Paul McElhinney: ​A family affair - the ‘Flying Beamishes’ from Castlerock and their contributions to the RAF

​Golf at the local course has always been a major attractor for people all over the United Kingdom and from many locations abroad. When the former golfing great, Christy O’Connor Snr, saw the local golf course for the first time he wondered why such a gem had been kept a secret from him for so long. A lovely beach and seaside facilities have also attracted many visitors over the years.

It is not widely known that the village was also the home of the famous “Flying Beamishes” family. The Beamishes provided six siblings to the RAF before, during and after the Second World War. It was an RAF record that still stands. They lived in Castlerock from shortly before the First World War until the last sibling, Kathleen, died in the early 2000s.

The eldest, Victor, a noted fighter pilot, was shot down over France in 1942 and sadly his body was never recovered. George, the second eldest, became an Air Marshal of the RAF, the Commandant of RAF Cranwell (the RAF Officer College), and Air Aide de Camp (ADC) to King George VI. He was also an outstanding international rugby player, representing Ireland and the Lions. The remaining brothers, Charles and Cecil, were both high-ranking dentists in the RAF Dental Service. Charles was also an accomplished rugby player with Ireland and the Lions, and youngest brother Cecil was a golfer with a successful record. The two final siblings were Eileen and Kathleen, also dentists in the RAF Dental Service. Following the family tradition, they were both keen and able golfers and among the first female officers in the RAF.

Their interesting family history bears recounting. The family originated in the quiet town of Dunmanway in West Cork where their father, Francis, was headmaster in the local Model School. In 1912, Francis was appointed an Inspector of Schools which took him and his family first to Dublin and then to Antrim and then Coleraine. When moving to Coleraine, they bought a house nearby in Castlerock where the family settled. Francis’s children were all born in the early years of the 20th century.

The Beamishes were part of a tight-knit Church of Ireland community in West Cork, a community that still thrives to this day. The first Beamishes were from Normandy and settled in Ireland in the 17th century, having left France during the persecution of Huguenot Protestants. Their home area was known as Beaumais from which they derived their family name. Over time, this evolved into Beamish. Relations between the different religious communities in West Cork were generally good in that pre-WW1 era. Although not directly related, the Dunmanway Beamishes had a distant connection with the famous Beamish stout family.

The family lived in an era when it was considered ‘bad form’ to talk about one’s war exploits, of which there were many. It has taken later generations to embrace their story and relay it to a wider audience. All four boys attended Coleraine Academical Institution (Inst), now Coleraine Grammar school, where they excelled at sports.

In terms of worldly achievements, George was probably the most accomplished. He had two stellar careers: in the RAF and as an international rugby player. His RAF career started off on a high note with his being awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ as the outstanding cadet at RAF Cranwell in 1922. He fought in the critical theatres of Crete, North Africa and Sicily in the Second World War, a period that put him in contact with the most senior members of the RAF, the Royal Navy and the Army.

He had 25 caps for Ireland at rugby and toured with the Lions on the 1930 tour to New Zealand and Australia. Noting the absence of any green in the Lion’s strip, it was he who suggested to Lions management a rectification. A green flash was added to the top of the socks which, in time, became the current green cuff. Adept at setting records, the Beamish brothers, Victor, George, Charles and Cecil, all played rugby for Leicester. This remained a record until it was broken by the five Tuilangi brothers who played for Leicester in the early 2000s.

In retirement, George remained active. He was approached to run for Parliament in 1959 (unsuccessfully) and was made High Sheriff of Londonderry in 1962. A keen golfer, he was made both captain and president of Royal Portrush Golf Club in the 1950s. He died in 1967 at the relatively long age of 62, pre-deceasing his four remaining siblings.

Castlerock has seen many famous people pass through over the decades. In the shadow of Downhill Castle, Castlerock was built around the estate of the Hervy Bruce family (Earls of Bristol) in the 18th and 19th centuries. Percy French, the songwriter, visited regularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as did CS Lewis, the writer, later in the century.

Castlerock remains relatively quiet and relaxed, not too different from the period the Beamishes lived there. No family members remain as all have moved farther afield, to England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. However, the names of several adorn the honours boards of the local golf club as a reminder of a family with a fascinating history and outstanding personal exploits.

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l Paul McElhinney is a full-time writer/journalist living in Wexford. Educated at St. Gerard’s School, Glenstal Abbey School and Trinity College Dublin, he joined the Irish Civil Service in 1980.

He was an official in the Department of the Taoiseach in the 1980s and a corporate executive with an international oil and gas company in London and Washington DC in the 1990s.

Among his publications are a biography of Air Marshal Sir George Beamish, ‘The Lion of the RAF’, and his main interests are in politics, history, sport and culture.