On Wing and Water

On Wing and Water by Jane Wilson

In May 2012, I wrote an article “George Medal for Chilbolton Test Pilot” about Leslie Colquhoun DFC (b: 15th March 1921). In December 2014, his daughter Jane Wilson published a book  about his life as war hero, test pilot and Hovercraft pioneer. In the Introduction, Jane writes

My father died in April 2001, but it was not until ten years later when my mother died, that I found a number of talks he had written, plus what I think must have been the start of an autobiography

There are chapters on: 1938 – The Threat of War, Joining the RAF, The Siege of Malta, Test Pilot, Breaking the Sound Barrier, Hovercraft Pioneer, Cross-Channel Adventures and Ashore At Last, accompanied by nearly 80 photographs. The book is easy to read. About half the book has been written by Leslie himself and expertly threaded together by Jane with interesting facts and recollections designed to put the life story into chronological order.

Penn Acre, Chilbolton – front view with shop

In Chapter Four, Jane writes

On August 28th 1948, Les won the Hythe Aero Trophy Challenge at Lympne Airfield, flying the Spitfire Trainer Prototype at 324 mph. This was the last year that this event took place, the two previous winners being  William Humble in 1946 and Peter Twiss in 1947.  At about this time, Les and Katie bought and moved into their first house, Penn Acre, Branksome Avenue, Chilbolton. This would be their home for the next eight years. In 1948, identical twins were born, Helen and Jane. Eighteen months later a third daughter, Peta was born. Katie had her hands full, but was helped out by Betty Ridout from the village. While they were at Penn Acre two extensions were built and part of the house was converted into a village store (see above). This was run by Katie and a friend of hers from Leckford, Marjorie Hayes. They don’t appear to have made any money, but they provided a valuable and friendly service to residents of the village. Leslie and Katie both entered fully into village life, becoming Parish Councillors and Les played for the village cricket team.

In July 2012, Wherwell History Group published a souvenir booklet to accompany the Charity Film Evening which celebrated 60 years since the release of the film ‘The Sound Barrier.’ This booklet has biographies and photos of six of the test pilots based at Chilbolton, and some of these photos are on display in the Abbots Mitre in Chilbolton.

First Published in Chilbolton & Wherwell Community Magazine – Feb 2015