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J. M. R. Jayakar
‐
Pilot officer for the RAF
Other names
Jayapal Jayakar
About
Jayapal Jayakar was the son of M. R. Jayakar, a former judge of the Federal Court of India. He was sent to Oxford in 1932 by his father, who enlisted the help of Dhanvanthi Rama Rau and Edward Thompson to look after him when he arrived in Britain. Jayakar was unable to gain admission into Oxford University at the first attempt but remained in Oxford to study for the entrance exams, and became a member of the Oxford Majlis and Lotus Club in the meantime. He left Oxford in 1937 and married a British woman. Jayakar was interested in flying and became a pilot officer. Jayakar was involved in giving link trainer instruction, which trains pilots in a non-flying aeroplane. He was the first Indian to receive a commission in the RAF.
E. J. Thompson Papers, Bodleian Library, Oxford
M. R. Jayakar Papers, National Archives of India, New Delhi
Portrait, National Portrait Gallery, London
Image credit
Jayapal M. R Jayakar by Bassano Ltd, bromide print, 7 February 1940, NPG x85362
© National Portrait Gallery, London, Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
