Sir Nigel Norman, 2nd Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1897-05-21)21 May 1897 |
| Died | 19 May 1943(1943-05-19) (aged 45) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army (1915–26) Royal Air Force (1926–43) |
| Years of service | 1915–1943 |
| Rank | Air Commodore |
| Commands | No. 38 Wing RAF (1942–43) Central Landing Establishment (1940–42) No. 110 Wing RAF (1940) No. 601 Squadron RAF (1931–34) |
| Battles / wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Air CommodoreSir Henry Nigel St Valery Norman, 2nd Baronet,CBE (21 May 1897 – 19 May 1943) was a consulting civil engineer andRoyal Air Force officer during the first half of the 20th century.[1]
Nigel Norman was the only child of journalist and travel writerHenry Norman, and novelistMénie Muriel Dowie. Following officer training at theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, he served as asubaltern with theRoyal Garrison Artillery during theFirst World War. He later transferred to theRoyal Corps of Signals.[1]
In 1926, Norman married Patricia Moyra, eldest daughter of the late Lieutenant Colonel J.H.A. Annesley. During that year, Norman volunteered for reserve service as a pilot withNo. 601 (County of London) Squadron in theAuxiliary Air Force, and he later assumed duties as a flight commander.
In 1928, Norman co-foundedAirwork Services withAlan Muntz. In 1929, the company openedHeston Aerodrome that was active in private, commercial and military aviation until closure in 1947.[2] In 1931, he was appointed Officer Commanding of No. 601 Squadron. In 1934, he transferred to the Auxiliary Air Force Reserve of Officers in the rank ofsquadron leader. He later commanded No. 110 Army Co-operation Wing based atRAF Ringway.
In 1935, in partnership with architectGraham Dawbarn, Norman founded the consultancy firm ofNorman and Dawbarn, responsible for designs of buildings and lay-outs of many municipal airports in the UK and overseas, including those atGatwick,Birmingham,[3]Ringway,[4]Jersey, andGuernsey.
In 1939, Norman succeeded as 2nd Baronet.[1]
In 1940, Norman commanded theCentral Landing Establishment based at RAF Ringway. From the early days of theSecond World War, he worked in close collaboration with theBritish Army on developingairborne troops. Norman controlled the air side of the firstBritish paratroopraid onItaly shortly after it entered the war. He not only arranged all the details, but took a personal interest in all the numerous training exercises before the raid, and accompanied the paratroops on the expedition, returning regretfully, he said, in an aircraft, as he was not at that time a proficient parachutist. When he got back, he went on a parachute course. He distinguished himself inOperation Biting, the raid by British parachute troops on the coast of northern France in March 1942, when the radio location post atBruneval, 12 miles north ofLe Havre, was destroyed. It was a combined operation, the carrying force of R.A.F. bombers under Norman's command and led byWing CommanderP. C. Pickard.
Norman's final appointment came in 1942, when he was appointedAir Officer CommandingNo. 38 Wing. On 19 May 1943, Norman died in the post-crash fire whenLockheed Hudson IIIA FH168 that was to carry him toNorth Africa force-landed after takeoff fromRAF St Eval.[5]
Norman was a Fellow of theRoyal Aeronautical Society, a member of the Aviation Committee of the London Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Council of the Air Registration Board, of which body he was also chairman of the Design and Construction Panel.
Norman's eldest of three sons was Mark Annesley, born on 8 February 1927, who succeeded him as third baronet. Mark Norman worked forBristol Siddeley Engines as company secretary. Nigel Norman's second son wasDesmond Norman, co-founder of the aircraft manufacturerBritten Norman.Torquil Norman, third of Sir Nigel's sons, foundedBluebird Toys and theRoundhouse Trust.
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Honeyhanger) 1939–1943 | Succeeded by |
