Bill McCrea

BILL McCREA

A stalwart of RAF golf through the 1950s and 1960s, Bill McCrea joined up with fellow Northern Irishman, RAF officer and golfer, Max McCready in 1941. They joined the RAF on the same day, had consecutive service numbers, were both on No 1 Initial Training course at Queen’s University, Belfast, and were on the same elementary flying training course at Souther Field in Alabama.

After WW2, Bill resumed his studies at Queen’s University, Belfast, and rejoined the RAF as an education Officer in 1948. Much of Bill’s RAF career coincided with that of RAF golfing legend, fellow Irish international and great friend, Cecil Beamish. In particular, Bill recalls his golf with Cecil at Bruggen with great fondness.

Bill retired as a wg cdr in 1972 to become Secretary at Walton Heath GC in Surrey. While there, he played a major part in staging 3 European Open Championships as well as the Ryder Cup match in 1981.

Looking at RAF Golf’s Roll of Honour, it can be seen that in addition to playing in numerous RAF teams, Bill was a highly successful golfer in his own right, a selection of his successes are shown below.

Bill McCrea Achievements