S/Ldr Alan Ormerod Moffet AFC 1920-1945

S/Ldr Moffet attended Windermere Grammar School before joining the RAF and going on to be a chief test pilot for Power Jets.  At 22 years of age he was awarded the Air Force Cross for courage and devotion to duty which he demonstrated during experimental work on jet engines.

On July 21, 1945, S/Ldr Moffet  was flying EE291 Meteor III aircraft which was on loan to Power Jets, of Bruntingthorpe, and was the test bed for a reheated version of the RB37 engine. He was authorised to carry out a display at a Victory Gala being staged at Whetstone, just south of Leicester.

The aircraft ran in while descending from 5,000 feet to 500 and passed over the airfield at an estimated 450 knots, before pulling up steeply into cloud. The aircraft was next seen flick rolling, before levelling out inverted and then diving into the ground and disintegrating completely. Squadron Leader Alan Ormerod Moffet was killed.