Ken Wallis

For the Hong Kong lawn bowler and footballer., see Ken Wallis (bowls).
Not to be confused with Ken Wallis, designer of the STP-Paxton Turbocar.

Kenneth Horatio Wallis

MBE, DEng(hc), PhD(hc), CEng, FRAeS, FSETP FInstTA(hc), RAF (Ret'd)
Ken Wallis sitting in his autogyro Little Nellie
Born(1916-04-26)26 April 1916
Ely, Cambridgeshire, England
Died1 September 2013(2013-09-01) (aged 97)
Dereham, Norfolk, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Air Force
Years of service1939–1964
RankWing Commander
UnitNo. 268 Squadron RAF
No. 103 Squadron RAF
No. 37 Squadron RAF
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Other workLeading exponent of autogyros

Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis MBE CEng FRAeS RAF (26 April 1916 – 1 September 2013)[1] was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war, he moved on to research and development, before retiring in 1964. He later became one of the leading exponents of autogyros and earned 34 world records, still holding eight of them at the time of his death in 2013.[2]

Early life

Born on 26 April 1916 at Ely, he was educated at The Kings' School Ely Cambridgeshire. Wallis developed a practical interest in mechanics, building a motorcycle at the age of 11. In 1936, he was inspired by a demonstration by Henri Mignet of his Mignet HM.14 Pou-du-Ciel ("Flying Flea"). Using only Mignet's book, Wallis gathered the materials required, and started to build his own Flying Flea. He abandoned construction because of widespread adverse publicity about fatal accidents that implied inadequate design of the type.[3]

Wallis took an interest in powerboats which he kept up until 1957, when he won the 56-mile (90 km) long Missouri Marathon.

Military career

Wallis applied for the RAF's Volunteer Reserve Service but was turned away because of an issue with his right eye. Consequently, he obtained a private flying licence, which required only a certificate signed by his GP. In 1938, Wallis again tried to join the RAF, but failed the eye test. He applied again in 1939 and finally passed the eye test, explaining, "I did the first line with my good eye then they covered it up and asked me to read the bottom line with my bad eye, without them realising I just turned my head slightly so I could again see with my good eye—I passed it with Above Average Eye Sight!"[4]

Wallis was commissioned in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 28 December 1940 as a pilot officer (on probation), with seniority in that rank from 1 December 1940.[5] His commission was confirmed on 28 December 1941 and he was promoted to flying officer (war substantive) with seniority from 1 December 1941.[6] He was promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 28 December 1942, with seniority from 1 December 1942.[7]

Wallis's military career started with Westland Lysander patrols in the RAF. In 1942, he was transferred to RAF Bomber Command, flying Wellingtons near Grimsby. Wallis subsequently served in Italy and on secondment to the United States Strategic Air Command, where he flew the massive Convair B-36, which had six piston engines and four auxiliary jet engines.

Following the end of the Second World War, he was involved in research and development, and was awarded a number of patents on his inventions. On 1 May 1947, he service in the RAF was extended by four years and he transferred to the Technical Branch, with seniority in the rank of flight lieutenant from 1 September 1945.[8] He was given a permanent commission on 22 June 1948, allowing him to serve until retirement.[9] He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1953,[10] and to wing commander on 1 July 1958.[11] He left the RAF in 1964, retiring to Norfolk.

Autogyros

Wallis who lived at Reymerston Hall, Norfolk produced autogyros for, in his own words, "reconnaissance, research and development, surveillance and military purposes", and his designs were not available for enthusiasts as he considered that although the design is simple, it has to be built to the appropriate standards. His contribution to autogyro design included the "offset gimbal rotor head".[12]

Wallis had the help of Beagle Aircraft in building five Wallis WA-116 autogyros at Shoreham in 1962 for evaluation by the British Army. This collaboration ended when the British Army chose the Westland Sioux for this role.

Wallis worked as Sean Connery's stunt pilot in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, where he flew one of his WA-116s named Little Nellie.

In 1970 it was announced that Airmark would produce his autogyro design with a certificate of airworthiness, that being essential for commercial use of the autogyro. Expected price was around £3,000.[13]

Between 2006 and 2009, Wallis took part in filming for Into the Wind, a documentary by Steven Hatton featuring the experiences and memories of wartime members of Bomber Command. The film, released in 2012, features Wallis demonstrating several of his autogyro designs.

Wallis was the President of the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, and Patron of the Wolf Preservation Foundation.

Autogyros and aircraft

Recognition

Wallis was the recognized world record holder for many categories of autogyro records over the years, and was also recognized as the oldest pilot to set a world flight record at the age of 89. Wallis held most of the autogyro world records during his autogyro flying career. These include the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale time-to-climb,[14] a speed record of 189 km/h (111.7 mph),[15] and the straight-line distance record of 869.23 km (540.11 mi). On 16 November 2002, Wallis increased the speed record to 207.7 km/h (129.1 mph).[16]

Wallis appeared as himself on an episode of Tell The Truth dated 9 November 1984, discussing his autogyro record.

In the 1996 New Year Honours, Wallis received was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to autogyro development".[17]

In July 2013, Wallis received the Bomber Command clasp to his 1939 to 1945 Star for his 28 bomber missions over Germany during World War II.[18]

Later life

He was married to Peggy Stapley, a Women's Auxiliary Air Force veteran, from 1942 to her death in 2003.[2][19] Wallis died on 1 September 2013, aged 97. Prior to his death, he was living in the Norfolk village of Reymerston.

Old Buckenham Airport held a memorial event on 29 September 2013 at the request of the Wallis family: "A Celebration of the Life of Wing Commander Ken Wallis".[20] It had been expected that about 500 people would attend, but an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 attended the event.[21][22][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ken Wallis: James Bond stunt pilot dies". BBC News. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis". The Telegraph. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  3. ^ Hancock (2010)
  4. ^ "Meeting a legend - British Aviation Pioneer, Bomber Pilot and James Bond Stunt man – Ken Wallis MBE" Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine visit-suffolkcoast.co.uk. Retrieved: 22 September 2011.
  5. ^ "No. 35049". The London Gazette. 21 January 1941. pp. 414–415.
  6. ^ "No. 35426". The London Gazette. 20 January 1942. pp. 350–351.
  7. ^ "No. 35989". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 1943. p. 1858.
  8. ^ "No. 38043". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 August 1947. p. 3781.
  9. ^ "No. 38450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1948. p. 5874.
  10. ^ "No. 39739". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1952. p. 54.
  11. ^ "No. 41433". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1958. p. 4143.
  12. ^ "Wallis Autogyros." Flight. Retrieved: 22 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Private Flying: Wallis goes commercial." Flight, 3 September 1970.
  14. ^ "FAI Record ID #5346 - Autogyro, Time to climb to a height of 3 000 m Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 28 November 2013.
  15. ^ "FAI Record ID #303 - Autogyro, Speed over a straight 15/25 km course Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 28 November 2013.
  16. ^ "FAI Record ID #7601 - Autogyro, Speed over a 3 km course Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 28 November 2013.
  17. ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1995. pp. 14–24.
  18. ^ "Ken Wallis". MI6. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  19. ^ Childs, Martin (6 September 2013). "Wing Commander Ken Wallis: Bomber pilot and inventor who put James Bond into the air". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  20. ^ Flyer Magazine Article, 4 September 2013 Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Photo gallery: Thousands turn out to pay tribute to Wing Commander Ken Wallis at Old Buckenham airfield" Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine EDP24.co.uk, 30 September 2013
  22. ^ "Ken Wallis: Pilot, inventor and war veteran remembered" BBC News, 30 September 2013
  23. ^ item, ITV Anglia News 30 September 2013

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