@ Pooch....glad you have taken fancy to my pilot!

Mr. Lyons is still 31 (December 5th birthday) and basically fell under this category: "...direct entry to the service was permitted, primarily in order to obtain a sufficient quantity of trained mechanics. By the end of the war the vast majority of RFC men were direct entry." (stolen from http://www.airhistory.org.uk/rfc/people.html). I have him gaining a good amount of knowledge from messing around with motorcycles, but also hanging around some other characters in the Southend area, and a little less from the “Colony of British Aircraft” just up the way in South Fambridge...he took his "trade test" in late summer 1914 (check page 24 of this thread), so he was actually 30 when he enlisted (WOFF only shows when he becomes a pilot [however, JJJ65's pilot log editor might change this!])....and this:



(stolen from WIkipedia)

....but you are absolutely correct in that he is an "oldster" for sure compared to pretty much all of his digital squad mates (I think one was born in 1886). He took the RAC cert in January of 1915 because he was encouraged to by superiors (hey, that's my story )...yes, definitely moved up the ranks pretty quick, and maybe some resentment among his colleagues, but (lol) here he is

Regards,

Jeff