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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Aviation Art Prints  Pilot Signatures World War Two Signatures UK and Commonwealth F  Farquharson, William |
[UP] - Fairhurst, Edward - Farnborough, Ron - Farnes, Paul - Farquharson, William - Ferguson, Robert - Field, Dennis - Fillingham, Pat - Finlay, Hartland - Fischette, Charles - Fish, C - Fisher, John - Flatman, Mark - Flower, Hubert - Foster, Bob - Fox, Peter - Foxley-Norris, Christopher - Frankowski, Tadeusz - Fray, Frank - Freeborn, John - French, George - Friday, J - Fripp, Alfie - Frizell, Charles - Frost, J - Fry, Pat - Fumerton, Moose |
Group Captain William Farquharson DFC | Group Captain William Farquharson DFC William Farquharson was a pilot with 115 Squadron and flew Lancasters with 195 Squadron. William Farqharson was born om September 28th 1919 in Malacca, Malaya. His father was a police officer in the Colonial Service. His early schooling was in Malaya and Australia, and he completed his education at Harris Academy, Dundee, and later went to the Birmingham Central Technical College. In January 1941 William Farqharson enlisted in the Royal Air Force to become a pilot. William Farqharson joined No 115 Squadron in July 1942 and flew his first bombing operations in the Wellington before the squadron converted to the four-engine Stirling. Farqharsons first sorties were to drop mines in the Kattegat, the Baltic and off the French Biscay coast. Farquharson also bombed targets in Germany and in northern Italy, the latter involving very long flights over the Alps. On April 20 1943 he and his crew attacked Stettin at low level in full moonlight. Dissatisfied with the first attempt, he made a second bombing run despite heavy opposition. His Stirling was badly damaged, but he then made a third run to photograph the results of his attack before turning for the long flight home. He was awarded his first DFC. After a period training bomber crews, Farquharson returned to operational flying in October 1944 when he joined No 195 Squadron. Bomber Command was concentrating on attacks against the German oil industry and he bombed many targets in the Ruhr. Farquharson and his crews also wre involved in Operation Manna these humanitarian operations which saw them dropping food to the starving population in the Netherlands and also took his Lancaster to Belgium and France for Operation Exodus to pick up prisoners of war recently released form German PoW camps. In total William Farqharson completed 63 operations as a pilot in Bomber Command. He recalled on one occasion the engine of his Wellington caught fire and he ordered his crew to bail out. As the last man left, he realised that the aircraft would be too low for him to survive a jump and he was forced to crash land into the tops of some trees before hitting a farm in the Cotswolds. The wings sheared off and he ended up, badly concussed, in the fuselage section. The farmer's son rushed into the house shouting, there's an aeroplane in the greenhouse. On another occasion his bomber was damaged by anti-aircraft fire. On landing he discovered a large piece of shrapnel embedded in the parachute he had been sitting on. Farquharson remained in the RAF and much of his early service was involved in training pilots. After attending the Central Flying School he commanded flying training squadrons and in 1953 led a large formation of aircraft in the Coronation Flypast. Later he was the chief instructor at an advanced flying school equipped with the Meteor jet fighter. After appointments in the Far East and as station commander at RAF Episkopi in Cyprus, Farquharson was appointed air attaché in Warsaw at the height of the Cold War. There all his activities were closely monitored by the secret police. Having shown no previous interest, he suddenly became an expert in birdwatching when he 'discovered' that the most interesting sites were close to military airfields. After retiring from the RAF in 1976, Farquharson worked in the sales division of a company manufacturing flight simulators and was for a period of time chairman of the Bomber Command Association. He was later made an honorary vice-president and worked hard seeking recognition for his fellow veterans. With his wife, a former WAAF operations officer on his bomber station, he was able to attend the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial by the Queen in July 2012. Sadly Group Captain Bill Farquharson, died on September 20th 2012.
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| Group Captain William Farquharson DFC - Signed Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings |
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