Page 123 - KBHA Bulletin 10

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and in the air. The Royal Flying Corps was consequently forced to recruit aspirant pilots
in the Dominions. To this end Major Allister M. Miller, who had been born in

Swaziland in 1892 and then seen service in the RFC over the Western Front, was sent
back to South Africa in October 1916 to recruit 30 local airmen for the RFC. These men

so impressed the RFC that another recruiting team was sent to South Africa in 1917.

Major A. M. Miller, Lieutenant J. Bagshawe, Sergeant A. T. Way and Corporal E.
Streeter, all members of the RFC, arrived in Cape Town by sea in October. They

brought with them two BE 2e bi-planes (BE: Bleriot Experimental) to be used on the
country-wide recruiting tour. Bagshawe and Streeter formed the advance party to

prepare landing fields and advertise the recruiting drive. Miller and Way followed in
one of the aircraft. They then flew to Port Elizabeth. There were 8,000 applicants of

whom 2,000 were selected, 98% of whom became pilots. They became known

popularly as “Miller’s Boys”.

The recruiting drive was completed in early 1918 and after some leave Major Miller

returned to the war in Europe. The drive resulted in 1,274 young South Africans
embarking for Europe. The two aircraft remained in Cape Town with Sergeant Way. In

mid-1918 Capetonian, Lieutenant A. H. Gearing of the newly formed Royal Air Force,
arrived in South Africa on recuperative leave. Being the only RAF pilot fit to fly in

South Africa he was requested to fly one of the bi-planes over Cape Town to advertise
fund-raising for the Red Cross. Permission was obtained from the Postal authorities to

sell and deliver special aerial postcards for the occasion. They bore the inscription

“Make your sixpence fly”. And fly they did.

The first flight was planned to coincide with the next Military Tournament at the Green
Point Cycle Track on 17 October 1918. The devastating influenza epidemic of that year

forced the tournament to be cancelled but the flight went ahead. Three bags of cards
were flown from the field belonging to Mr. E. Young of Wynberg to a safe landing on

Green Point Common. (Figs. 3.24 & 3.25). The bags were handed to the postal

authorities who rushed them to the Cape Town Post Office for mailing in the normal
manner. Lieutenant Gearing flew over Cape Town on the 24 October and “bombed” the