Test Pilot (Aviation Classics)

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A. Edmund Neville H. Thomas Neville, c. 1410 I. Cuthbert Neville, c. 1411 J. Edward Neville, 3rd Baron Bergavenny, 1414–1476 Reflecting the estrangement between the two branches of the family, the Nevilles of Raby, headed by Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland, had sided with the Lancastrians from the outset. Westmorland's brother John Neville, Lord of Raby was killed in the defeat at Towton. The line of the Earls of Westmorland survived the wars, but the loss of most of the ancestral estates through their inheritance by the Nevilles of Middleham and their subsequent downfall left the family a much diminished force. [33] Neville Duke was a quiet, modest man, reluctant to talk about his achievements but always available to discuss other people's interests and aviation projects.He gave great support to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum where he was honorary president and where his record-breaking Hunter is on permanent display. I was a RAF Corporal and leaving our son with his grandmother we went off to Farnborough for the day. We were regulars. The ceremony and plaque was organised by Causeway resident Antony Fletcher, who said: “This is a very special occasion because Neville Duke was first of all a very brave fighter pilot, responsible for shooting down 28 enemy

My father and uncle would always go the airshows and stand on the hill where the majority of the casualties were.

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NEVILLE DUKE, one of the most remarkable pilots of the Second World War, whose death aged 85 was announced yesterday, was decorated for gallantry six times and became one of the world's foremost test pilots. Created in the Peerage of England in 1397 for Ralph Neville, 4th Baron Neville de Raby. Attainted in 1571. I can still recall the guy behind me pushing me to the ground and the engine going over our heads just a few feet up. a b It has been noted, however, that "this Dolfin, when doing homage to the Prior of Durham for Staindrop, reserved his homage to the kings of England and of Scotland, as well as the Bishop of Durham" implying that he was "no doubt, a man of consequence" and "probably of high Northumbrian birth". Round, Feudal England, 370-2; Offler, 'FitzMeldred, Neville and Hansard', 2-3; Wagner, English Ancestry, 16-17; Wagner, Pedigree and Progress, 51, 210

Duke received many national and international honours in addition to his gallantry awards. He was awarded the Royal Aero Club's Gold Medal, and in 1993 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In 2002 he was the recipient of the Air League's Jeffrey Quill Medal. In the same year, Duke received the rarely awarded and internationally prestigious Award of Honour from the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators for "his unique and incomparable record".I am certain that that day will remain in my memory until I die - the contrast of the excitement of seeing this futuristic aircraft streak overhead and then to watch it coming towards us and to see bits start to fly off and know that something was wrong. Forty years on from his 1953 world record, he co-piloted a re-creation of the flight in a two-seater Hunter. The Hunter, he observed that day, was the love of his professional life.

I remember my father dragging me to my right as I watched what was one of the engines hurtling towards us, whistling and then I remember a dull thud to our left and then total silence. In 1069, William the Conqueror granted the Lordship of Middleham to his Breton cousin Alan Rufus, son of Odo, who built a wooden motte-and-bailey castle above the town. It has been dubbed the "Windsor of the North". By the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, Alan had passed the castle to his brother Ribald. On 30 November 1941, Duke was shot down by the high scoring German ace Oberstabsfeldwebel Otto Schulz from Jagdgeschwader 27. [3] On 5 December, he was again shot down by a pilot from JG 27. However, his own tally of victories continued to mount and, after the squadron was re-equipped with the more capable Curtiss Kittyhawk, by February 1942, Duke had at least eight victories, resulting in the award of the DFC in March. These victories included a Fiat CR.42 and a Bf 109 on the 20 and 21 December. [2]After completing his flying training, Duke was commissioned and posted to Biggin Hill in April 1941 to join No 92 Squadron, flying Spitfires on sweeps over northern France.He scored his first victory over Dunkirk in June when he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109, followed by his second a few weeks later.With No 92 moving north and away from the action, in November Duke was posted to the Middle East, joining No 112 Squadron, equipped with the Tomahawk. He was known as one of the finest and safest of display pilots, and it was a terrible irony that he and so many others died in such a way. At Dunkirk in 1941 Duke, in a Spitfire, shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109, followed a few weeks later by a second.Posted to the Middle East, where he flew Tomahawks, he was shot down twice in six days.His squadron was re-equipped with the superior Kittyhawk and with eight confirmed victories he was awarded the DFC.By the time Duke had finished his third tour, completing 486 operational sorties, he had destroyed 27 enemy aircraft and probably three more, making him the RAF's outstanding and highest scoring fighter pilot in the Mediterranean theatre.He was then 22 years old. Samuel Lewis (publisher) (1848). "Stain - Stainton, Market". A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research . Retrieved 26 August 2013.

It was a time when the Eagle comic's Dan Dare Pilot of the Future - RAF fantasia relocated in outer space - fuelled those New Elizabethan dreams of sound barriers, supersonic flight, new empires and interplanetary travel. Duke even showed up, dressed for the part, in the Eagle's "Heroes Of Today" slot. In 1951, the white-overalled pilot had dispensed with old-style leather flying caps for what became part of his trademark, an American white helmet, born of gridiron football, pre-astronaut 1950s modern and soon adopted by teenage ton-up motorcyclists on their Tiger 110s. Duke underwent pilot training and was commissioned at No.58 Operational Training Unit, Grangemouth in February 1941, before being posted to No.92 Squadron at Biggin Hill in April, flying Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vs. Operating over occupied Europe, Duke's obvious talents as a fighter pilot meant he often flew as wingman to Biggin Hill's wing leader, Wing Commander Adolph "Sailor" Malan. By August 1941, Duke had claimed two Messerschmitt Bf 109s shot down. When the unit was withdrawn for a rest in October 1941, Duke was posted to North Africa to fly with No.112 Squadron on the Curtiss Tomahawk. There was a short break in the display, then Neville Duke did a supersonic dive in a prototype Hawker Hunter. There was a deadly silence from the crowd, who were very nervous about this being repeated. Uncle worked for the MoD as a driving instructor with the army and always worked Saturday mornings. Hours before his death, Duke felt unwell while flying his aircraft with his wife. He landed safely. Gwendoline survives him.

The coach returning to Coventry with the Armstrong Siddeley apprentices had nine empty seats and the sister of a close friend was among those killed. Many witnesses believe to this day that it was the loss of the tailplane that caused the disaster, but a cine film taken by a spectator shows very clearly what happened - in fact a sequence of stills from this film was used in the book. But the break-up, which was witnessed by John's wife Eve, happened in less than a second - too fast for the mind to recall with any accuracy. Thirty-one people, including pilot John Derry, were killed. Dozens more were wounded at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire on 6 September 1952. The Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the later Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and played a central role in the Wars of the Roses along with their rival, the House of Percy. I. John Nevill, 10th Baron Bergavenny, 1614–1662 II. George Nevill, 11th Baron Bergavenny, 1641–1666