George Medal for Chilbolton Test Pilot

A press report from the Andover Advertiser dated 4th August 1950 records:

A 29-years-old Chilbolton test pilot, Mr. Leslie Robert Colquhoun, has been awarded the George Medal this week for ‘risking his life’ to save the aircraft he was testing. A former RAF Flight-Lieut., Mr. Colquhoun was already the holder of the D.F.C and D.F.M.                                              He is employed at the Supermarine Works of Vickers Armstrongs at Chilbolton, and it was during a high speed test there that the starboard wing of the aircraft he was flying folded up and remained vertical. The ailerons were locked, but Mr. Colquhoun found that by flying at over 200 miles per hour he could retain some measure of control.                  At the time of his plight he was practically over his home, “Penn Acre,” Chilbolton, where his wife and three young daughters were unaware of what was happening above them.                                                                      In the citation it states that Mr. Colquhoun would have been fully justified in abandoning the aircraft, but “by skill and judgment of a high order he made a successful landing, enabling the cause of the wing failure to be quickly ascertained and rectified.”                                         The citation added, “Colquhoun showed exceptional courage and coolness in circumstances of great danger, and deliberately risked his life to bring the aircraft down intact.”                                                              Mr. Colquhoun had a distinguished war record with the RAF, serving in Malta, North Africa and Italy. In February, 1945, he was seconded to Vickers Armstrongs, and after his de-mobilisation in 1946 he became a civil test pilot.                                                                                                        With his family he has been living at Chilbolton for about three years, and his wife, with whom an Advertiser reporter spoke yesterday, said how very proud she was of her husband.

Flight Lieutenant Leslie Robert Colquhoun DFC GM DFM (1921-2001) was an RAF photographic reconnaissance pilot during the Second World War, test pilot and Hovercraft pioneer. He was born on 15 March 1921 at Hanwell, Middlesex and was educated at Ealing. He joined the RAF in August 1940 and trained as a pilot. His first posting was to 603 Squadron where he flew the Supermarine Spitfire on convoy protection patrols. For nine months in 1941 and 1942 Colquhoun flew 154 operational sorties in his unarmed and pale blue painted Spitfire over Italy. These sorties were flown mostly over the sea, a risky business in a single-engine Spitfire.

Flight Lieutenant Colquhoun returned to the United Kingdom where he trained to fly the photographic reconnaissance variant of de Havilland Mosquito in Scotland. In 1943 he joined 682 Squadron based in Algeria and later moved to Italy. He stayed with the squadron until October 1944 and carried out 262 operational sorties, earning a DFC.

After his time at Chilbolton as a production test pilot, he was soon testing the new Hovercraft being produced by Vickers and went on to become operations manager of Vickers’ Hovercraft division. In 1966 he joined Hoverlloyd as operational manager for the cross channel hovercraft service, and eventually ended up running a jetfoil service to Dieppe for Seaspeed.

Les Colquhoun became custodian of Chiddingstone Castle, before he retired to live at Broadstairs in Kent. He died in July 2001 leaving a wife and four daughters. In his obituary published in the Daily Telegraph dated 20th July 2001, there is a slightly fuller account of the test flight which earned him his George Medal:

In May 1950, he was flying an Attacker when the outer tip of his
starboard wing folded up. The ailerons locked and Colquhoun began to lose control of the plane. Coolly declining to eject, he stayed put in the hope of discovering the cause of the fault. Flying by rudder alone, he managed to bring the speed up to more than 200 mph. Although this was about twice the Attacker’s landing speed, he was able to land at Chilbolton, Hampshire’s 1,800 yd runway, with the length of a cricket pitch to spare.

2012 is not only a Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II, as 22nd July this year will mark 60 years since the UK release of the film ‘The Sound Barrier.’ Wherwell History Group is planning to show this film at a Charity Film Evening in Wherwell Village Hall. This British film was directed by David Lean and was his third and final film with his wife Ann Todd. Other stars include Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Nigel Patrick, John Justin and Dinah Sheridan.

This film tells a fictional story about attempts by aircraft designers and test pilots to break the sound barrier. It was a great box-office success, so put the date in your diaries now – Friday 20th July 2012.

Penn Acre, Chilbolton – front view with shop

It is believed that ‘Penn Acre’ was built in 1947 as both a home and doubled-fronted General Store, at a time when Branksome Avenue was an un-made road with ‘Louise Cottage’  the only other dwelling. If any reader has any memories of Les Colquhoun, or any additional material relating to ‘Penn Acre’ then Wherwell History Group would be very interested to be contacted. Our email address is wherwellhistory@gmail.com