Raymond Cecil Sturtivant

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

(26 July 1926 – 9 August 2008) was a British aviation historian and author. Sturtivant, Geoff (2008-11-08), "Ray Sturtivant", The Independent

Early life

Ray Sturtivant was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. He spent his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the RAF (

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

), but was given a desk job in India at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, with poor eyesight that thwarted his ambition of becoming a pilot. That led to a long career in the Civil Service.

Professional life

In 1948, Sturtivant joined the Civil Service at Nottingham County Court, with further similar posts at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, and

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

. He became chief clerk at Carlisle County Court, then at

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

County Court, and then

Bow, London Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross. It was in the traditional county of Middlesex but became part of the County o ...

County Court. He wrote the Bailiffs Manual, (1980) that was judged to be an invaluable resource. Within the Inland Revenue, he was responsible for 300 probate offices in the UK. In 1984 he was appointed Establishment Officer of the Principal Registry of the

Family Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

at Somerset House. In 1986 he retired from the Civil Service. In 1987 he was awarded an ISO (Companion of the Imperial Service Order), a prestigious award, but now no longer awarded. His ISO honour was presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Life as historian and author

From childhood, Sturtivant's principal and passion was aircraft and aviation. While an Air Cadet, he pursued his interest in recording aviation activities while cycling around pre-war and wartime airfields around Nottinghamshire. He developed a prolific skill for record-keeping and detail, and started writing for magazines such as ''Flight'' and ''Aviation News''. In 1978 he wrote his first aviation book, 'Royal Navy Instructional Airframes', followed 1982 by 'Fleet Air Arm at War'. Further books followed at an average of one per year, including 'The Camel File', 'The Swordfish Story', 'The Anson File'. His most important work was probably 'The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm'; written with Theo Ballance, this book detailed all the FAA Squadron histories, and widely regarded as the definitive book on the subject. In 1995, a specially bound copy of 'The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm', was presented to HRH

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

at the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

at Yeovilton, when the Prince retired as President of the Museum. In later years he expanded his range of books to include 'The SE5 File', The 'DH4/DH9 File', and 'Spitfire International'. One of his last books, co-authored with Henry Boot, was 'Gifts of War: Spitfires and other Presentation Aircraft in Two World Wars', covering the subject of wartime aircraft that were funded by donations from individuals, groups, private companies, towns, and nations. Many of his books were published by the historical aviation society

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled "The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts", is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Brit ...

, of which he had been a member since 1948, and for which he served many years as a member of the governing council.Ray Sturtivant website

Family life

He married Doreen, and had a daughter Yvonne and son Geoffrey.

References

External links

Ray Sturtivant former WebsiteBooks and Magazine articles by Ray Sturtivant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturtivant, Ray 1926 births 2008 deaths British aviation writers British military writers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Companions of the Imperial Service Order