Flying Boat Pilot in War and Peace Disaster and Survival: The Extraordinary Life of Captain MJR ‘Roly’ Alderson by Mark Alderson, HB 246 pages, 1512 B&W illustrations, Air World £29.99, ISBN 1036112047
It is always a pleasure to chance upon entirely virgin territory, as prior to reading this book, I had never heard of ‘Roly’ Anderson. However, he was a flying boat pilot and this immediately claimed my attention.
Before joining Imperial Airways in 1933, he had already gained a considerable amount of flying experience with Cambridge University Air Squadron and the RAF Reserve of Officers, as well as piloting his own Gipsy Moth and, latterly, Puss Moth at home and abroad. This impressive CV gained him a coveted position as a First Officer flying the Avro 618X, Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta and HP 42 Hannibal on routes in Europe, the Middle East and Far East. He was promoted to captain in December 1934, with more than 1000 hours on Atalantas. Evidence of his skill and meticulous attention to detail was shown in 1936, when he was seconded as the personal pilot to the Viceroy of India, flying the Avro 642. He returned to England in 1936 to convert to flying boats with 3300 hours in his logbook.
He began at Hamble with seamanship training in a 30 ft yacht, followed by learning to fly the Saro Cutty Sark and Short Calcutta. Before progressing further, staff shortages required a spell flying the DH 86 Express to European destinations, until July 1937, when he took off from the water at Hythe in a Short S.23 Empire Class. A few months later, he qualified for command and plied the African and eastern routes. Having completed 1000 hours on type, in 1938 he was transferred to Bermuda for services to New York. On one of these flights, in January 1939, he, and most of those on board, survived the ditching of Cavalier in the Atlantic. This remarkable episode is recounted in considerable detail and is fascinating, not least for its impact on future air safety regulation.
Imperial Airways became BOAC in 1939 and, with the outbreak of war, he began six years of often hazardous but vital flying, crossing the Atlantic and flying to Foynes, Lisbon and Lagos. One particularly dramatic episode saw Roly, in a Short S.30, emulate the attack profile of a Sunderland to scare off a predatory U-boat which was stalking a convoy.
He was then selected, in 1941, to fly the iconic Boeing 314, which confirmed his status as a top flying boat pilot, in company with the noted Irishman, Jack Kelly Rogers. ‘His’ boat was G-AGCB Bangor. By 1944 Roly had amassed 3200 hours on the Boeing, half a million miles and 9500 hours in all.
Post-war he firstly converted to Dakotas on services to Africa and soon became the Fleet Captain for long-haul Avro Yorks and Lancastrians.
Roly’s vast experience and expertise were recognised by appointment to the BOAC Development Flight, testing new aircraft and undertaking route-proving flights – adding more types to the logbook – Lockheed Constellation, Avro Tudor, Handley Page Hastings and Hermes, Vickers Viking, Bristol Freighter and Boeing Stratocruiser. The job also involved liaison visits to the (then) large number of British manufacturers, for which he had use of the company Miles Gemini.
The next major step was becoming closely associated with the De Havilland Comet, firstly running the BOAC Comet Development Unit and then as Comet Fleet Manager in 1952. Official recognition came with the award of an OBE in 1953.
Further management level promotions ensued, to Technical Manager Flight Operations, with a wide-ranging role covering all the Company’s aircraft types and then, from the early 1960s, as General Manager of Flight Services, at a time when BOAC was converting to an all-jet fleet. As part of this remit, he also worked on the development of Concorde’s flightdeck layout.
Roly retired in 1966, having flown types ranging from the Avro 504 to the Comet, including 37 different flying boats, with a total of 11,000 hours, of which more than half were in command of flying boats.
This is a fascinating story, very well-told and backed up by an excellent selection of hitherto unpublished photographs and some helpful and informative endnotes. Thoroughly recommended.
