For John
by Kevin Lawry in remembrance of John Laycock.
A dream;
A young man’s exciting dream,
To top the highest crest
With Royal Air Force wings
Upon his chest.
Selected, disciplined, training complete,
In line upon line of fellow cadets
You march to the beat
Of the drum,
To go forward
and be awarded the coveted prize,
That brevet, the passport
To the skies.
So adorned, you salute, about turn
And march back to the rest.
But now, as you return,
You are a different man,
A man with wings upon your chest.
From that day, you
Are different;
All in blue,
But you
Have wings upon your chest.
Licensed to the freedom of air,
The gifts of flying,
The camaraderie of others who,
Like you,
Will always remember
The first solo flight
Aerobatics done alone,
That initial solo spin,
No one alongside to get you out
Of what you got in.
Skills accumulated,
You give back, those gifts
By instructing others in
How to be the best,
So that they may receive
Those wings upon their chest.
With flying done,
Engines shut down,
Air traffic all gone home.
You will hold your memories
Like distant drums,
Of exercises, detachments and a war,
But most, of fellow squadron chums.
And
Always in the background
Remains your initial dream,
To fly, to be the best
With Royal Air Force wings upon your chest.
Though now they may be a little threadbare,
With our Queen’s out-of-date crest,
Your wings of many thousand hours,
Which you so proudly wore,
Have completed their final sortie.
Duty done, and done well,
They carry you to your rest.
Kevin J Lawry
12 April 2025
by Kevin Lawry in remembrance of John Laycock.
A dream;
A young man’s exciting dream,
To top the highest crest
With Royal Air Force wings
Upon his chest.
Selected, disciplined, training complete,
In line upon line of fellow cadets
You march to the beat
Of the drum,
To go forward
and be awarded the coveted prize,
That brevet, the passport
To the skies.
So adorned, you salute, about turn
And march back to the rest.
But now, as you return,
You are a different man,
A man with wings upon your chest.
From that day, you
Are different;
All in blue,
But you
Have wings upon your chest.
Licensed to the freedom of air,
The gifts of flying,
The camaraderie of others who,
Like you,
Will always remember
The first solo flight
Aerobatics done alone,
That initial solo spin,
No one alongside to get you out
Of what you got in.
Skills accumulated,
You give back, those gifts
By instructing others in
How to be the best,
So that they may receive
Those wings upon their chest.
With flying done,
Engines shut down,
Air traffic all gone home.
You will hold your memories
Like distant drums,
Of exercises, detachments and a war,
But most, of fellow squadron chums.
And
Always in the background
Remains your initial dream,
To fly, to be the best
With Royal Air Force wings upon your chest.
Though now they may be a little threadbare,
With our Queen’s out-of-date crest,
Your wings of many thousand hours,
Which you so proudly wore,
Have completed their final sortie.
Duty done, and done well,
They carry you to your rest.
Kevin J Lawry
12 April 2025
