Air Commodore William Helmore

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, PhD, MS., FCS, F.R.Ae.S. (1 March 1894 – 18 December 1964) was an engineer who had a varied and distinguished career in scientific research with the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

and the Ministry of Aircraft Production during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as a broadcaster, and for two years as Member of Parliament for

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

–

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

Early life

William Helmore was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

, the Royal Military Academy at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

. Helmore served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a gunner and then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, as an observer and pilot. One result of this experience was his book "Cavalry of the Air". After the war he went to Christ's College at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and obtained a first class (honours) degree in mechanical sciences.

Post WWI

In 1922 Helmore was granted a permanent commission in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and developed his interest in scientific research in aviation. He was also involved in the development of

aerial refuelling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

, serving as copilot and hose handler on Sir Alan Cobham's pioneering flight from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 22 September 1934, also inventing the electrolytic process of forming flame or explosion traps. In 1931 Helmore was awarded the Groves Prize for Aeronautical Research. Helmore retired from the R.A.F. at his own request in 1937 to devote himself to research at Cambridge, but be returned to the active list in August 1939. His appointments included Wing Commander (1 July 1935 Air Commodore (1 March 1937), Honorary Group Captain (21 May 1941) and Honorary Air Commodore.

World War II

As senior scientific adviser to the Chief of Air Staff from 1939, Helmore was chiefly concerned with defeating the night bomber. Helmore with aeronautical engineer L.E. Baynes, nicknamed "The Baron", worked on the development of the Helmore/ GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million

candela The candela ( or ; symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous t ...

(2.7 Gcd)

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

fitted in the nose of a number of experimental

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

equipped Douglas Havoc

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

s by the British during the early part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and around the time of

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The light was intended to be used to illuminate attacking enemy

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s for defending fighters accompanying the Havoc to then shoot down. Unfortunately certain practical difficulties brought the idea to nothing, but much of his work was subsequently incorporated in the Leigh light, an antisubmarine aircraft searchlight, which with the aid of radar was particularly deadly to Admiral Doenitz's

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

. For the last four years of the war he was technical adviser to the Ministry of Aircraft Production, and was responsible for a number of other valuable inventions and, in 1942, he was selected as one of the eight members of the Brabazon Committee (which was responsible among other things for the conception of the giant Brabazon aircraft). Helmore's contribution, to Britain's war effort was not confined to scientific research. He had earlier broadcast such events as the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...

air races and reviews, and during the war his accounts of the RAF's work were heard frequently. His most notable commentary was when he broadcast an eye-witness account of the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in Normandy, the first 'live', (recorded live onto

transcription disc Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

for transmission later), broadcast from over the invasion fleet on 6 June 1944, reporting overhead from an

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

bomber. Helmore was

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

–

Post war

After the war Helmore entered industry, being technical director to

Castrol Castrol is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The name ''Castrol'' was originally just the brand name for co ...

, a scientific consultant to ICI and director-general of the

Aluminum Association The Aluminum Association is an Apex body for catering all needs of Aluminum and Aluminum products. The Aluminum Association is a trade association for the aluminum production, fabrication and recycling industries, and their suppliers. The Associ ...

. In 1947 Helmore was invited by the Minister for Civil Aviation to become the chairman of the Brabazon Committee, to consider the certification of aircraft and approval of equipment. In addition he was the vice-chairman of a committee set up to review the licensing, recruitment and training of civil aviation personnel. Helmore was a keen yachtsman, owning the schooner ''Allegro'' from 1929 to 1963. Helmore married twice. His obituary in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

records that he left two sons and three daughters of his first marriage but other reports say he had four children, Peter, Patrick, Peggy and Pamela. Peggie, his eldest daughter married Cuthbert Scott in 1942.Unit Histories
/ref>

Patents

, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd

, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd

, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited

, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited

, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd

, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd

, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd

References

*Obituary of Air Commodore W. Helmore, The Times, 20 January 1964 (pg. 14; Issue 55913; col C)

External links

*
Full details of military career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmore, William 1894 births 1964 deaths Royal Artillery officers People educated at Blundell's School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Flying Corps officers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English aerospace engineers UK MPs 1935–1945 Burmah-Castrol British Army personnel of World War I