Father: Alexander Staples Irwin, a Railway Registrar (b. in Co. Tyrone, Dungannon, d. 1912); Mother: Lilliaan Edith [Howse, d. 1945] 5 brothers, 2 sisters
m. 1 Jun 1924 in Barnet, Kathleen Nancy [Swindell] (d. 1978) prev. RFC, RAF 12 Sep 1917 - 1919; Bank Manager (Director of the National Provincial Bank) Address in 1939: 19 Bramber Rd, Friern Barnet, N.12 Postings: 6FPP, 1FPP
7 accidents, 5 his fault: - 29 Oct 1941, a wheels-up landing in Spitfire P8202 after the undercarriage failed to lower - 5 Dec 1941, he overshot the landing in Spitfire BL255 in poor visibility after persisting too far in bad weather - 5 Dec 1942, he taxied too fast in high winds, in Spitfire Vc ES288, and the aircraft nosed over - 6 Aug 1944, he failed to control the take-off swing in Stirling IV EF435 and the port undercarriage collapsed - 2 Sep 1944, he landed Halifax VII NP772 in a crosswind and heavy rain, drifted off the runway and failed to stop before hitting a Lancaster with his wingtip - 18 Mar 1945, his Spitfire IX NH197 struck a tree stump whilst taxying, due to defective brakes - 7 Apr 1945, he overshot the landing in Tempest II MW757, and overturned after running into some barbed wire.
King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air
d. 13 Jan 1987 - Woking, Surrey * File not seen |
