Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone Welch, (12 August 1916 – 15 May 1998), known as Lorne Welch, was a British engineer, pilot and

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...

prisoner of war. He was educated at Stowe School and became an engineer and then an engine test flight observer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. He also learned to fly gliders at the

London Gliding Club The London Gliding Club (LGC) is a members' club whose airfield is located at the foot of the Dunstable Downs. Many privately owned gliders are based there. It has the facilities to train pilots in powerless flight, and in the skills necessary t ...

. He took up power flying, becoming an instructor in 1939. He moved on to multi-engined aircraft and trained pilots on

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

bombers. In order to improve morale 'Thousand Bomber' raids were organised using every available pilot, including instructors, but Welch was shot down on his fourth raid. He gave himself up at Amsterdam station when the Germans began firing at civilians. He was sent to Stalag Luft III where he assisted in "The Great Escape" by building the ventilation pump & fixed links for the tunnel through which 76 prisoners escaped. Later Welch also escaped with Walter Morison during the Delousing Break attempt, planning to steal a German aircraft while wearing fake German uniforms. After two attempts they were re-captured and sent to Colditz. The ''

Colditz Cock The Colditz Cock was a glider built by British prisoners of war during World War II for an escape attempt from Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle) prison camp in Germany. Background After the execution of 50 prisoners who had taken part in the " Gr ...

'' glider was already under construction, and Welch performed vital stress calculations. Although the original glider never flew, a replica was successfully flown in February 2000. While at Colditz he entered a competition, sponsored by the

Royal Ocean Racing Club The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It rece ...

, for prisoners of war to design an offshore yacht of 32–35 ft waterline length. Via the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

, he submitted detailed drawings and calculations and won the first prize of £50. He was liberated in 1945. He returned to Farnborough to work on rocket motors before becoming chief instructor of the Surrey Gliding Club at Redhill, a test pilot for new aircraft for the

British Gliding Association The British Gliding Association (BGA) is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 80 gliding clubs (both civilian and service) which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members ( ...

and a British team pilot in four

world gliding championships The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern ...

. After the war, he became the first pilot to soar a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

twice across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

: first from Redhill to Brussels in a DFS 108 Weihe, and then in a two-seater glider with

Frank Irving Frank Irving (7 April 1925 – August 2005) was a British aeronautical engineer, glider pilot, author and university lecturer. Early life and education Francis George Irving was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom. He attended St. Edward's Co ...

. He married Ann Douglas, also a pilot and sailor, in 1953. His retirement was spent sailing and working on his boat. Lorne Welch died on 15 May 1998. He was survived by his wife and their daughter.

References

''The Times'' obituary 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Lorne 1916 births 1998 deaths People educated at Stowe School Royal Air Force officers British World War II pilots Royal Air Force personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Participants in the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle Glider pilots