The Beamish brothers
The 4 x Irish Beamish brothers (Victor, George, Charles, and Cecil) were truly remarkable as both sportsmen and RAF officers:
Above: Victor Beamish. Gp Capt Francis Victor Beamish (1903-1942) flew in the Battle of Britain and became a 'fighter ace' by scoring 10 victories. Victor was station commander at RAF North Weald and was awarded the DSO (plus bar), DFC and AFC before being killed in action in 1942.
Above: George Beamish. Air Marshal Sir George Robert Beamish (1905-1967) was an outstanding rugby player, playing for Harlequins, London Irish, Leicester, the RAF, Ireland and the British Lions. He was ADC to the King in WW2 and became AOCinC of Transport Command before retirement. George Beamish - RAF Rugby captain (with Douglas Bader).
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Above: Charles Beamish. Gp Capt Charles Eric St John Beamish (1908-1984) was the 3rd brother to join up as a pilot and was a keen rugby player and proficient golfer being RAF Individual Champion in 1927. As an aside... "On their way to the 1936 RAF Rugby final, the Digby team played Cranwell. So certain were Cranwell of their forthcoming victory, that they had booked a Vickers Valencia to fly the team to the next leg at Leuchars in Fife. Flt Lt C Beamish of Digby made himself very unpopular by asking if he could pilot the aircraft for use by the Digby team instead." Charles Beamish - RAF rugby player
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Left: Cecil Beamish.
Air Vice Marshal Cecil Howard Beamish (1914-1999) was a dentisit, played rugby for London Irish and the RAF and was the most successful RAF golfer in our history, winning 7 Individual Championships over a 24 year period (1949-1973).