Andrew George Board
Air Commodore Andrew George Board (11 May 1878 – 25 February 1973) was an English soldier and airman. He was a pioneer aviator, first gaining a licence in 1910, who later became an air commodore in the Royal Air Force. South Wales Borderers. Following a time in the militia, Board was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the South Wales Borderers. In 1910, at his own expense, he learned to fly at Hendon. On 29 November 1910, flying a Bleriot monoplane there, he was awarded the Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 36. In the 1911 Census  he was listed as a captain of the 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers at the Artillery Barracks Pretoria, South Africa. Royal Flying Corps. By 1914, Board had become a flying instructor at the Central Flying School at Netheravon, Wiltshire. On 28 September 1914 he became the officer commanding 7 Squadron RFC at Netheravon before moving to the western front in April 1915 to command 5 Squadron RFC. He later commanded the 10th Wing RFC before taking over 20th (Reserve) Wing in Egypt. With the formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, Broad was awarded a permanent commission as a  lieutenant colonel. He rose to the rank of air commodore before retiring in 1931. In 1939 he re-joined the RAF as a group captain before retiring again in 1941. In 1943 he became a Deputy Lieutenant in Caernarvon. Family. Board was born in Westerham, Kent, on 11 May 1878, the third son of Major John Board and his wife Mary; his father was a magistrate. He married Mrs Phyllis Agnew at St James's Piccadilly on 18 August 1932.