior officer to fly the RAF’s first supersonic fighter, the Lightning.

His flair for technical detail and wide flying experience enabled him to make a major impact on the future of operational efficiency and flight safety standards of the RAF and for his work in Operational Research he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, an honour of rare exception for a Group Captain. In 1964, at the age of 44, he became AOC Air Forces Middle East and was subsequently promoted to Air Marshal in 1967. Although his career had hitherto been very largely connected with operational flying and command, he was appointed Air Member for Personnel. During his tenure, he had to address the manpower cuts that would come from the decision to withdraw from East of Suez, the personnel implications of merging the UK Commands, the introduction of the Graduate Entry Scheme and the negotiations over the introduction of the military salary.

At the end of 1970, he took over Strike Command, where he became the first commander with responsibility for the entire operational air force in the United Kingdom. He saw his most important task as the reversal of the run down of the Country’s air defences that had taken place in the 1960s, an issue he took with him when he was appointed Chief of the Air Staff in 1974. As Chief, he made a vital personal contribution to the future of the RAF at a time of great change and economic difficulty, gaining the greatest respect from the other service chiefs in projecting the importance of air power and the need for close inter-Service co-operation. Sir Andrew was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in October 1976, having long been marked as the obvious successor. Tragically, he died just 3 months later of pneumonia, soon after being taken ill following a visit to the armed forces in Norway in very cold weather.

‘Even in a service that has never found itself short of talent’, wrote Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy, ‘it has been rare to find in one man such skill in the air, so powerful an intellect and so warm a human being. He was unquestionably a great airmen.’

A Collection of Memories of Sir Andrew Humphrey

LADY AGNES HUMPHREY

Not very long before we left Aden in December 1967 – and yes, believe it or not, it is all that time ago since the British withdrawal from the Protectorate – Andrew had a letter from Air Chief Marshal Sir David Lee from whom he was going take over as Air Member for Personnel in the Ministry of Defence on his return to London. In it he wrote ‘……..and by the way, I will now be retiring from the Service and though it isn’t in any way part of the job, I am also President of the Royal Air Force Athletics Association. I don’t know but I am wondering whether you might be interested in taking on that as well. Perhaps you would like to think about it.’ No need to, for he immediately jumped at the chance and the rest, as they say, is history. All his life, Andrew was passionate about athletics and had it not been wartime when he went to Cranwell he was sure to have been, right from the start, an extremely active, utterly dedicated and possibly pretty successful member of any athletics team.

I’ll never forget going to our fist Championships in the summer of 1968 which were held in those days at Uxbridge and could I possibly be right in thinking it was a cinder track? Things have obviously and inevitably moved on considerably and changed in so many ways since then but there still remains one thing which couldn’t or wouldn’t ever change and that is the immediate warm feeling we got all those years ago of being welcomed into a family – a very close family – and it’s just the same, I know, for any new member joining the Association to this day.

When your Chairman very kindly asked me to write a few words perhaps recalling two or three of my most memorable moments from coming to the Championships for an unbroken 37 years, I am afraid I simply couldn’t comply. Each one has been as memorable and as special as the last and the next so all I can do is to take this very welcome opportunity of thanking you more than words can ever say for your unfailing kindness, your hospitality and your friendship over all this time. One of the highlights of my year is being with you for the annual presentation of the Andrew Humphrey Cup.

WALLY BATCHELOR

I was the Championships Secretary in 1965 and I remember well the Inter-Services Championships that year, held on the old cinder track at RAF Uxbridge on a hot and somewhat glorious day. Both the RAF and WRAF teams won their respective championship trophies; memorable because for the men’s team, this was to be the start of a run of 19 consecutive successes.

From 1966 to 1969, I served in Germany and continued contact with RAF athletics by arranging a fixture for visiting Command RAFAA teams. A significant fixture was arranged during this period (1968). A match was arranged between the RAFAA and a team selected from the four nations which formed the Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF) ie the Belgian Air Force, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Luftwaffengruppe Nord (half the German Air Force) and RAF Germany. A formidable team! The event was held at RAF Rheindahlen and was a huge success, with full international athletes competing in both teams; the RAF team wining the match in the last event. A time to remember, showing the strength of the RAF team at that time.

Several individual successes figure highly in my memory. In an RAFAA fixture against Catalonia, held in Barcelona in 1964, I was fortunate to record an Olympic qualifying jump made by Derek Boosey in the triple jump. This necessitated several late night telephone calls by Dan Davies to the BAF to endeavour to obtain Derek’s inclusion in the British team. On another occasion when Derek had taken part in a British overseas international match, it was reported in an article in the national press that he was a good ambassador for the UK and a great credit to the RAF. Wonderful memories of an RAF athlete.

Finally, I would like to mention one particular race, which will always remain an unforgettable moment. During the RAF team’s long successful run in the Inter-Services in the ‘60s and ‘70s, at a championship held at Cosford, the RAF team in the final race, the 4 x 400m relay, needed to finish in 2nd place to win the championship. I cannot remember the full complement of the team, which included Mike Delaney and Andy Williams, whose performances I remember well. At the final baton change the RAF team was comfortably ahead of the Navy but some distance behind the Army. The championship trophy was assured! However, it was not the final runner’s intention to finish second in the race and in a magnificent final ‘leg’ Andy Williams went on to win. A truly memorable team captain’s effort!

I was fortunate to be associated with the RAFAA during what was perhaps its most successful period. I firmly believe this success was not only due to the strength of the star performers of the time, many international athletes, but also to the fantastic team spirit, every member of the team giving his/her utmost in every competition. Happy and memorable times.

ROGER CLARK

My, hopefully unique reflection among the LVPs is of my first Royal Air Force Athletic Championship, a grand affair held over 3 days in June 1964 on and off the cinders at RAF Uxbridge. Some gathering this was, not just an athletics meeting rather a mini Games with about 500 runners, jumpers and throwers assembled with a whole range of aspirations. Round after round of competition in the sprints and middle distances to whittle down entries to the last 6 worthy of gracing an RAF track final and serious elimination trials for the field events. Sharing a leaky wooden hut at the furthest end of the Uxbridge estate overlooking a tempting golf course which sadly was ‘out of bounds’ to runners, I witnessed the nerves and smelt the embrocation of highly strung thoroughbreds from Transport, Coastal, Flying Training, signals, Bomber and other Commands. This was the Olympics for 95% of the competitors, the pinnacle of their season, the real test.

This 20 year old technician was from Fighter Command and had been prepared for the event through Group and Command Championships and a special training camp at Bentley Priory – the weekend before the Championship was probably too late! I felt so sorry for the athletes from Scotland and Cornwall who got knocked out on the first day and were dispatched back to their unit. Probably took them 2 days to return – even Bristol was 4 hours from London in those days and there were no motorways or flights to use. No early exit for young Clark though, albeit I was 4th and slowest qualifier in my One Mile heat. Nerves perhaps? Well at least I had a day off before the final. The final definitely got to me and I lacked the confidence that had won me several junior titles that summer. This was the big league, senior competition and, although I improved on my qualifying performance, I was disappointed to finish 5th behind the ebullient and experienced favourite, the RAF No 1. I learned much from the experience and how better to prepare and deal with championships and ‘big meet’ occasions but it took time and effort.

The character and prestige of the Championships may have changed over the years but, to my mind, a Royal Air Force winners medal is worth achieving and I take my hat off to those among today’s finalists who aspire to win or, if they can’t, to be proud of their performance. To those who don’t get to the top of the rostrum this year, let the experience strengthen you for the future.

DAN DAVIES

When the Chairman asked me to write a few words about RAF Championship memories I found that no one Championship stood out. In the 1950s and early 1960s at Uxbridge my memory is of the grandstand always being full on the final day of the 3 day event with the centre portion all RAFAA guests.

On the competition side in the mid-50s the sprints were probably the main highlight with two GB internationals, Roy Sandstrom and Dave Segal, battling for the championship but with others ready to pounce if either was below his best. A vivid memory was of Geaff Elliot, the AAA Decathlon champion, winning the 120 yards hurdles after deliberately knocking down all except the first hurdle (the rule has since been changed). In the late 60s and early 70s the Hammer event was always interesting winner in doubt until the last throw, until Brice Fraser came along in 1971 to win each year. The 400m event also produced top class performances in this period and close competition. Other memories are of Pat Ranger’s domination of the 3 miles until Derek Ibbotson’s arrival in 1955 and the close and intriguing competition in the 1 mile/1500m on many occasions.

One memory of RAF athletics that will always be fresh is the performance of the RAF 4 x 100m relay team in the late 60s and early 70s. The baton passing was smooth and at speed and in competition they won against Scotland, Wales, Southern Counties, Midland Counties and Loughborough. It was our ‘banker’ for the Inter-Services and as the last event our relay win confirmed our team victory each year, very much to the delight of our President, Sir Andrew Humphrey.

JOHN DE’ATH

I was first selected for the RAF Athletics Team in 1956. Looking back, it is difficult to compare how different things were then. The key factor was National Service, which required all fit young men to serve in either the Navy, Army or RAF for two years. Although the largest number of National Servicemen was required in the Army, the RAF seemed consistently to attract the top athletes. And so, in 1956, nine of the team which comfortably won the Inter-Services competition for the RAF were selected to represent Great Britain in the Melbourne Olympics. I can no longer remember all the names but I know that, among others, our Olympic sprinters were Roy Sandstrom and Dave Segal, Derek Ibbotson was bronze medallist in the 5,000 metres, Mark Pharoah did shot and discus, and Geoff Elliot competed in the pole vault.

I ran second string for the RAF in the 880 yards (as it was then) and was probably the luckiest to make the RAF team because the ½ mile was about our only weak event. I was in absolute awe of all the top international competitors who surrounded me. One day, at the Sefton Branker Trophy Meeting held at RAF Uxbridge, Roy Sandstrom actually spoke to me! Although we were the same rank, I nearly stood to attention and called him ‘Sir’. Roy was the British record holder for 100 metres at 10.3 secs – a record which lasted for ten years. He said, ‘I am told that the attractive young lady sitting in the stand is your sister. I would like to meet her.’ I introduced them and 18 months later they were married. By that time he had become less awesome!

Moving on swiftly to the 1960s and beyond, by which time I was on the RAFAA Executive Committee, we were still mostly winning the Inter-Services competition – but there was one key difference. In the 1950s our National Service representatives did not stay around for long and strong team spirit was difficult to develop. However, from the early 1960s onwards, with the team comprising only relatively long-term ‘regulars’, team spirit became increasingly important. It was a joy to be involved with the teams from 1965 to 1983, when we won 19 consecutive Inter-Service Championships. We still had top international athletes like Roger Clark, Mike Delaney, Julian Goater, Roger Hackney, Don Halliday, Steve Jones and Andy Williams (among others whose names now elude me), but we needed every point we could get from second-string competitors if we were to edge out strong Army teams. And team spirit was absolutely crucial in ensuring that everyone performed to their competitive best.