prev a test pilot; arrived in the UK in June 1940, and worked at the RAF Repair Depot at Burton Wood. prev exp. 500 hrs He was in demand as a 'very highly skilled engineer'- The Container Engineering Co. Ltd of Maidenhead even asked if he could be transferred to them, in March 1942. Although his initial flying reports were fine ("A good pilot, very careful and of good average ability"), in June 1943 he failed the conversion course for Class 5 (4-engine) aircraft (Stirling): "This pilot proved temperamental and erratic and his flying generally was disappointing... especially taxying which was much too fast and careless!" Charles Tutt, who was on the same course, said that, if he had been the instructor, he "would have failed him two hours earlier". He continued to do good work on single- and twin-engine aircraft, however, and eventually amassed 1,135 hrs in the ATA.
d. 8 Jun 1944 (Died in ATA Service) - Beaufighter NV235 flew into hillside in poor visibility near Mull of Galloway, Scotland.
23-year-old Senior Flight Engineer Royston Edwin Staniford also died in the crash. After the funeral, his wife Lucienne returned to Scarborough but two days later was taken ill and subsequently had a miscarriage. She returned to France in late 1944. He is commemorated in Saint-Lager:
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