David Case (RAF officer) explained

David Case
Birth Date:	c.
Birth Place:	Guyana
Serviceyears:	1972–present
Rank:	Air Commodore

Air Commodore David Case (born c. 1953) is the highest ranking black officer in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, and as of 2000, at the age of 47, he became the highest ranking black officer ever to serve in Britain's armed forces.

Biography

Case was born in Guyana and immigrated to Britain at the age of five. He was educated at Beckenham and Penge Grammar School and learnt to fly on a Flying Scholarship while still at school. He joined the RAF as a 19-year-old cadet to read aeronautical engineering at the Queen's University Belfast. He received his commission in 1975 and was awarded the distinguished Sword of Honour, which is bestowed upon the top cadet officer of the year.^[1]

References

• News: RAF officer says colour was no bar to promotion. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100622045509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/raf-officer-says-colour-was-no-bar-to-promotion-718567.html. 22 June 2010. Buncombe. Andrew. The Independent. London. 31 May 2000.
• News: Black army officers recruited to help stop gang violence. live. 20 August 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20171215085703/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/20/ukcrime.race. 15 December 2017. Muir. Hugh. The Guardian. London. 20 August 2007.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hudson-Knight. Paul. 1 November 2013. Pilots of the Caribbean – The Sword of Honour. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617101734/https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/pilots-of-the-caribbean-the-sword-of-honour/. 17 June 2016. 3 December 2020. Royal Air Force Museum.