John De Lacy Wooldridge, (18 July 1919 – 27 October 1958) was a

Royal Air Force 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) an ...

officer and bomber pilot, and a British film composer.

Early life

Wooldridge was born in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. A talented music composer and academic, he studied music under

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

and was a friend and contemporary of

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

Second World War

Wooldridge joined the

as a sergeant pilot in 1938. 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 ...

, he was a member of RAF Bomber Command, flying a total of 97 operational bombing sorties. He was affectionately known as "Dim". He served with No. 207 Squadron based at

RAF Bottesford Royal Air Force Bottesford or more simply RAF Bottesford is a former Royal Air Force station located on the Leicestershire-Lincolnshire county border, north west of Grantham, Lincolnshire and south of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and about ...

flying Avro Manchesters. He then served with No. 106 Squadron as one of Wing Commander

Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...

's flight commanders, before being appointed commanding officer of No. 105 Squadron in March 1943, which specialised in low level precision daylight bombing using de Havilland Mosquito aircraft. Wooldridge wrote a book, ''Low Attack'', about these operations in 1944. In May 1944, while in America, Wooldridge volunteered to ferry one of the first Canadian-built Mosquitoes across the Atlantic to Britain and, accompanied by Flying Officer C. J. Brown as navigator, set a new record for the Atlantic crossing from Goose Bay,

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

to the United Kingdom, of 5 hours, 46 minutes. The previous record for the Labrador-Britain route had been held by a BOAC Liberator at 7 hours 56 minutes. Wooldridge was aeronautical adviser to the Petroleum Warfare Department during the development of the

Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) (which was sometimes referred to as "Fog Intense Dispersal Operation" or "Fog, Intense Dispersal Of") was a system used for dispersing fog and pea soup fog (dense smog) from an airfield so that ai ...

(FIDO) fog dispersal system.

Musical career

His first professionally performed work was the symphonic poem ''A Solemn Hymn for Victory'', premiered by

Artur Rodzinski Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). O ...

and the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

at Carnegie Hall on 30 Nov. 1944. Rodzinski reportedly had promised to give him one performance of his work for every five German planes he shot down. Later that year

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

conducted the

Halle Orchestra Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

in the UK premiere. Wooldridge also contributed the score and co-wrote the screenplay to the 1953 film based on his own story, ''

Appointment in London ''Appointment in London'' (known as ''Raiders in the Sky'' in the U.S.) is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who ...

'' featuring Dirk Bogarde as a Wing commander.

Personal life

Wooldridge's first marriage was in 1942 to Mary Latham, with whom he had a son, Morris Latham, who also became a pilot. The union ended in divorce. He subsequently married the actress

Margaretta Scott Margaretta Mary Winifred ScottBrian McFarlane, "Scott, Margaretta Mary Winifred (1912–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 201available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. (13 February 1912 – 15 Apri ...

in 1948, with whom he had a daughter,

Susan Wooldridge Susan Wooldridge (born 31 July 1950) is a British actress. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Hope and Glory'' (1987). Her television credits include '' Jewel in the Crown'', (1984), ''All Quiet on the Preston ...

, who also became an actress; and a son, Hugh Wooldridge. Wooldridge was killed in a car accident in England aged 39 and is buried at St Lawrence's Church Cholesbury, Buckinghamshire, with his second wife, Margaretta.

Film scores

* ''RX for Murder'' – (1958) – (US title: ''Prescription for Murder'') * ''Soapbox Derby'' – (1958) * '' Count Five and Die'' – (1958) * '' The Last Man to Hang?'' – (1956) * ''

'' – (1952) * ''

Crow Hollow ''Crow Hollow'' is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Donald Houston, Natasha Parry and Patricia Owens. It is based on the 1950 novel ''Crow Hollow'' by Dorothy Eden. In the film, newlywed Ann Amour survives ...

'' – (1952) – (uncredited) * '' Blackmailed'' – (1951) * '' Torment'' – (1950) – (US title: ''Paper Gallows'') * '' The Woman in Question'' – (1950) – (US title: ''Five Angles on Murder'') * '' Conspirator'' – (1949) * '' Edward, My Son'' – (1949) * ''A Journey for Jeremy'' – (1949) ( short) *'' The Guinea Pig'' – (1948) – (US title: ''The Outsider'') * '' Fame is the Spur'' – (1947) *Atomic Achievement - (1956)

Musical works

* ''The Constellations'' (1944) * ''A Solemn Hymn To Victory'' (1944) * ''The Elizabethans'' * ''Largo for Orchestra'' * ''Prelude for an Unwritten Tragedy'' * ''Prelude for a Great Occasion'' a.k.a. ''Music for a Great Occasion'' * ''Song of the Summer Hills'' * ''Slow March for the Royal Air Force'' * ''The Saga of the Ships''

References

External links

*

colour profile of Wooldridge's Mosquito B.Mk IV United Kingdom military aircraft serials, ''DZ548'' that he flew from RAF Marham
Mosquito Creates Atlantic Record

a picture of the Mosquito flown across the Atlantic by Wooldridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Wooldridge, John 1919 births 1958 deaths English film score composers English male film score composers Road incident deaths in England Royal Air Force officers British World War II pilots British World War II bomber pilots Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English composers British aviation record holders People from Yokohama People educated at St Paul's School, London 20th-century British male musicians