Dick Forsythe is the Chief Trustee of the WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust. I served a full career in the Royal Air Force as helicopter pilot starting on the Whirlwind and finishing with the Chinook. I am a 3rd generation RAF pilot – all my relations served for over 30 years. My father was a Lancaster pilot and met my mother when she was serving as a WRAF Intelligence Officer during World War 2. My godfather was shot down in a Lancaster in March 1945 and survives to this day. My uncle won the first Sword of Honour at Cranwell. My grandfather joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and the RAF when it formed in 1918 winning the 75th DFC to be awarded. It is absolutely a family affair as my wife Sue is assisting with the administration and none of this would have happened had my daughter, Natalie, not been working on the Hobbit in Wellington New Zealand. She went to an air show at Masterton where she had her picture taken in a Bristol Fighter which turned into a flight – the spark that led to this fantastic opportunity.
