Father: Sidney Lawrence Egginton, Little Heath Post Office, Coventry; mother, Florence [Bolton] Ed. King Henry VIII School, Coventry prev. a sub-Post Master; RAF LAC from 22 Feb 1941 to 15 Sep 1941 prev. exp. 37 hrs Address in 1942: Rose-Mary, Coventry Rd, Fillongley, Coventry He was fined 7s 6d in June 1939 for ignoring a 'Halt' sign while riding his bicycle (!) Postings: 6FPP, 7FPP, No 782 Sqn RAF (Donibristle), 3FPP The Air Ministry reported: "After 18 hrs dual and 12 hrs 30 min solo general standard below that required. Extremely slow thinking and has also found great difficulty in mastering the fundamentals of navigation" ... ... but his 'reference' from Pilot Officer T C Sumner MSc. said "I found him most capable and can say without hesitation that in many respects he was quite brilliant... he was awarded the 'Holt Memorial' Medal for Service and Leadership" His instructor perhaps summed it up: "Egginton is a likeable chap, thoroughly trustworthy and keen to fly" but "In war time there are limits to the amount of time we can give to a slow pupil" 6 accidents, only one definitely his fault: - 23 Aug 1942, a loose stone flew up while taxying and chipped the propeller - 2 Feb 1943, he landed a Hurricane with gear retracted; the gear operation was faulty - 29 Jul 1943, an error of judgement while landing a Martlet led to an uncontrolled swing - 9 Nov 1943, forced landing in a Warwick after engine failure - 14 Jan 1944, his Swordfish collided with a van while taxying, due to "insufficient care on part of the van driver"
d. 9 Jun 1944 in Avenger II JZ560, which disappeared on a flight from Hawarden to Hawkinge, Kent. It was assumed that he had flown too far and crashed into the English Channel as neither he nor the aircraft were spotted after takeoff, or ever found. The ATA (who continued paying his salary) even contacted the Red Cross to find out if he had accidentally flown to France and been taken prisoner, but nothing had been reported and he was finally presumed dead after 9 months, although it took until 1 Jul 1946 for probate to be finalised.
Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
When Coventry Cathedral was rebuilt in 1953, he was also remembered there: "SIX COMMEMORATED The Lady Chapel window, situated over the Lady Chapel altar, portrays the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been given by parents, relatives and friends in memory of six young men of St. Paul's Guild who gave their lives in the Second World War. Their names—Kenneth Aspell. Geoffrey Burrows. Anthony Crabb. Howard Checkley. Roy Egginton. and Edward Savage - are inscribed in the window. "
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