M.428	Flight Captain	Gilman Benedict 'Ben' Warne MBE
	b. 17 Aug 1909, Montclair, New Jersey	22 Apr 1941 to 30 Sep 1945

Alan Jacobus	1945
No.1 Ferry Pool Ferry pilots and Instructors, 1942. L-R; ‘Bill’ Harben, W J White, Jim Mollison, P L Burnett, Joan Hughes, Stewart Keith-Jopp, ‘Ben’ Warne, ‘Doc’ Whitehurst, J Shoesmith, ‘Red’ Imes, R H Henderson, Harry Ellis, Lettice Curtis, Klemens Dlugaszewski, Vic Pieper. ELC

Father: Gilman B Warne, a Realtor;  Mother: Ethel Ingersol [Benedict]

 Ed. Cedar Grove Public School, Bloomfield High School

 m. 1931 Agnes Kathryn [Erbe] (1 child before 1941) (divorced 1946)

pre. own business (Sterling Beverage Co); Curtis Propeller Co.

  Draft Card, dated 16 Oct 1940

Address in 1941: 41 Summit Ave, Cedar Grove, Essex, NJ (later 1156 North West 40th St., Miami, FL)

 Arrived in the UK 22 Apr 1941 on the SS Mercier with fellow American ferry pilots James Emor O'Halloran, John Cleveland Davis (M.416), Emmett Chaffin, Marvin Harrison Dunlavy (M.408), Harold Lindsey Price.

 Postings: 1FPP, 16FPP, AFTS (Instructor)

 4 accidents, 3 his fault:

- 4 Jan 1942, a wheels-up landing in Harvard  P5812 due to 'bad cockpit drill'

- 9 Jul 1942, the tail and fuselage of Oxford I BG126 were damaged during a heavy landing; as instructor, he should have taken over earlier from the pupil

- 8 Feb 1944, forced landing in Boston IIIa BZ374, due to incorrect positioning of the fuel cock

- 13 Aug 1944, a forced landing in Hudson I N7238:

Certificate of Commendation, 1944, and Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) 1945: "On the 13th August 1944, Flt-Capt G B Warne was instructing on a Hudson aircraft. Whilst in the air the port engine caught fire and dense smoke filled the cockpit. The pilot managed to make a wheels-up landing down-wind in a field, and succeeded in extricating himself and his pupil from the burning wreckage, with only minor injury to both."

  Ben's MBE - via  Alan Jacobus 

[The pupil was Jane Plant; after the forced landing and having exited the burning aircraft through the cockpit side window, Ben re-entered the cockpit to lift the unconscious Jane to safety. Ben was taken to hospital with burns, Jane escaped with "nothing worse than shock"]

 "A competent and inspiring instructor" ..."A most likeable officer who works hard" ... "By sheer example he has maintained a high standard in his flight"

m. 1947 in Westminster, Rose Ellen [Deacon] (d. 1995)

    Alan Jacobus 

"When he retired to Columbia County, PA, he built a small airport and museum where he stored and exhibited WWII and ATA memorabilia. His ashes are interred at this airport."

d. 10 Oct 1990

He and Rose are commemorated at ATA Memorial Airfield, Pine Summit, Columbia County, PA

Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):