Father: Charles Robinson Wilkes (d. 1933), Mother: Sarah Ann [Middleton] Ed. Beaufoy Technical College prev. Stock Exchange; RAF F/O Sep 1936 - 31 Jul 1939 One thing he might not have mentioned in the interview; he was dismissed from the RAF "by sentence of General Court Martial" on 31 July 1939
prev. exp. 383 hrs Address in 1940: Thicket Meadows, Maidenhead "Little finger of left hand permanently bent" Postings: 1FPP, 3FPP, 6FPP
2 accidents, 1 his fault: - 2 Oct 1940, an incident in a Spitfire - 28 Oct 1940, his Spitfire hit a Tiger Moth whilst taxying
Off sick from 4 Jan to 19 Jan 1941 with influenza, and from 1 Mar to 6 Apr 1941 with 'Catarrhal Jaundice' Demoted to 2nd Officer 17 Oct 1941 Resigned 31 Oct 1941 "Keen pilot, loud voice" m. Janet Bruce [Bowden] (b. 1914 in Quebec, Canada)
"Guest Speaker for the Wednesday dinner meeting of the Cincinnati Branch of the English-Speaking Union will be Mr. Norman Wilkes. Mr Wilkes' talk on "The British Tail Still Wags" will follow cocktails at 6:30 and dinner at 7:30 in the Queen City Club. English-born, Canadian-by-adoptation, Mr Wilkes is a travel consultant and pioneer aviator. An officer in the Royal Air Force before World War II, the speaker became a test pilot for Lockheed Aircraft. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Atlantic regularly starting as a Command pilot in 1941 and continuing into 1946. A new career began in Barbados when he purchased a travel agency. He sold this when the island became an independent state. He returned to England and became an expert consultant in travel and in freight movements. Subsequently this became the Norman Wilkes Tours." - The Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Feb 1976
At one stage he teamed up with (ex-ATA Flight Engineer) Freddie Laker in a venture called "Britain with a Flair", which aimed to fly thousands of disabled Americans to Britain (according to the Daily Mirror in 1981).
d. 10 Jan 1985, one of eight casualties of a gas explosion at Newnham House, Manor Fields, Putney, London SW15 His wife Janet also died in the explosion. Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file): |
ATAM
1976
