Richard Bickford

Richard Bickford was born on 4 January 1911 in Wimbledon, Surrey, and entered the Royal Air Force as a regular officer, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader by the time of his death. He gained early operational experience flying with No. 10 Squadron before taking on an instructional role commanding E Flight at No. 10 Operational Training Unit, the kind of posting that reflected both his skill as a pilot and the RAF’s need to pass that skill on to the aircrew entering the bombing campaign. His Distinguished Flying Cross, gazetted on 17 May 1940, recognised his operational service during the opening phase of the war. By the summer of 1941 he was commanding No. 76 Squadron, one of the first units to equip with the Handley Page Halifax four-engined heavy bomber, and he led the squadron from RAF Middleton St George in No. 4 Group, Bomber Command. On the night of 29–30 August 1941 he captained Halifax I serial L9518 on a raid against Frankfurt, taking off at 21.13 hours; the aircraft bombed the target and turned for home, but over the Finningley area both starboard engines failed as the fuel ran out, leaving the bomber at around 2,000 feet. Bickford ordered his crew to bale out, and most of them survived, but the pilot is believed to have been struck by a windmilling propeller while attempting to exit through the top escape hatch, and his parachute caught on the tail of the aircraft; he was 30 years old. He was cremated and is commemorated on Panel 1 at Darlington Crematorium; he left a son who later became a commercial airline pilot.