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S/Ldr JWB Judge RAF 1910—1979 Born in 1910 in Sydney, New South Wales and later of Camberwell in Victoria, John Westley (otherwise Wesley) Boyd Judge first enlisted in the RAAF in May 1928 as an Aircraftman. By November 1930, an LAC, he had passed a number of Trade tests for Sergeant. He then applied for and was appointed an Air Cadet from July 1931, posted to RAAF Point Cook and No 1 FTS. To the RAF By April 1936 he was made F/Lt and, upon expiry of his SSC, granted a permanent commission in the RAF from August that year, briefly returning to the UK. He was successful in seeking an early return to the Middle East, serving with 4 FTS Abu Sueir from May 1937 if not earlier. From 1 December 1938 he was promoted to Squadron Leader (London Gazette 2 December 1938) with 4 FTS. Marriage to Mary, at Melbourne in Australia, followed in 1939. Their son Anthony was born in Egypt in 1940. With the Greyhounds of the Desert The new CO collected the Squadron’s first Blenheim, delivering it to Ismailia in April. The Squadron was quite mobile during the early weeks of his command, moving from Ismaila to Daba, then back to Ismailia at the start of May to compete their conversion to the Blenheim I, meanwhile undertaking delivery flights elsewhere in the Command. By August they were back at their Daba war station, the threat of war ever closer.
“Squadron Leader Judge, RAF (an Australian serving with the RAF) and Peter Jeffreys of No 3 Squadron, RAAF take off in a Miles Magister trainer aircraft for a reconnaissance over Italian lines.” Judge was CO for some 17 months, leading the Squadron through conversion to the Blenheim, and through their first month of active war. The Greyhounds had been in the Desert for nearly a year when he handed over command to S/Ldr ARG “Porpoise” Bax. Staff work and DLGs His main tasks as a staff officer involved appreciations of the Desert air war, of existing landing grounds in the Western Desert, and a reconnaissance and assessment of new landing ground sites for the Nile Delta and the Nile Valley, for the coming Desert Air Force offensive. Some time towards the end of the war, Judge drew together a typed narrative of his work. In setting the background to his staff work, he also gave a short account of his time in command of 211 Squadron in the Desert. Over the course of the past year or so, his son Anthony has been active in preparing and documenting a transcript of his father’s narrative, which is now available on-line under its original title: Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign. Post-war service Sources Air Ministry Air Force List (HMSO) issues for July 1937, October 1937, January 1938, April 1938, November 1938, December 1938, January 1939, April 1957
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