Flying Marines

1. Name	Alfred Basil WOODHALL
2. Date Commissioned	8 January 1916
3. Date retired	Transferred to R.A.F 1 August 1930 Retired after World War II
4. Rank	Captain RM on transfer W/S Group Captain R.A.F
5. Awarded wings	8 August 1925
6. Flying schools	R.A.F Netheravon 12 January 1925 to 9 August 1925 R.A.F Gosport 10 August 1925 to December 1925
7. Aircraft types flown	T. B.R. eg Seal, Fairey IIID, Ripon, Baffin, Shark, Swordfish
8. Squadrons	461 Flight. Furious January 1926 to August 1927 460 Flight. Eagle August 1927 to June 1928 464 Flight. Courageous & Furious June 1928 to July 1930 824 Sqdn. Eagle 18 January 1937 (As S/Ldr RAF in Cmd)
9. Aircraft Carriers	Furious 1926/7 1930 Eagle 1927/8 Courageous 1928/30 Eagle 18 January 1937 (As S/Ldr RAF CO 824 Sqdn)
10. Senior Appointments	None whilst in RM. Royal Air Force CO 824 Sqdn, Eagle 18 January 1937 Controller in Battle of Britain. CO R.A.F Station Duxford 1940
11.Decorations	O.B.E (R.A.F Service) British War medal and Victory medal 2 November 1924 1939/45 War medals
12. General	Alfred Woodhall was one of the 19 RM Officers who volunteered for the FAA under AP.O. 1058/24. He proved to be a very able pilot and was awarded a Special Distinction on passing out on completion of training. He served in Torpedo Squadrons in Furious. Eagle and Courageous and whilst serving in the latter in 464 Flight was Specially Commended by C in C Mediterranean for Air Operations in Palestine August to September 1929. He transferred to the R.A.F at his own request on 1 August 1930 as also did "Wings" Day. Little is known of his R.A.F service except that he returned to the F.A.A in 1937 when he commanded 824 Sqdn in Eagle as a Squadron Leader R.A.F. He also commanded R.A.F Duxford in 1940 and it is believed that he was a Controller in the Battle of Britain. He retired after World War II with the W/S rank of Group Captain