Norman Tebbit

Honorary Member

Norman Tebbit's early career in aviation was marked by his service as a pilot in the Royal Air Force and his subsequent career as a long-haul pilot and navigator with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). His experiences flying the Gloster Meteor played a significant role in shaping his early career and his later political career.

In 1949, he joined the Royal Air Force for national service. After training, he was commissioned in the rank of Pilot Officer in November 1950 and he transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in November 1951 to continue his national service on a part-time basis.

During his time in the air force, he flew Meteor and Vampires. In July 1954, at RAF Waterbeach near Cambridge, he had to escape by breaking open the canopy from a burning Meteor 8 which had crashed off the end of the runway. After completing his national service, he transferred to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) in April 1952, and was promoted to Flying Officer.

From 1951 to 1953, he worked in publishing and advertising then joined British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a navigator and pilot. Initially, between 1952 and 1955, he continued to fly with the RAuxAF’s 604 (County of Middlesex) Sqn at North Weald in Essex.

Of his airline navigation training, he later said: "In those days it was a considerable academic syllabus. You had to be up to speed on spherical trigonometry to get through it". During his time at BOAC, he was an official in the British Airline Pilots' Association.

His political career is well documented including the infamous Provisional IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton leaving his wife Margaret permanently disabled. He decided not to stand in the 1992 election, to devote more time to caring for Margaret. Following the election he was granted a life peerage and entered the House of Lords, having been created Baron Tebbit, of Chingford in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, on 6 July 1992.