Allister Miller

Who was Allister Miller?

Lieutenant-Colonel Allister Miller DSO OBE was a South African aviation pioneer, who contributed significantly to both military and civil aviation in his country during the first half of the 20th century.

He originally qualified as an electrical engineer. On the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he joined the British Army, from which he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot, in 1915. He fought in the skies over the Western Front in France and Belgium, and during 1916 and 1917 he returned to South Africa on recruiting tours for the RFC. He recruited more than 8,000 volunteers, of whom 2,000 were accepted, most of them as pilots. They were known collectively as "Miller's Boys".

On the second recruiting tour Miller took along two Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft and mechanics to assemble the aircraft in Cape Town. The aircraft were serial numbers A3109 and A3110 build by Wolseley Motors Limited. They were nicknamed Rio de Janeiro Britons Nos. 1 & 2 in honour of the fact that they were purchased with moneys raised by the British community in Rio de Janeiro.