age of 16 after only a few months and did not return. Braham struggled to find work in the era of the Great Depression. He considered moving abroad to join the Colonial Police in the British Overseas Territories and briefly entertained training as a sailor in the Merchant Navy. To gain experience he worked as a clerk in Wigan for the Greater Manchester Police. By 1937, tiring of life as an administrative clerk, Braham turned to the British armed forces for a more fulfilling career. RAF training Aged 17, Braham applied for a short service commission in the RAF, a course that lasted for five years. The commission was designed to find young aviation enthusiasts with the right physical and academic qualities to become flying officers. To Braham's surprise, his application was accepted. His commission was dated 7 March 1937. His service number was 40667. The commission enabled Braham to enter at the rank of pilot officer. His training mainly consisted of an introduction to flying by civilian organisations contracted to do so by the RAF. Successful candidates advanced to military training. In December 1937 he began flight training at the No. 7 Elementary Flying School (EFS) at RAF Desford. It was normal for pilots to undertake solo flights after eight to eleven hours dual instruction with their flight instructor. For Braham, progress was slow and he made his first solo flight after 14 hours of dual instruction. On 9 March 1938 Braham flew solo for the first time in a Tiger Moth. In May 1938 Braham began officer instruction at RAF Uxbridge. After the completion of this course he was moved to RAF Shawbury to begin training on military aircraft. Now assigned to the No. 11 EFS he elected to become a fighter pilot and began training on the Hawker Hart. He completed his advanced flight training on 20 August 1938 and began the final phase of training in the Hawker Fury. He completed his training in formation flying, aerobatics and gunnery practice over the next four months, graduating in December 1938. His first squadron was No. 29 Squadron RAF, based at RAF West Malling, flying the two-seater Hawker Demon. In February 1939 No 29 Squadron re-equipped with the Bristol Blenheim. Braham was disappointed at not being trained on the Hawker Hurricane and his reaction to this news was request a transfer which was refused. The squadron spent three