One of Bristol’s last remaining veterans of the Second World War, who was awarded the MBE for services to the RAF, has celebrated his birthday with a party and a visit from the RAF’s veterans association.
In a near 60-year career connected with flying and the military, Eric Lloyd travelled the world and served his country through some of its darkest times.
And now, as Eric celebrated his 103rd birthday on January 30 with a big party, the RAF’s veterans association remembered the engineer who helped keep the force’s planes in the skies.
Eric, who was born in 1922, was only 14 when he signed up to the Royal Air Force back at the start of 1937 as a Halton apprentice. War clouds were looming and Eric started what would become a prestigious career in aircraft engineering.
In World War Two he was sent to Sudan as part of the African front, and continued in the RAF right through to 1948, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer. He was an expert in the engineering of a range of the RAF’s finest planes at the time – V-Force, Venoms, Vampires, Victors, Hercules and the Valiant. During the 1950s, he worked on developing flying boats in Pembroke Docks in west Wales, and was a plane observer.
He travelled the world as an air force engineer, taking his wife Pearl and three children Stephen, Grahame and Susan, to live in RAF stations around the country and beyond – in Wales, Northern Ireland, England, Germany and Singapore.
He eventually left the RAF in 1985 after 47 years of service – which saw him awarded the MBE in 1970 for services to the air force. But he continued to serve his country, settling down in Andover to work for the MoD to share his expertise.
His beloved wife Pearl passed away in 2003 and in 2015, he moved to Chipping Sodbury. He now lives at Badminton Place, a nursing home just a stone’s throw from the West’s historic home of aircraft engineering – the former Filton Airfield. He’s now a proud grandfather and great-grandfather, and the whole of Badminton Place came together to celebrate his 103rd birthday, including SAC Anthony Peters, representing the RAF Veterans Association and the RBL.
“It is an absolute honour, joy, and pleasure that Eric has chosen to live with us at Badminton Place,” said Angela Madden, the general manager of Badminton Place, said. “I’d just like to give a massive thank you to the hospitality, chef and kitchen team and all the carers and staff at Badminton for marking the day and helping make it so special.
“Eric is respected by every single member of the team, and we all learn something new every day from him due to his rich life experience. His wisdom, warmth, and remarkable stories of a life well-lived continue to enrich our home. Eric embodies the spirit of community and connection that we cherish at Badminton Place,” she added.