Father: George Henry Whitehurst (Joint General Manager of the National Provincial Bank, d. 1933), mother Winifred May [Martin], of Chiltern, Northwood Address in 1911: 13 Hollies Dr., Wednesbury, Staffs Ed. Repton School, Derbyshire; Corpus Christi, Cambridge, St Batholomew's Hospital MRCS (Eng) and LRCP (London) 1929
m. 14 Dec 1929 in Northwood, Jessie Constance Alexandra Ross [Macdonald]:
They divorced in 1938
RAeC Certificate 12818, 26 May 1935 on DH Moth at Brooklands Owned G-ADKS, a 1935 DH.87B Hornet Moth (which he bought for £750, new) He witnessed the first flight of the Hawker Hurricane at Brooklands, on 6 Nov 1935.
prev. a physician at Weybridge Hospital (he was an anaesthetist in 1933, and manager of the X-Ray Department in 1935) Address in 1930-35: 'Timewells', Oatlands Close, Weybridge, Surrey m. 1939 Betty Gwendoline [Holley] (d. 2010; 1 daughter, Ann) Address in 1940: Manby Lodge, Queens Rd, Weybridge, Surrey ("The hunting lodge of Lord Dudley") He was involved in a court case in April 1941, when he gave evidence against John Dudley Cotter (25), of no fixed abode, a veterinary student who had obtained morphia from him and another doctor, saying he required it to perform veterinary operations. "Dr. Neville Whitehurst told how Cotter, wearing R.A.S.C. uniform, came to see him and asked him for a grain of morphia and some material to perform an operation on a dog. Accused told him he was a veterinary surgeon, and witness found he possessed a sound knowledge of medical principles, so he supplied the drug to him." [Cotter was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, moved back to Dublin and later jailed for four years for fraud, and "obtaining between May, 1946, and November, 1947, from Dublin chemists, morphine sulphate and morphine hydrochloride, by means of forged medical and veterinary prescriptions; also for being in unlawful possession of the drugs".] prev. exp. 200 hrs Postings: 1FPP (as 2nd in Command from 29 Sep 1941, C.O. from 23 Nov 1942), 6FPP (as C.O. from 1 Jun 1944) Seconded to 131 OTU Killadeas, NI, 3-8 Aug 1944, for Catalina and Sunderland training Class VI pilot "I didn't miss practising medicine; I was too busy learning new things" 7 accidents, 4 his fault: - 25-Feb-42, a wheels-up landing in Beechcraft BS180, despite indicator lights showing undercarriage to be locked down - 31-May-42, he failed to control the landing swing in Tomahawk IIb AK155 at Thruxton and the undercarriage collapsed - 27-Oct-42, the port leg of his Halifax III W7908 sunk into an unmarked patch of ground whilst taxying and the undercarriage collapsed - 08-Nov-42, a forced landing back at South Marston after an engine failure in Stirling I R9253 - 05-Jun-43, he overshot the landing at Marwell in Halifax II JD247, and could only stop in time by retracting the undercarriage (!) - 21 Jan 1944, an aborted take-off after an oil leak in a Typhoon completely obscured his vision - 20 Apr 1944, taxying 'without due care', his Argus struck an obstruction marker
"Very keen, sound and had-working pilot. In view of his limited experience, his pilotage is exceptional" "A highly able and capable Commanding Officer"
OBE In New Years Honours List 1946 Joined Bowaters in 1949 "Dr Neville Whitehurst and Mr C. F. Popham have been elected to the board of the Bowater Paper Corporation. Dr Whitehurst, general manager and a director of the Bowater Scott Corporation, will take up his appointment as chairman of Bowaters United Kingdom Pulp & Paper Mills on January 1" - The Scotsman - 21 Dec 1963 Address in 1966: Waterlands Cottage, Knowle Lane, Cranleigh He retired in 1970 IWM Interview here: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80009782 d. 17 Jul 1997 - West Surrey Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file): |
RAeC 1935
The Tatler, 15 Jan 1930
