A Royal Air Force logbook that was previously owned by George H. Martin. ‘Martin G H’ has been handwritten on the front cover. His name has also been handwritten on the first page along with abbreviations of naval ranks. The book contains several pages of notes relating to pilots and aircraft duties, the earliest entry is dated 21/10/44. At the back of the book are records and forms relating to George Martin’s flight training including a list of types of aircraft flown, records of assessments and a log of hours flown.

Along with music, George had a fascination with aerodynamics and aircraft design from a very young age. He graduated from Bromley School in 1941 with distinctions in French and Math and after his sixteenth birthday in 1942 faced the prosect of looking for a job. He was still interested in aircraft and called himself “an expert aircraft spotter”. He attempted to sign up with the Havilland Aircraft Company but didn’t have the £250 required to join the apprenticeship programme. After a brief six-weeks working for a quantity surveyor George turned to the ongoing war and military efforts and joined the War Office as a non-uniformed officer. After eight months of this he joined the Fleet Air Arm and was accepted into the Royal Navy in the summer of 1943. George began his training on the HMS St. Vincent on the Hampshire coastline but was sent out to locations across the world including Canada, America, Trinidad where he first flew and learned to fly a variety of aircrafts, and later to Burscough, England. In 1945 after the end of the war George was posted to a Navy base in Fife to oversee the decommission of various troops. In January 1947 George was released from the Navy, after which he turned to a career in music.

The logbook measures 13.5cm x 20.5cm (5.3 inches x 8 inches). The cover pages and edges of the pages are slightly worn and there are some marks on the covers. The condition is very good.