Here we go. A history lesson:
Dr Anthony Llewellyn - born Cardiff - NASA Astronaut 1967 - never flew
Cdr Pete Longhurst RN, Lt Col Anthony Boyle, Lt Col Richard Farrimond, Sqn Ldr Nigel Wood RAF and MoD Civil Servant Chris Holmes trained to be astronauts for the Space Shuttle to launch SkyNet4. The Challenger disaster stopped the plan and Wood was pencilled in to be first Briton in space. All cancelled by 1987.
Helen Sharman (born and bred in Sheffield to British parents) beat Maj Tim Mace (and 13,000 others) into becoming the first British Astronaut. She flew on a Soyuz similar to Tim Peake's on 18 May 1991 - 24 years ago!!!
Michael Foale (born in Louth to a UK father and US mother) flew to space 6 times on Space Shuttle and Soyuz from 1992 to 2004. He stayed on Mir and ISS and was the first Brit to spacewalk. He has over 374 days in space which is well over that planned for Tim Peak and Her Majesty presented this dual national with a CBE.
Mark Shuttleworth (born South Africa but dual UK/SA national) flew on a Soyuz in 2002.
Piers Sellers (born Crowborough, Sussex) flew 3 Space Shuttle missions from 2002 to 2010. Schooled in Kent, went to University in Kent, gained a PhD at Leeds and flew in the Air Cadets and UAS. He was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty in 2012 for services to science.
Nicholas Patrick (born Saltburn by the Sea, N Yorks) his mother was Scottish and he took US citizenship at the age of 30 to join NASA. He was a pilot in the Cambridge UAS where he learned to fly. He schooled at Harrow and Cambridge. Nicholas Patrick flew the Space Shuttle twice in 2006 and 2010.
Richard Garriot (born Cambridge to US parents) flew the Soyuz in 2008 to the ISS.
So there you go - Tim Peake is following a long line of people before him...and to be technically correct the first retired HMForces Serviceman to fly in space was technically RAF.
LJ