Pilot Officer, 602 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, from 27th Feb 1930 (London Gazette 13th May 1930) and previously 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Territorial Army. Accidentally killed in a mid-air collision midway between Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow involving his Westland Wapiti bomber and an Avro 504K fighter; according to the RAF investigation report they were taking part in unauthorised mock air fighting. His air gunner Eddie Smith parachuted to safety, flew again the next day, and lived until the 1990s. The other pilot, Christopher Philips, aged 21, also lost his life. They were given a joint funeral service with military honours, attended by Air Commodore WF MacNeece Foster and the Squadron CO, the Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale MP (later the 14th Duke of Hamilton), and were interred in almost adjacent graves. 602 Squadron,equipped with Spitfires, served with distinction in the Battle of Britain and subsequently.
Pilot Officer, 602 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, from 27th Feb 1930 (London Gazette 13th May 1930) and previously 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Territorial Army. Accidentally killed in a mid-air collision midway between Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow involving his Westland Wapiti bomber and an Avro 504K fighter; according to the RAF investigation report they were taking part in unauthorised mock air fighting. His air gunner Eddie Smith parachuted to safety, flew again the next day, and lived until the 1990s. The other pilot, Christopher Philips, aged 21, also lost his life. They were given a joint funeral service with military honours, attended by Air Commodore WF MacNeece Foster and the Squadron CO, the Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale MP (later the 14th Duke of Hamilton), and were interred in almost adjacent graves. 602 Squadron,equipped with Spitfires, served with distinction in the Battle of Britain and subsequently.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
