- Born
- 21 December 1921, Baillieston, Glasgow
- Died
- 28 November 2001, aged 79
- Fate
- Served and survived
Biography
Flight Lieutenant William ‘Bill’ Reid was a Scottish bomber pilot awarded the Victoria Cross for pressing home an attack despite grievous wounds. Born at Baillieston near Glasgow on 21 December 1921, the son of a blacksmith, he flew Lancasters with No. 61 Squadron from Syerston. On the night of 3 November 1943, on the way to Düsseldorf, his aircraft was raked first by a Messerschmitt Bf 110 — shattering the windscreen and wounding him in the head, shoulder and hands — and then by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 that killed his navigator and mortally wounded the wireless operator. Bleeding and half-blinded, Reid flew on to the target, bombed it, and nursed the crippled Lancaster back to a crash-landing in England. He survived, later returned to operations with No. 617 Squadron, was shot down and taken prisoner in 1944, and lived until 28 November 2001.
Prisoner of war
-
Stalag Luft III
— Unknown
POW 6960
Timeline
-
21 December 1921
Born
Baillieston, Glasgow -
14 December 1943
Gazetted: VC
Victoria Cross -
28 November 2001
Died
aged 79
Service
- Acting Flight Lieutenant, No. 61 Squadron
Awards
-
Victoria Cross (VC) — gazetted 14 December 1943