a Sergeant Pilot in the RAFVR from Apr-39 to Jan-41; exp. 120 hrs. He was discharged - "unable to complete course following a night crash." prev. an insurance agent He proved himself a "quiet, steady and conscientious officer", but had a couple of accidents during his short ATA career; on 25 October 1941 he taxied a Swordfish "carelessly" into a parked Piper Cub, and the following January he suffered head injuries in a forced landing in a Mohawk after engine failure. His third accident, sadly, proved fatal.
d. 15 Mar 1942 (Died in ATA Service) - Oxford X7190 crashed into ground 300' above sea level nr Wigtown. He was deemed to be 'at fault' as he persisted too far in bad weather, "of which the forecast he received gave him warning." The wreckage was not discovered for 3 days, and the sketch map below shows its location:
He was buried in Newcastle-under-Lyme Cemetery. His parents took some flowers to his grave in September 1943 and were sorry to see a wooden cross had been put there by the ATA, despite his parents having erected a stone memorial the previous November. The wooden cross was later removed. Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file): |
