Obituaries

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F/Lt Murray Anderson- pilot :salute:

Murray Anderson, who has died aged 96, had an unusually varied flying career in the RAF, which resulted in the award of two DFCs for gallantry; his post-war civil flying brought even greater variety and adventure. A regular Army officer, Anderson was seconded to the RAF to train as a pilot. Frustrated with being on a UK-based Army co-operation squadron, he volunteered for the lonely and dangerous world of flying unarmed Spitfires on long-range photographic reconnaissance sorties. He flew his first operation over Europe on May 28 1941, photographing four enemy airfields. He then moved to Cornwall where he flew numerous sorties monitoring the movements of Germany's capital ships based in Brest.
In November 1941 he made one of his longest sorties when he flew to Chemnitz. Navigating with his magnetic compass, a stopwatch, annotated map and, as he described it, "your nous", he photographed key targets. After five hours in the cramped and intensely cold cockpit, he landed. Following a brief detachment to Gibraltar to photograph the Spanish and Algerian coasts, Anderson was returning to Britain when he ran out of fuel 90 miles from the south coast. He managed to stretch the aircraft's glide and land in a field. On another occasion the engine of his Spitfire failed and he ditched in the sea.
Over Hamburg he was hit by anti-aircraft fire at 28,000 ft but he continued to photograph his target before managing to bring his damaged Spitfire back to an airfield in England. On another occasion he was chased by enemy fighters but evaded them and brought back his photographs. In September 1942 he was awarded the DFC for "his excellent work, courage and devotion to duty".
In November 1942 he joined a new unit to support Operation Torch. Flying from Maison Blanche in Algeria, he took photographs of Tunis, Bizerta and targets in Tunisia. During this period with No 4 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit he was sometimes given tasks by the USAAF. After three months of intense flying he was awarded a second DFC and the US Air Medal.
Murray Crichton Bell Anderson was born into a military family in Norwood on December 7 1919. He spent his early childhood in India and was educated at Cheltenham College. His brother Lindsay became a distinguished film director. Murray gained entrance to the Royal Military Academy Woolwich and was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment.
After returning from North Africa he was an instructor for a short time before going on to another photographic reconnaissance squadron. He took photographs of fields in France to be used by the special duties squadrons dropping SOE agents. He met a friend flying on one of these "moonlight" squadrons who persuaded him to volunteer. On October 27 1943 he flew his 131st reconnaissance sortie and then joined No 161 Squadron to fly Lysanders into torch-lit fields, dropping agents and returning with others.
His long-range navigation skills were a great help to him, but now he had to perfect them at night and at low level. He flew his first special duties sortie in February 1944, and in the build-up to the D-Day landings he was one of the busiest pilots on the squadron.
Once he picked up a pilot who had force-landed near Caen. Later he landed near Angers to bring back four agents: one had a 55 ft map showing the details of all the enemy defences on the Cotentin Peninsula and also a great deal of information on the secret weapon sites.
Anderson had an irrepressible nature, great energy and courage and enjoyed life but he had a disdain for desk-bound higher authorities who rarely flew on operations. He was once told to fly a very long-range sortie to the region of Lyon, which would have resulted in his being over enemy territory in daylight. He had a one-sided "discussion" with his station commander, who decided they should part company. Anderson was posted to a fighter-bomber squadron. Within weeks he was flying Mustangs of No 65 Squadron from a basic airstrip in Normandy, and dive-bombing bridges. Over the next three months his squadron followed the advancing Allied armies and Anderson flew 70 close support operations. He was finally rested and returned to a ground appointment. Inevitably, this did not suit him, and within weeks he was flying RAF Dakotas in India. Anderson left the RAF after the war as a flight lieutenant, and returned to India to begin a long civilian flying career which took in the period of Indian Partition and taking supplies into remote areas of Assam and Burma. In 1952 he began a five-year period carrying pilgrims to and from Mecca for the annual pilgrimage.
He later operated out of Aden before flying a United Nations Dakota from Rawalpindi. This was followed by three years in the Persian Gulf, but his great passion was India and he returned to fly for Air Nepal. He left India in 1967 and for the next 12 years flew the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 from Lympne airport near Hythe in Kent, where he bought the house in which he lived until his death. He flew with Dan Air until 1979 when he reached the obligatory retirement age of 60, at which point he joined Skyways Air Freight, operating from Lydd airport. The company went into liquidation within a year and Anderson's 40-year career was over after 22,000 flying hours.
In retirement Anderson made beautiful life-size replica church brasses using linoleum, intricately decorated. Many are displayed on the walls of stately homes and castles in Kent, including Lympne Castle. He wrote a fascinating and amusing autobiography, Saint Praftu (2009).
He married Mary Tappo in 1959. In 2004 he married Jean MacEwan who survives him with a son and daughter from his first marriage.

Murray Anderson, born December 7 1919, died March 22 2016

source: The Telegraph
 
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Wing Commander Arthur Gill :salute:

Wing Commander Arthur Gill, who has died aged 100, was one of the few survivors from his squadron after the Japanese overran the Dutch East Indies; he went on to become the RAF's leading dive-bomber pilot during the campaign in Burma.
Gill was the senior surviving officer of No 84 Squadron to reach India after the squadron had been annihilated in Sumatra and Java in March 1942. Higher authority had decided to disband the squadron but through his tenacious efforts it was rebuilt and equipped with the American-built Vengeance dive-bomber. After many months of re-organisation and training, Gill was able to demonstrate his squadron's capabilities to Admiral Lord Mountbatten and Major General Orde Wingate. They were impressed and Wingate sought the squadron's support for his forthcoming Chindits expedition. The squadron flew its first operation on February 16 1944, when Gill led 14 of his aircraft to attack Japanese positions in the Arakan. Attacking in a near vertical dive, the Vengeance crews placed their two 500 lb bombs with great accuracy, sometimes just 100 yards ahead of Allied troops. Gill's squadron was so effective that it was in constant demand by Army commanders. He led attacks in support of the British 14th Army and Wingate's Chindits before becoming heavily involved in the battles around Kohima and Imphal. In a desperate attempt to relieve the men, and contending with the monsoon weather, Gill led attacks within yards of the beleaguered troops. He received the following signal from the garrison: "Your bombing a bull's eye, bloody good show."
Over the coming months Gill was in constant action, often leading formations of 24 aircraft. Sometimes his crews flew two or three sorties each day and the often maligned Vengeance aircraft became a key element of the RAF's attack force. In addition to supporting the ground forces, Gill led attacks against bridges over the Irrawaddy, rail yards and enemy stores areas.
He regularly received signals of congratulations from Army commanders in the field. On July 16 the squadron flew its last sortie with the Vengeance, when Gill led 12 aircraft in an attack against an ammunition dump at Le-u. It was his 108th sortie in Burma, almost all as the leader of large formations.
"Thank you for your work in 221 Group," the Air Officer Commanding signalled Gill. "In five months you have carried out 1,800 sorties dropping over 900 tons of bombs. Good luck." The leader of the Chindits, General Lentaigne, thanked him for his "first class co-operation and support". Gill was awarded the DFC but was bitterly disappointed that the rewards to his squadron, particularly the ground crew, were so paltry.
Arthur Murland Gill was born at Finchley on February 24 1916 and educated at the Royal Commercial Traveller's School, Pinner. He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1937 and trained to be a pilot. Called up on the outbreak of war, he completed his training before heading for South Africa as an instructor. In September 1941 he joined No 84 Squadron at Habbaniya near Baghdad, flying the Blenheim bomber. Within a month, the squadron moved to the Western Desert. Gill attacked motor transport columns, supply depots and troop concentrations and had completed more than 20 operations when the squadron left for the Far East. Following the Japanese attacks against Malaya and Singapore, reinforcements were rushed to the area. No 84 started to arrive in January and by the time Gill and his section of Blenheims reached the area, Singapore was about to fall and he headed for Palembang in Sumatra. Landing after a night bombing sortie, Gill's aircraft hit a large crater on the runway and was wrecked. The situation in Sumatra soon became "chaotic" and the RAF forces were ordered to evacuate and head for Java. Having lost his aircraft, Gill co-ordinated the destruction of weapons and surplus equipment before organising the withdrawal of the ground party. He was the last to board the final ferry to Java. Finally, on February 17, it was decided to evacuate all non-essential personnel and the surplus aircrew. They embarked on the old steamship Yoma and sailed for India. Of the 605 officers and airmen who had left Egypt a few weeks earlier, only 132 returned to India.
After his tour in command of No 84 Squadron, Gill worked on the air plans staff at HQ 221 Group, where he was mentioned in despatches. He also received the Air Efficiency Award. He returned to Britain in June 1945.
After the war he flew with the Overseas Ferry Unit and commanded a number of Maintenance Units, testing aircraft before they wsere returned to squadrons. He flew a variety of aircraft from the four-engine Shackleton to the supersonic Hunter fighter. He served on the air staff in Egypt and Cyprus and for his work at HQ Signals Command he was appointed OBE. He spent three years in Oslo as the British Air Attaché before his final tour on the personnel staff at Air Support Command, retiring in 1971.

Gill was greatly admired by his staff. Members of the current 84 Squadron flew from Cyprus to join him in celebrating his 100th birthday. He died a few hours after they left the party.
He married Doris Hammond in 1948, six years after their first meeting in India. She and their son and two daughters survive him.

Wing Commander Arthur Gill, born February 24 1916, died March 4 2016

source: The Telegraph
 
Harry Ferrier, last Midway Survivor of VT-8. :salute:

Harry Ferrier enlisted in the Navy on January 28, 1941, three days after his sixteenth birthday. After boot camp and aviation radio school, he joined Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
In 1941, VT-8 was flying the outdated TBD Devastator, but in early 1942, the squadron was selected to receive the first of the new TBF Avengers. Since the USS Hornet was immediately needed in the Pacific, a small detachment of VT-8 was chosen to stay behind and train on the new planes. Harry Ferrier, his pilot Albert "Bert" Earnest and gunner Jay Manning were selected to be part of this detachment.
After about three months of training on the Avenger, Ferrier and the detachment of six Avengers were sent to Pearl Harbor to join the rest of VT-8. Arriving on May 28, 1942, the detachment had missed the USS Hornet which had sailed for Midway a day earlier. The group then volunteered to fly directly to Midway Island to re-enforce the Marine Garrison there.
On June 4, 1942, Harry Ferrier and his crew received word of Japanese aircraft heading towards Midway and sightings of an enemy fleet 150 miles out to sea. All six Avengers took off immediately. Five minutes later, Jay manning reported seeing Japanese planes starting their attack on Midway Island.
About an hour later, Bert Earnest saw Japanese ships on the horizon. As the Avengers prepared to attack, they were jumped by Japanese Zeros. Harry Ferrier heard Jay Manning fire a few rounds from his turret, but then go silent. He looked up after feelings Manning's blood drip on him and saw Manning's lifeless body and the turret full of holes.
Flying at 200 feet, the Avengers pressed home their attacks on the Japanese fleet, but under a swarm of Zeros they were being shot down one by one. Canon shells from the Zeros shot away the elevator, compass and hydraulics on Ferrier's plane. Pilot Bert Earnest struggled with the controls, but managed to release his torpedo at a Japanese cruiser. Soon after, Harry Ferrier was hit by shrapnel and knocked unconscious.
After fending off Zeros and flying on dead reckoning, Bert Earnest managed to locate Midway Island. Harry Ferrier regained consciousness and Earnest asked him to confirm that the torpedo was successfully launched. Ferrier couldn't tell because the window to the bomb bay was covered in blood.
Ferrier's Avenger approached Midway and prepared for landing. With only one wheel down, it was waived off twice. On the third approach Earnest touched down. The plane ground looped and came to a gentle stop.
Harry Ferrier and Bert Earnest were alive. They were the only plane of VT-8 to return to base. Five out of six of VT-8's Midway based Avengers were lost and all 15 of their carrier based Devastators were shot down during the battle. Their Avenger had nearly 70 holes in it.
For his actions that day, Harry Ferrier was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. His pilot, Bert Earnest was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.
Harry Ferrier continued to fly with VT-8 after the Battle of Midway, participating in the Battle of Guadalcanal. After WWII, he stayed in the Navy and served in Korea and Vietnam.
 
Stephen Wheatcroft, aviation expert. :salute:

Stephen Wheatcroft, who has died aged 94, became a leading authority in the field of civil aviation, after his career had been decided by a hint from a university teacher. Wheatcroft was about to leave the London School of Economics to join the Navy, when his supervisor, the free-market economist FA Hayek, suggested that he should return for graduate research after the war, and that the economics of civil aviation might be a fruitful subject. This was most prescient advice at a time when aviation was barely a glimmer of the multi-billion world-wide industry it would become. Not that Wheatcroft sympathised with his mentor politically: he always thought himself a man of the Left, first harder and then softer, and lived to be dismayed by the sight of Jeremy Corbyn leading the Labour Party he had so long supported.
Stephen Frederick Wheatcroft was born in north London on September 11 1921 (which meant that his 80th birthday saw one awful consequence of aviation, in New York), the son of a carpenter. He had one brother, who was killed serving with the RAF.
In the days when poor scholarship boys were still unusual, Wheatcroft went from Latymer School in Edmonton to the LSE, where he took a First in Economics, rowed on the Cam when the LSE was evacuated to Cambridge, and was president of the Union. From 1970 to 2003 he was a Governor of the LSE, and then its first Emeritus Governor. At the LSE he met Joy Reed. They married in 1943 and had two sons and a daughter.
By the time Wheatcroft married he was in uniform, commissioned in the RNVR, and trained in Canada as a Fleet Air Arm pilot. He served in Indomitable with the Far East Fleet based in Trincomalee, and took part in the bombing of Japanese oil fields in Sumatra, an operation he spoke of somewhat derisively, when he talked about the war at all. On demobilisation he briefly returned to the LSE, but his plans changed when he was recruited by British European Airways, whose Commercial Planning manager he was from 1946 to 1953. He then spent two years as a Simon Research Fellow at Manchester University, working on what would be published in 1956 as The Economics of European Air Transport. From 1956 to 1972 he was an independent consultant, working for airlines in Canada, India and the West Indies among other countries, but he was still retained as an advisor by BEA, and from 1967 to 1969 he served as Assessor or technical adviser to the official committee of inquiry into the civil air transport industry under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Edwards. This may have been his most influential work: although the Edwards Report did not recommend the immediate amalgamation of BEA and the British Overseas Airways Corporation, that was in practice its outcome, and Wheatcroft, like Edwards, became a member of the board of the new-born British Airways in 1972. He was appointed OBE in 1974. Although he remained a board member, and chairman of British Airways Helicopters, until 1982, he enjoyed executive corporate life less and less, and did not work happily with Lord King, the formidable and sometimes overbearing self-made industrialist whom Mrs Thatcher's government made chairman of BA.
Wheatcroft left for private practice again and for his own consultancy, Aviation and Tourism International, which he and his colleague Geoffrey Lipman ran from 1983 to 2000. His first wife died in 1974 and Wheatcroft married Alison Dessau, an American living in London.
He skied until his seventies, and in later years they were able to spend much time at their house near Villeneuve-sur-Lot as well as in Hampshire, and to enjoy travel, bridge, the opera. She and their two sons survive him, together with his elder children.

Stephen Wheatcroft, born September 11 1921, died April 26 2016.

Source: The Telegraph.
 
Bob Cowper- ONE of Australia's most highly decorated World War II veteran. :salute:


Former squadron leader and fighter pilot Bob Cowper, who survived dozens of wartime missions and the crashing of his Mosquito aircraft on two occasions, would have turned 94 this Friday.
Leader of the famous 456 RAAF Night Fighters, Mr Cowper's many medals included a Distinguished Flying Cross (with bar) for gallantry, the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and the French Legion of Honour, for his heroics during the D-Day invasion at Normandy in June 1944. "I remember on the first night of D-Day (June 6) the squadron shot down four aircraft near Normandy,'' he recalled in 2014 when living at Netley. "Altogether, I think we shot down about 35 aircraft over the beach and our squadron was proud to have been part of the entire operation that created history and helped end the war in Europe."
Mr Cowper joined the RAAF on his 18th birthday in June 1940.

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