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flying bombers to cut the wires of barrage balloons. To
obtain data, Wilson had to make a series of flights in a
specially modified Hurricane, a task which involved flying
the aircraft into the wires of tethered balloons. On one
occasion the wire jammed his controls, and he had great
difficulty extracting the aircraft from a spin. He recovered
at 1,000 ft and landed with a length of wire trailing
behind his aircraft.
On November 30th 1942, he took off from Exeter
airfield in his Hurricane for a further test. As a special
precaution, his cockpit was reinforced to reduce the risk
of decapitation, but the heavy structure gave him a very
limited view. He did not see two German fighters, which
were on a tip-and-run raid over Devon. Their Cannon
shells thudded into the Hurricane, severely damaging the
aircraft’s controls. Wilson tried to bale out but could not
open the heavy canopy; after several attempts, he
managed to land, then discovered that most of the rear of
the aircraft had been shot away.
Early models of the four-engine Halifax bomber
suffered control problems resulting in many accidents
with heavy loss of life. A test crew from Farnborough,
endeavouring to identify the problem, were killed when
the aircraft crashed out of control. Immediately
afterwards, Wilson took an engineer on a test flight for a
further attempt to obtain data. As the heavy bomber
entered a turn, it rolled violently and entered a vertical
dive. With great difficulty, Wilson managed to regain
control before landing the aircraft safely. A major
modification to the aircraft’s two fins eventually solved
the problem. Wilson was awarded the AFC.
After spending six months briefing pilots in the United
States on RAF flight testing methods, Wilson was given
command of No. 102 squadron, equipped with modified
Halifax bombers, and led his squadron on many raids
over Germany.
On four separate occasions his aircraft was damaged
by anti-aircraft fire. While leading a raid to Scholven in
October 1944, his aircraft was badly damaged as he
started his bombing run. Despite this, he continued to fly
straight and level over the target until the bombs had
been dropped. The citation for his DSO described him as
“a squadron commander of outstanding quality,
possessing a high order of courage and devotion to duty.”
Wilson was deeply affected by the loss of his young
crews. He insisted on writing personal letters to the next
of kin of all the aircrew posted missing, often remaining
at his desk for hours after he had returned from an
operation.
After the war, he had appointments in Iraq and the Far
East, and commanded Nos. 9 and 49 squadrons when
they were converting from the Lancaster to the Lincoln
bomber.
After a series of appointments at the Air Ministry,
Wilson served in Germany before flying fighters as the
chief instructor at the Central Gunnery School and taking
a two-year appointment on the operations staff of the
Second Allied Tactical Air Force in Germany.
He retired in 1959, when he joined the export
department of the aero-engine division of Rolls-Royce. He
finally retired to Hampshire in 1973.
Douglas Wilson, who died on June 6th, married Valerie
Roche in 1940. The marriage was dissolved in 1953, and in
the same year he married Eileen Farrell. He is survived by
his second wife and by twin daughters and a son from
his first marriage.
(Reproduced from The Daily Telegraph of June 30th, 2004.)
JAMES SOMERVILLE (O40/45)
Alderman James Somerville died on January 21st, 2005.
The funeral service was private but a memorial service
took place in the church at Kemble on Friday, February
4th with Royal British Legion representatives present.
James was in Plox from 1935 and then in Old House
between 1940 and 1945 when he joined the Royal
Marines, being demobbed in 1948. Until 1974 he was a tea
planter, after which he devoted much time to the Royal
British Legion as Housing Manager and area organiser. He
worked tirelessly as a district councillor for the
Thameside District and was made an alderman after
twenty years service.
MARK PRIDIE (O55/59)
Mark Pridie died on July 21st, 2004 on his yacht,
Contessa in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Mark and his wife,
Mandy, were on holiday, enjoying his retirement from the
Merchant Navy. He died peacefully after a swim in the
ocean. Mark was an easy-going person with many friends
in the yachting world. He leaves behind not only his
widow, Mandy, but also two sisters and four brothers. He
was cremated on July 29th last year in Bourne, Cape Cod.
A service of thanksgiving, conducted by Mark’s youngest
brother, the Revd William Pridie, took place in the church
at Northlew, near Oakhampton, Devon on August 26th,
2004.
MEMORIAL RUGBY MATCH
On 7th November, 2004, one year after the tragic loss
of Alex, it was fitting for family and friends to come
together to remember, enjoy a good game of rugby and
enjoy some good food afterwards. For some, it was the
first game in about seven years, since the days of Mr
Passmore’s Set Six; for others, it had been less than a
term, and it showed.
The teams arrived – some members a little hung over
from the night before in The Blue Ball and some even
needing their boots put on for them! A mixture of
members of Staff and OB’s drawn from a wide range of
year groups donned their rugby kit to do battle on Hyde
playing field. It was great to see current members of the
School alongside the pitch, supporting the teams. It was
very kind of the new Headmaster, Mr Lashbrook, to let us
use the pitches and even to give up a bit of his weekend
32 OLD BRUTONIAN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 2005