Stearman Kaydet PT 17 Biplane Mural - Terrell, TX - Murals on Waymarking.com

The Terrell Heritage Museum provides some background (see link):

This mural is dedicated to the No. 1 British Flying Training School (BFTS) located here in Terrell. The flight training school was established in 1941 to train British flyers who due to the Nazi blitz, could not train in England. The school operated until the end of WWII in 1945.

The biplane pictured would have been the first aircraft a cadet would train in during his course at No.1 BFTS. The designation PT stood for “Primary Trainer”. During World War II thousands of British pilots learned to fly at six civilian training schools located in the United States, the first of these being located in Terrell, Texas. During the middle years of the war some US Army Air Corps cadets also trained at No. 1 along with their Royal Air Force (RAF) comrades. British graduates, a total of around 1,470 receiving their wings in Terrell, went on to fly in every theatre in which the RAF fought. Many never lived to see the end of the war, twenty died during flight training here and are buried in Oakland Memorial Cemetery in Terrell. Terrell citizens welcomed the student pilots to their community and many life-long bonds were forged. This mural was painted by the members of the NorthEast Fine Art Alliance and was a community effort sponsorship.

--

The No. 1 British Flying Training School was the subject of a 2012 Texas Historical Marker, and it provides some complementary background:

By 1939, the British government recognized that in the event of war with Germany, training facilities would need to be established overseas in Commonwealth countries, or in the U.S. at civilian schools similar to those already utilized by the (then) U.S. Army Air Corps. In August 1941, prior to the U.S. entry into World War II, the No. 1 British Flying Training School (BFTS) of the Royal Air Force (RAF) was established with strong support from the citizenry of Terrell.

Both the Terrell and Kaufman Chambers of Commerce assisted in locating a suitable location for the new training school. Following the naming of Major W.F. Long of Dallas as the operator of the school, a site was selected about one mile south of Terrell on the Bond and Patton farms. Terrell Aviation School opened shortly thereafter. In addition to the main field at the No. 1 BFTS, to ease congestion the school had two auxiliary fields to the south of Terrell on the Boykin and Tarver farms. Civilian instructors provided the cadets with 20 weeks of preparation that included both flight training and ground school classes that covered meteorology, airmanship, navigation, and 'link' trainers for instrument flying. During World War II the school trained approx. 2,200 cadets from the RAF and 138 U.S. Army Air Forces cadets.

The motto of No. 1 BFTS was "the seas divide, but the skies unite". The people of Terrell welcomed cadets into their community and the cadets contributed their talents to the cultural life of the town. The war over, and their mission complete, on September 10, 1945, the final cadets left Terrell’s railroad station with a contingent of local citizens waving them on. In 2002, the No. 1 BFTS Museum opened in Terrell to commemorate not only the wartime school, but the continuing cooperation between the British Commonwealth and the United States in war and peace.

City: Terrell, TX Location Name: Roberts building Artist: The NorthEast Fine Art Alliance Date: 2012 Media: Paint on plaster Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and description of your visit. One original photo of the mural must also be submitted. GPSr photo NOT required.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/22/2017 WalksfarTX visited it