Edward James Morris (6 April 1915 - 18 Jan 1999) was a World War II flying ace. Born in the Transvaal, he want to school at

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History ''St. Michael's Diocesan College'' was founded in Pietermaritzburg in 18 ...

. After school he joined the Royal Air Force on short term commission in June 1937. After completing training in May 1938 he was posted to the Parachute Test Flight, where he stayed until January 1939. He then joined 79 Squadron at Biggin Hill. He was wounded in action in August 1940 and after recuperating was sent to the Middle East in May 1941 to join 238 Squadron. In September 1941 he took command of 250 Squadron flying the

Curtiss Tomahawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

. His next posting was to Desert Air Force Headquarters in March 1942. Later that year he was appointed Chief Instructor at No. 71 Operational Training Unit RAF before becoming Wing Leader of No. 251 Wing RAF of the

Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...

in late 1943. At the end of 1944 he was posted to

Mediterranean Allied Air Forces The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) was the major Allies of World War II, Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II, Mediterranean theater from mid-December 1943 until the ...

Headquarters. He obtained a permanent commission in May 1945 and was sent to the RAF Staff College. He was promoted to Wing Commander in 1947. In 1950 he took command of

RAF Old Sarum Old Sarum Airfield is a grass strip airfield north-north-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The adjacent areas are a mix of vacant land, residential and industrial sites. Residential areas are to the south and east, occupying the old air ...

before attending the College of Air Warfare in 1953. After the course he went on an exchange with the United States Air Force at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

. He returned to the UK in 1956 and was promoted Group Captain and posted to 12 Group. In 1958 he took command of

RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Station Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham is a former Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front- ...

before being posted as Air Commodore Operations at Fighter Command HQ. He was promoted to Air Commodore in 1962 and posted as Director of Air Defence and Overseas Operations at the Air Ministry. He was Chief of Staff at Middle East Command from 1964 to 1966. His final posting was AOC Air Cadets until he retired in August 1968.

Retirement

He returned to South Africa and moved to Natal as the Personnel Manager of sugar estates. He then went to Swaziland to construct a sugar estate before returning to start his own farm in Natal.

References

Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South African World War II flying aces 1915 births 1999 deaths Alumni of Michaelhouse Companions of the Order of the Bath {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub