C. W. A. Scott

Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott, AFC (13 February 1903 – 15 April 1946 ) was an English aviator.

In 1920 he left school and took a five-year contract with a sugar plantation at a British colony in Demerara, British Guiana.

Scott did not enjoy his time at the sugar plantation and after 18 months and a bout of malaria his father arranged for his release of the five-year contract and for his passage back home to London.

After leaving school he served on a sugar plantation in British Guiana for a short time before returning to England and in 1922 joining the Royal Air Force, where he learned to fly.

While serving with the RAF, Scott gained a reputation for his aerobatic skill and was RAF heavyweight boxing champion for two consecutive years.

He joined the RAF as a pilot in 1922 and on 9 December 1922 he was granted a short service commission as a probationary pilot officer, and joined No. 2 Flying Training School, Duxford for flight training.

He made his first "solo flight" in an Avro 504K and on 9 July 1923 his rank as pilot officer was confirmed; on 15 December 1923 he and was appointed pilot officer to be stationed with No. 32 Squadron RAF Kenley, where he acquired a reputation for his

aerobatic skill flying Sopwith Snipes and Gloster Grebes.

Partly because he had passed the navigation exam at flying training school with 100 per cent, his C.O sent him on a three-month navigation course at RAF Calshot; Scott enjoyed his few months by the sea and just passed the final examinations with 60 per cent, which was the exact percentage required to pass.

The RAF championships took place near the end of Scott's first term at Duxford and he won the heavy-weight title there, becoming RAF heavyweight champion for 1923.

On returning to his camp he received a personal commendation from his Wing Commander, who then informed Scott that he had been selected to box for the RAF against the Army, Navy, and Marines.

On 9 July 1924 he was promoted to the rank of flying officer, and on 1 November 1924 he was appointed flying officer to be stationed at the Armament and Gunnery School Eastchurch; however, the decision to post him there was changed and he remained with 32 Squadron, Kenley.

He left the RAF in 1926 and emigrated to Australia, where he took up a post as a commercial pilot for the fledgling airline company Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (now Qantas).

He left the service on 9 December 1926 and was transferred onto the reserve list as a class C flying officer until 9 December 1930.

During Scott's time with the RAF he recorded 893 hours of flying time.

When Scott first joined Flying training school Duxford, he and the other new pilot officers were divided into squads; in each squad one of the officers was made "Squad commander" though the squad commander was equal in rank to the other officers in his squad.

In Scott's case the squad commander named Newbigging was a large fellow of some six-foot four and had seen a lot of service with the Scots Guards in World War I. Newbigging soon took offence to Scott's precocious attitude, as Scott was undisciplined and fresh from the sugar plantations, where he was well adept at enforcing discipline, but not too keen on taking orders for himself.

This clash of personalities lead to Scott and Newbigging having a fight, in which Scott was the victor.

News of this spread around the camp, and subsequently Scott was sent off as one of a team to box in the group championships; after winning the fight in his weight there, he was then picked to box in the RAF championships at RAF Halton.

In 1929, while on leave from QANTAS following a crash in a de Havilland DH.50J, Scott met his first wife Kathleen.

In 1930, he broke the solo record from Brisbane to Melbourne in a de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth aeroplane to get to the birth of his daughter Rosemary.

Scott broke the England–Australia solo flight record in 1931, flying a de Havilland DH.60 Moth.

For this achievement, the King awarded him the Air Force Cross in 1931.

Competing against fellow pilots such as Bert Hinkler, Charles Kingsford Smith and Jim Mollison, Scott went on to beat the Australia–England solo flight record in 1932 and then re-took the England–Australia the same year.

He won the MacRobertson Air Race, a race from London to Melbourne, in 1934, in a time of 71 hours.

In 1934, he was picked, along with Tom Campbell Black, to fly one of three purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 Comet Racers to compete in the MacRobertson Air Race, which is still considered the world's greatest air race.

Scott and Black won the race, breaking the England–Australia flight record of 162 hours down to 52 hours and 33 minutes.

They reached the finish line in Melbourne in 71 hours, winning the £10.000 prize money and becoming world-famous overnight.

Following the race, Scott received several medals and awards, including the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club, and was celebrated wherever he went, including invitations from King Edward VIII.

In 1936, Scott took over Sir Alan Cobham's National Air Displays Ltd and for one season operated C.W.A. Scott Flying Display Ltd. In September that year, he won another air race; flying a Percival Vega Gull, he and Giles Guthrie won the Schlesinger Air Race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg, South Africa, again winning the £10,000 prize money.

Before the race, Scott married his second wife, Greta Bremna, but they divorced in 1940.

With the onset of World War II Scott served for a time as an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) civil defence ambulance driver then he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) as a lieutenant, and took part in the Dakar landing.

He also spent a period as an Atlantic ferry pilot and was stationed with de Havilland Canada as a test pilot, testing newly built de Havilland Mosquitos and training pilots to fly them.

Following the war, and after becoming estranged from his third wife, Scott took a post at the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) headquarters in Germany.

On 15 April 1946, while in a state of depression, he fatally wounded himself with a gunshot, using his military-issue revolver.

Scott was educated at Westminster School.

Born on Friday the 13th, he was the son of Charles Kennedy Scott, who was founder of the Oriana Madrigal Society and the founder and conductor of the Philharmonic Choir.

Scott was also the great nephew of Lord Scott-Dickson, a Scottish Unionist politician and judge.

Scott was born in London and was educated at Westminster School.

He was a keen musician, poet and yachtsman.