Raymond Cecil Sturtivant

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

(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 ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. He spent his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

in the RAF (

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

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, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, and

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

. He became chief clerk at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

County Court, then at

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

County Court, and then

Bow, London Bow () is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, it became part of the County of L ...

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 (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

. In 1986 he retired from the Civil Service. In 1987 he was awarded an ISO (Companion of the

Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

), a prestigious award, but now no longer awarded. His ISO honour was presented to him by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

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 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

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 paintings ...

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-Br ...

, 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