John Derry

[Chuck_Joe]

Hallo everyone

Can you help me with some details about the biography of John Derry?
Where and when was he born?
Was he a military pilot during WW2?
When did he begin his experimental work at De Havilland?
Was he married, any children?

Thanks for your help

Bart Vandamme
Belgium

[Gainesy]

He was born in December 1921, strangely, his biography does not say where or the exact date.

Joined RAF in late 1939/ early 1940 again the book is very vague. He was initially a wireless operator/air gunner on 269Sqn flying Wellingtons and Hudsons frrom Wick in Scotland.

Selected for pilot training in canada in 1943, ended the war flying Typhoons and married a girl called Eve in 1945 (the book just says "at war's end").

He first joined Supermarine as a test pilot before moving to DH in late October/early November 1947 (book ambiguous again).

Had two girls Carol and Jo.

Book is "John Derry" by Annie Bullen and Brian Rivas, ISBN 0-7183-0099-8
probably out of print by now.

[Halcyon Days]

His Grandson is now an F/O with Easyjet on the Airbus fleet.

[Mark22]

Supermarines 1947 - John Derry, far right

PeterA

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v634/Mark12/Album%204/SupermarineTestPilotsLesColqhounMik.jpg

[CNH]

He was an old boy of Charterhouse [an 'Old Carthusian'], and the school's technology centre is named after him.

[Chuck_Joe]

Thanks everyone for the help you give me. Very nice picture.:ok:

Bart Vandamme
Belgium

[Chris Royle]

Mike lithgow, Jeffery Quill and John Derry I can recognise.
Can someone identify the other gentlemen?
And that is obviously an Attacker (prototype?). Where? Chilbolton?

[Kieron Kirk]

Flt. Lt. L.R.Colquhoun DFC GM DFM. is one.

Flt. Lt. W J G Morgan DFC is the other.

[Mark22]

I have log entries for all, except John Derry, flying my old Seafire 46 LA564.

Now where would John Derry's log book be, I wonder?

Attacker proto TS413, June 1947, Chilbolton.

PeterA

[Chris Royle]

Thanks. I was 2 months old when that was taken! Flew over Chilbolton earlier this week en-route to Old Sarum.
Used by microlights now. Was it used by Folland after Vickers Supermarine?

[beaver36]

It was with a slight shock that I realised after all these years that I hadn't got John Derry's exact date of birth in his biography.What a prize idiot!Thank you for drawing my attention to this.

However, it is not too late, as the book has been revised and updated and is scheduled to be republished later this year to coincide with the 60th anniversary of John's first supersonic flight on 6th September 1948.

Derry was a boyhood hero of mine and I never lost my admiration for him, so the biography was entirely a labour of love. I met some wonderful people when doing the research in 1980 and it was clear that John was admired and loved by all who knew him and universally respected as a pilot.

I feel privileged to be able to keep his name alive.

Brian Rivas,
Somerset

*For the record, JD was born on 5th December 1921 in Cairo.

[megan]

A little info, but not much.

John Derry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Derry)

[Wander00]

Mk22 - good to see you on here again - how is the Mk22, and the compass and gunsight?

W