FltLt AM Laidlay DFC (1927-2016)

[ricardian]

A friend posted this to the Ex-Boy Entrants Facebook page:

My Flight Commander in the 19th Entry at Cosford in 1954 was Flight Lieutenant Andrew Malcolm Laidlay D.F.C.
He was born in 1925, scion of Scottish landed gentry and grew up in Dorset, going to the prestigious Sherbourne School that he left in 1942. At age 17 he joined the Home Guard and then the Royal Air Force, training in Canada as a pilot.
Due to a surfeit of pilots he was a glider pilot first and then sent to India Burma to fly the Stimpston L-5 Sentinel, an American Auster-like two seater observation aircraft that with a 185hp engine, extended flaps and wings stressed to 14g, landing gear to 10g, was called, 'the flying Jeep'.
It was widely used by the Americans and the Royal Air Force and could land and take off on a 200 ft platform treetop built on the jungle treetops!
Malcolm left in the 1947 but reinlisted in 1949.
He captained a 88 Squadron Sunderland in the Sea of Japan off the Korean coast, completing 56 sorties in all.
His DFC was gazetted on 1st Jan 1953 and he arrived at Cosford soon afterwards.
After the Boys he went back to flying, first Canberras and then Vulcans. At 101 Squadron and now a Squadron Leader he captained one of three Vulcans refuelling in flight to Australia in 1963.
My old Flight Commader died on 22nd August 2016 aged 91.
Per Ardua Ad Astra Sir!

[G-CPTN]

A varied choice of aircraft.