Before the war, William Henry Cundell Blake learned to fly with the Hampshire Aeroplane Club and even built his own light aeroplane, the Blake Bluetit. But when hostilities arrived, reservist service with the Fleet Air Arm saw him building experience that eventually led to his logbooks including 56 different types. In a personal memoir, ‘Billy’ Blake — who died in 1988 — describes how this came about
When in June 1940 I joined the Fleet Air Arm, it was not before I had been rejected for flying duties in the RAF on account of my age, but was nevertheless offered an opening as a Link Trainer instructor. A friend suggested a letter to the Admiralty, the result of which led to an appearance before a board, followed by a medical examination and flying test.