Remembrance: Yorkshire Women's RAF veteran to march at Cenotaph with Air Cadet great grandson
Nearly 70 years on, Janet Hazlewood still can’t explain how her shy teenage self found the nerve to join the Women’s Royal Air Force. Yet it was a decision that would shape her life in more ways than one.
Her two years of service opened her eyes to a world outside of London, and as she developed her emerging interest in photography, she crossed paths with the man who would later become her husband and whose postings would take the couple to Germany, Cyprus and Singapore.
"I’ve often wondered [how I came to join the RAF] as I was such a shy child and wouldn’t speak to anybody,” reflects Janet, who lives in York.
“I’d just blush to the roots of my feet. I don’t know why but I plucked up the courage to go to the recruitment office and signed on.”
“The basic training is hard, it breaks you in really,” continues the 87-year-old. “It was just a question of either enjoying it or getting out.”
That was back in 1955 – and seven decades later, her connection with the forces is still going strong.
Her great grandson, 14-year-old Dillon, is one of thousands of Air Cadets across the UK and this Remembrance Sunday, the pair are set to march together at the Cenotaph in London.
The service taking place there this weekend will commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women involved in the two world wars and later conflicts.
Janet, escorted by Dillon, will march with the charity Blind Veterans UK, with more than 40 others who have been supported by the organisation, which helps vision impaired ex-servicemen and women.
Dillon and Janet marched together for the first time last year.
“I have to hold his arm to make sure I’m walking in a straight line. The atmosphere is fantastic,” she says.
"The boost you get from people at the side, sometimes eight or ten deep on the pavement, all cheering and waving, it’s like walking on air really.”
Before joining the Women’s RAF, Janet was taking evening classes in photography at a technical college in Twickenham.
“That was more or less training you up to be a press photographer,” she says.
Instead, she found herself doing basic training with the Armed Forces in Wilmslow before being based at an RAF fighter station in Norfolk.
Janet’s team would put small cameras inside aircraft so that drone-style imagery could be taken from the skies. She’d then take out the film, process it and take it to the air crews for analysis.
Janet also took pictures for forces identity cards, before being discharged as a Senior Aircraftwomen when she married husband Tony.
The pair met on the same photo course and would write to each other and meet at weekends when they could. He was also in the RAF and served for the best part of 30 years.
“With my husband’s career we had some fantastic postings in Germany, Cyprus and Singapore. Our son was even born in Singapore,” says Janet.
“When we were in Singapore, I joined the sub-aqua club and learnt to dive. The reefs around Singapore and were amazing with all the coloured fish and coral,” she adds.
Janet is now losing her sight due to macular degeneration in both of her eyes.
She found out about Blind Veterans UK and started receiving support from the charity in 2018.
“About eight years ago, my vision had declined to the extent that I decided to stop driving, which is what I miss the most,” she says.
"My mother also had macular degeneration and lost her sight suddenly, so I am very aware of what might happen.
"It was my welfare officer from the Air Force Association who told me about Blind Veterans UK. Fortunately, the charity had just started monthly meetings for blind veterans in York.”
The organisation has provided Janet with tools such as a magnifier for reading and talking weighing scales to help her in the kitchen.
Along with wellbeing support, it has “given me back some of my independence”, she says.
“I am hugely looking forward to marching alongside my fellow blind veterans this Remembrance. I’m 87 now so not sure how many more times I’ll be able to be there.
"I know that the energy from the crowds will give me a massive lift again."
Chief Executive of Blind Veterans UK Adrian Bell says Remembrance is a time to honour the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives during conflict.
“We also acknowledge the significant challenges faced by veterans living with life-altering injuries from their service,” Adrian says.
“I am honoured to march alongside Janet and our group of over 40 blind veterans at the Cenotaph this year. I know many others will be participating in poignant ceremonies in communities nationwide.
"This year marks important anniversaries for our veterans, not least the 80th anniversaries of key battles that turned the tide of the Second World War and 25 years since Kosovo.
"With these in mind, we will be particularly thinking of all those tragically lost and wounded in these conflicts, and of their families.”
- At 10.30am on November 10, detachments will form up on the Cenotaph in London before processing.
A national two-minute silence will then begin at 11am, marked by the firing of guns from King’s Troop on Horse Guards Parade.
The service will then commence, and afterwards, detachments will disperse past the Cenotaph.