I’ve had a look at the rest of the 24 Sq ORB for 1940. Sadly, it remains fragmentary for the summer and, from the autumn, the entries appear only to list the pilot crew. So whilst there is no mention of Mr Goldsmith being crew in a Flamingo, it is entirely possible that he was.

There is a list of the entire crew and passengers for Hertfordshire R2510, the sole military version of the Flamingo, which crashed at Hendon on 23 October killing 5 crew and 6 passengers, including Air Vice Marshal Blount. The non-pilot crew comprised Cpl A H K Robertson (Wireless Operator), LAC W J Wynn-Harley (Flight Mechanic) and LAC L D Rudling (Rigger). The flight was part of the daily scheduled service to Belfast where the Army was regrouping following the evacuation.

I don’t know whether all Rapides had wireless but I do know that some did.

I tried a quick Google to see if there is any evidence that Mr Goldsmith went on to train as a pilot, but to no avail. I did find that his wedding to Diana Goodfellow was announced in The Aeroplane on 29 May 1942 at which point he held the rank of Sergeant.

There’s a very comprehensive interview with another of Churchill’s pilots, Charles Willis, available on IWM’s website. He describes how, in view of the work 24 Squadron was doing, all personnel were carefully selected.

It is obvious from my research that those involved were very aware of the importance of the Squadrons work, particularly when it involved the PM.

Echo India