Bairsto joined the
Royal Navy in 1944 and transferred to the
Royal Air Force in 1945 as a trainee RAF Regiment
gunner. He was
commissioned into the
RAF Regiment with the rank of
acting pilot officer (on probation) on 10 May 1946. On 10 November 1946, his commission was confirmed and he was promoted to
flying officer (
war substantive). On 17 July 1947, with the end of
Second World War active service, he reverted to pilot officer with seniority from 10 May 1946. On 1 November 1947, he was re-promoted to flying officer. He served with the
Aden Protectorate Levies in Aden before being posted as
aide-de-camp to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Near East Air Force (AOC-in-C NEAF). He transferred to the General Duties Branch, the flying branch comprising navigators and pilots, on 12 December 1951 as a flying officer with seniority from that date. He was promoted to
flight lieutenant on 1 August 1953, was awarded the
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the
1955 New Year Honours and an
Air Force Cross in the
1957 New Year Honours. In the half-yearly promotions of 1958, on 1 July, he was promoted to
squadron leader. In the
1960 Birthday Honours, Bairsto was awarded a further Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. He was promoted to
group captain on 1 January 1969, commanded
RAF Honington from 1971 to 1973, and was promoted to
air commodore on 1 July 1973 in the half-yearly promotions. He became Director of Operational Requirements in 1973, Senior Air Staff Officer at
Support Command in 1977 (retitled Air Officer, Training Group at RAF Support Command in 1978) and Commander of the Northern Maritime Air Region in 1980. He went on to be Deputy Commander of
Strike Command in 1981, and retired in 1984. ==Later life==