Bowhill Photo Story
by R.G Pelley
There are surprisingly few photos of Air Chief Marshall Sir Frederick Bowhill to be found on the Internet and practically none showing him with his wife, Lady Bowhill, even though she was a Royal Air Force officer, a cipher specialist, and generally worked in offices in his organization.
I was therefore happy to obtain the photo below showing him and his wife in Dorval during the war. It is a News Press Wire Service photograph. The size is 9" x 7". It was part of a 5-part series on the RAF Ferry Command by a correspondent from the World Wide News service, Don Whitehead.
On the back of the photo is the following :
Title :“Checks Ferry Command Flights”
Text: “In a sunny corner room of the administration building of an airport somewhere in Canada, Air Chef Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill, who is in charge of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command, looks over some of the routes that American-made bombers are flying for delivery in all parts of the world. His command extends to Britain, India, Africa, South America and Australia. At his side is Lady Bowhill who is working under his command as a Flight officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force which she joined in England two years ago. She has a score of WAAF’s under her direction."
No year is given for this photo, only a date of release as Tuesday, July 21. And herein lies the mystery.
The first ferry flights were made in November 1940 by a fairly informal group of civilian pilots. This became the civilian Atlantic Ferry Organization (ATFERO) in early 1941 and was replaced for a very brief moment by the RAF Atlantic Ferry Service. This group became a RAF Command headed by Bowhill on 20 July 1941. One possibility therefore is that his photo was released on 21 July 1941 for security reasons.
However, Ferry Command was responsible uniquely for the North Atlantic and not for the other parts of the world. It subsumed into the new Transport Command on 25 March 1943 and reduced to Group status as No. 45 Group. This Group retained responsibility solely for Atlantic aircraft ferrying operations, and it was Transport Command (also headed by Bowhill) which became responsible for world-wide operations. Therefore the photo should date 1943 or later.
But all this historical speculation about 1941 and 1943 is for naught.
From 1941 to 1945, the only year when a 21 July is a Tuesday is 1942 ! Your guess is a good as mine.
researched by R G Pelley
