Hawk Sqn Cdrs 01

Squadron Leader G Brough
4 April 1994 - 25 September 1996

Gary Brough is the son of a soldier and lived in Formby, Lancashire, from where he joined the Littlewoods Stores Group, working as an Organisation and Methods Analyst before joining that Company’s chain store management training programme. After 5 years with Littlewoods, Gary decided that the RAF would suit his ambitions better, so he became an Officer Cadet in November 1980, going on to fly Chipmunks at Swinderby, the Jet Provost Mk 5a at Cranwell and, finally, the Hawk at Valley. With the TWU Course at Chivenor complete, he married Pauline in August and went to Lossiemouth for the Jaguar Conversion Course, then to 14 Squadron at RAF Bruggen. As the Jaguar was phased out, he went on to the Tornado on 31 Squadron and then, after graduating as a QWI, to 17 Squadron.

A 3½-month detachment in Bahrain was part of Gary’s Tornado experience, though he missed the Gulf War by a week, having been seconded on to a real hardship tour with the USAF’s 62nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at McDill Air Force Base in Florida. During the secondment, Gary was promoted to Squadron Leader and, at the end of his tour, returned to Valley for the QFI Course on the Hawk. The ‘shadow’ 234 Squadron was to be his command, but with the reorganisation of the through-training programme, it was actually renumbered as 208(R) Squadron as the Buccaneer said its farewell.