Peter Spellar
Good morning Kim,
Flt Lt Peter Spellar 28 was a member of 1 Sqn and and was flying Meteor F4 serial VT146 at RAF Tangmere.
His aircraft collided with Meteor VT243 being flown by Pilot III D C Harpham and lost its tail unit. The other aircraft returned safely to base.
A Pilot III was a strange beast and was part of a rank system introduced post war for non-commissioned aircrew personnel. This comprised the grades: Cadet, IV, III, II, I and Master with the prefix (except for Master where it was a suffix) relating to the aircrew trade eg Navigator IV, Gunner II etc. Badges of rank comprised a wreath with a number of stars and were worn on the upper sleeves. The idea was very unpopular and it was dropped in the 1951 Trade Structure, leaving just Master Aircrew as the equivalent of a warrant officer, with their distinctive badge.
As to further information about your father, you could try the 1 Sqn Association, The Tangmere Association as well as getting a copy of the Form 1180 Accident card from the RAF Museum's Dept of Research and Information Services (DORIS). You could also obtain your father's Record of Service, which will give you a good idea about what he did etc throughout his service. I shall be at DORIS this coming Thursday, if you want me to copy the Form 1180.
Old Duffer