Greenwich Pilot, 19, Killed in Jet Crash
Title
Greenwich Pilot, 19, Killed in Jet Crash
Description
A brief obituary of John Gillard killed when his Vampire crashed in Devon.
Coverage
Language
Type
Format
One newspaper cutting
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
NHopeAD171112-04
Transcription
Greenwich Pilot, 19, Killed in Jet Crash
[photograph]
Pilot-Officer J.W. Gillard
Nineteen-year-old Pilot-Officer John William Gillard, who for the last two years has been living with his grandfather at 28, Walrond House, Thames street, Greenwich, and previously living with his mother at 28, Ballard House, Thames street, was killed on Thursday of last week when his Vampire jet plane crashed into a field at Curry Rivel, near Taunton, while he was on a training flight from the R.A.F. station at Merryfield nearby.
P./O. Gillard was recently presented with his wings after completing a flying training course at the Royal Canadian Air Force station at Claresholm, Alberta.
He left school when he was fourteen and for four years was a City clerk. For years he had been interested in aero-modelling, but his real ambition was to join the R.A.F. He started with the No. 1238 (Greenwich and Charlton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps, and it was with an A.T.C. contingent that he first went to Canada in 1950.
His grandfather, Mr. Chas. Herbert Gillard, says of him: “The only way that I can sum up his character is to say that he was a gentleman. He had his heart set on being a pilot.
“He was successful in his ambition, for many of his instructors have said that he was a brilliant trainee.”
Pilot-Officer Gillard had five sisters and one brother.
[unrelated article]
[photograph]
Pilot-Officer J.W. Gillard
Nineteen-year-old Pilot-Officer John William Gillard, who for the last two years has been living with his grandfather at 28, Walrond House, Thames street, Greenwich, and previously living with his mother at 28, Ballard House, Thames street, was killed on Thursday of last week when his Vampire jet plane crashed into a field at Curry Rivel, near Taunton, while he was on a training flight from the R.A.F. station at Merryfield nearby.
P./O. Gillard was recently presented with his wings after completing a flying training course at the Royal Canadian Air Force station at Claresholm, Alberta.
He left school when he was fourteen and for four years was a City clerk. For years he had been interested in aero-modelling, but his real ambition was to join the R.A.F. He started with the No. 1238 (Greenwich and Charlton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps, and it was with an A.T.C. contingent that he first went to Canada in 1950.
His grandfather, Mr. Chas. Herbert Gillard, says of him: “The only way that I can sum up his character is to say that he was a gentleman. He had his heart set on being a pilot.
“He was successful in his ambition, for many of his instructors have said that he was a brilliant trainee.”
Pilot-Officer Gillard had five sisters and one brother.
[unrelated article]
Collection
Citation
“Greenwich Pilot, 19, Killed in Jet Crash,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 16, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/41587.