Ed. Wellingborough prev. gave his occupation as a 'Haulage Contractor', but he was also a member of the family that owned "Jordan's Mill", near Biggleswade, from before 1900:
RAF from July 1940 to March 1942 (A.C.2 and L.A.C) Taken on by the ATA as a Pilot Cadet; 3rd Officer from 18 Aug 1942, First Officer from 23 Jun 1943. "On the 16th January 1945, during the period of the Ardennes offfensive, 12 Spitfires needed to be flown from Hawkinge in Kent to the French Air Force Wing at Luxeuil. When the pilots arrived to collect them the landscape was covered in snow, the temperature was well below zero and a biting east wind blew in heavy gusts. The first three to get away were flown by Johnny Jordan, [M.926, Joseph] McSween, and [M.941] Basil Wrightson." - "ATA's Polar Expedition", according to Brief Glory "William (5th). always known as 'John’, did his milling apprenticeship in Norwich, before joining the RAF at the start of WWII.
Being an ‘adrenaline junkie' of his day. John started on motocross bikes and went on to race F5000 cars, winning the Sports GT Series in 1973-74. He held the top lap speed record at Silverstone and Snetterton for 20 years. John never tired of flying his Boeing Stearman Biplane. delivering daredevil aerobatics. Jonathan Kent kindly tells me "I met him first in the 1980's, as our group Auster aircraft had been moved from its one time base at Panshanger to a farm strip at Little Gransden, near Biggleswade. Jordan kept his well known Super Stearman G-AROY there, also a Pitts Special. He had brought his Stearman back from the USA where he did some years as a cropduster with it. He still had the cropdusting hopper in it, with a rudimentary windscreen, as he was known to take people for flights in the hopper! He said he had around 18,000 hours flying time and had delivered 300 or more Spitfires in the ATA. He had prior to ATA service been dismissed from the RAF for 'gross indiscipline in the air and on the ground''.. Henry Labouchere, a Tiger Moth and de Havilland expert based in Norfolk, borrowed John's Stearman to fly it in a feature film called 'The Aviator' in (then) Yugoslavia. John also appeared in a feature film, 'Biggles', flying the Stearman as a German ace complete with spiked helmet. Several interviews were done with John including an ITV film with Mavis Nicholson presenting, which went into his history at the Jordans Mill, his self-imposed exile to the USA, his motor-racing exploits, etc. A legend." Post-WWII, he he took over his grandfather's run down flour mill [Holme Mills in Biggleswade] and built an animal feed mill on the same site which he continued to run until July, 2004. He was also the owner of four local garages, including Manor Garage (Commercial Vehicles) in Biggleswade.
d. 1 Apr 2006, Biggleswade, Beds: "One of the area's best known businessmen and public figures died at the weekend. John Jordan, pioneer of the Jordans grain empire in Biggleswade, passed away in his sleep on Saturday night at his family home in the town. He was 84. Hours before he died he had spent the afternoon with family and friends visiting the Shuttleworth Collection of aircraft at Old Warden, a place he loved, being an experienced aviator himself."- The Comet Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file): |
1946
1908
ICCL
