Monument to First Officer Alan Blair Dorrell, All Saints Maidenhead Cemetery, Maidenhead Berkshire.
"Jesus said. "Greater love hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life for his friends."
Alan Blair Dorrell was born on 8th May 1910 in St John, Worcestershire to John Dorrell, a clothing manufacturer, and his with Eveline Francis Hinks.
Alan appears on the 1911 Census aged just 11 months old, living with his parents and elder brother Geoffrey James and younger sister Nora Helen Dorrell, aged just one month, in Mavlern Road, St John, Worcestershire.
Alan obtained his Aviators' Certificate on 24th May 1939 at Worcestershire Flying Club.
Alan appears on the 1939 Register living in the Pattern Arms Hotel in Warrington, Lancashire, where he is listed as being a Chartered Accountant.
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| First Officer Alan Blair Dorrell A.T.A. |
Alan first enlisted with the R.A.F in the October of 1939 as a Leading Aircraftman, responsible for giving early air raid warnings. Alan left in 1940 and in 1941 joined the Air Transport Auxiliary as an assistant accountant. On 5th of March 1942, Alan completed his term as assistant accountant and started flying duties.
During his time ferrying aircraft with the A.T.A, Alan was involved in three accidents. The first on 16th June 1942, when his Hawker Hart aircraft swung wildly during landing due to a technical fault. The second occurred on 21st July 1942, again the plane his was flying, a Gloster Gladiator swung during landing. Sadly, Alan's third accident was to prove fatal when he crashed the Spitfire VIII he was flying at Byron Hall Farm, Stag Lane, Lowton nr Warrington, in bad weather on 1st December 1943. He dived out of low cloud and over corrected, causing the tail of the aircraft to strike the ground. Alan was just 33 years old.
The Aeroplane, an aviation journal reported on 10th December 1943:
"A.T.A Causality
We regret to announce the death of First Officer Alan Blair Dorrell, of the Air Transport Auxiliary, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dorrell, of Kylemore, Avenue Road, Malvern, Worcs."
Alan's funeral took place at All Saint's Maidenhead Cemetery on 7th December 1943. I have been unable to find any report on Alan's accident or funeral in any newspapers of the time.
Alan's name also appears on the Malvern War Memorial, in Malvern Worcestershire.
"A.T.A Causality
We regret to announce the death of First Officer Alan Blair Dorrell, of the Air Transport Auxiliary, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dorrell, of Kylemore, Avenue Road, Malvern, Worcs."
Alan's funeral took place at All Saint's Maidenhead Cemetery on 7th December 1943. I have been unable to find any report on Alan's accident or funeral in any newspapers of the time.
Alan's name also appears on the Malvern War Memorial, in Malvern Worcestershire.
Did he live round the area seems odd if he came from the midlands and was killed up north.
ReplyDeleteIt does, but I think it's more of a case of where there was space. I know that Maidenhead Cemetery was the main receiving cemetery for ATA casualties.
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