Christopher Walter Waitt
Christopher Walter Waitt | |
|---|---|
 550 Squadron Adjutant Christopher Walter Waitt photographed in May 1945 | |
| Birth name | Christopher Walter Waitt |
| Born | 3 September 1895 |
| Died | December 1974 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914-22, 1940-45 |
| Rank | Flight lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 550 Squadron RAF |
| Commands held | Adjutant, 550 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War I, World War II |
| Awards | Military Medal |
Christopher Walter Waitt MM (3 September 1895 − December 1974) was a British airman who served in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and also in the Royal Air Force in World War II. In 1916 he was awarded the Military Medal. During WW2 he served as adjutant to No. 550 Squadron RAF, a squadron of heavy Lancaster bombers which participated in bombing raids over Germany and occupied Europe from 1943 to 1945.
Early life[edit]
Christopher Walter Waitt was born on 3 September 1895.[1] He was the son of Walter Henry Waitt (c1861-c1898) and Florence Lavinia (Pratt) Waitt. His father died when he was very young, and his mother re-married, to a German named Erwin Nagel.[2] Prior to WW1 Waitt spent "five or six years" in Germany.[2]
Military Service[edit]
WW1[edit]
Waitt joined the Royal Flying Corps prior to WW1, on 20 April 1914.[3]. The RFC at that time was just two years old, having been formed in April 1912.
Waitt accompanied the RFC to France when war began in 1914 as a second class air mechanic.[2]. In 1915 Waitt intercepted a wireless message from a German aeroplane, instructing German artillery to fire upon a certain wood, occupied by British troops. Waitt personally telephoned Corps HQ, thereby saving many lives. For this action Waitt was awarded the Military Medal,[2]recorded in the London Gazette on 11 October 1916.[3] He was promoted to Corporal and later to Sergeant. [2]
In December 1916 Sergeant Waitt was transferred from France to home duties. In January 1917 Waitt was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, on probation "appointed for ground duties only". Waitt's promotion took effect from 22 January 1917, when he was directed to join Brooklands for duty at the Wireless and Observers School. [2] Later in the year he was transferred to No 2 Wireless School at Penshurst. [2] At Penshurst, aircrew attended a week-long course in wireless telephony procedures.[4]
In 1917 Waitt came under suspicion of harbouring pro-German sympathies (his stepfather was German), and was interrogated by Scotland Yard in early 1918. The case was considered to be of significance considering "this officer's undoubted possession of important confidential information". The evidence against him was based on the testimony of a Lieutenant Cook, who has known Waitt in France and had served as an air mechanic with him. Waitt testified that he had spent "5 or 6 years in Germany" prior to the war, where "he had had a bad time owing to his English sympathies". [2] However, by March 1918 the case had been "quite cleared up and there was nothing against this officer in any way".[2]
WW2[edit]
Christopher Walter Waitt also served in WW2 and 1940 he was listed in the The London Gazette on 22nd January 1940.[5]He was also in the Gazette on 28 March 1941, listed as a "flying officer on probation".[6]
From January 1944 to 26 May 1945 Waitt served as squadron adjutant to 550 Squadron RAF, a heavy bomber squadron which flew Lancaster bombers.[7] During the course of the war, 550 Squadron completed 3,582 operational sorties. Today, a surviving Lancaster bomber continues to fly in the markings of BQ-B "Phantom of the Ruhr" EE139 from 550 squadron as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ National Archives Retrieved 20 April 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Official war records, unpublished
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Contemptible Little Flying Corps, p.408
- ↑ Delve, Ken (2005). The Military Airfields of Britain. Southern England: Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press Ltd. ISBN 1-86126-729-0.
- ↑ The London Gazette, 13 February 1940 Retrieved 7 June 2019
- ↑ Gazette, 28 March 1941 Retrieved 7 June 2019
- ↑ www.550squadronassociation.org.uk
External links[edit]
- Senior officers of 550 Squadron Retrieved 5 June 2019
- Christopher Walter Waitt at WikiTree Retrieved 7 July 2019
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