As a young man he witnessed the Battle of Britain from the ground which prompted him to join the RAF in May 1941.Promoted to leading aircraftman on 19 June 1942, Beetham was granted an emergency commission as a pilot officer on probation in the RAFVR on 13 December 1942.^[6] He was promoted to flying officer in the RAFVR on 13 June 1943.

Following flying training in the United States under the Arnold Scheme and in Great Britain, he was assigned flying duties with 50 Squadron just prior to the Battle of Berlin. During the Battle, Beetham flew his Lancaster on bombing missions over Berlin 10 times. In a raid over Augsburg he lost an engine and he survived the Nuremberg Raid in which many Bomber Command aircraft were destroyed. In February 1944, whilst Beetham was on a training flight, one of his aircraft's engines caught fire. Beetham and his crew bailed out, landing by parachute near East Kirkby; Beetham then joined the Caterpillar Club. During his time on 50 Squadron, Beetham carried out 30 operations over enemy territory

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