SIR MICHAEL GIDDINGSAir Marshal Sir Michael Giddings was a distinguishedSecond World Warfighter pilot.He flew Spitfires over Malta and Europe as the Axis forces were driven north and finally Mustangs in support of bombing raids on Germany during the war's closing months.His heroics earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and after the war he flew test flights and also commanded a bombing formation.After retiring from the RAF he continued to serve his country as a public servant.Kenneth Charles Michael Giddings was born on 27 August, 1920, and educated at Ealing Grammar School. He volunteered for the RAF in 1940 and trained in America.His first sorties were patrols along the Scottish coast but he was soon flying in convoys over France. In 1942 he sailed on the aircraft carrier Eagle to Malta where Spitfires helped drive back Rommel's forces by eliminating the German commander's supply lines and fending off intense German air attacks.He was wounded in a crash with a truck on a runway in late 1942 but returned to the skies for the north west Europe campaign with 118 Squadron which flew Spitfires and Mustangs in support of the Allied advance. By the end of the war he was commanding 129 Squadron which also flew Mustangs.In 1946 he trained at the Empire Test Pilots’ School and helped totest the new jet fighters being developed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1950 and a Bar to his AFC in 1955 for this dangerous work.In 1958 he joined Bomber Command as head of V-bomber squadrons. He continued to serve in various senior positions in the military until retirement in 1976 by which time he had reached the role of Deputy Chief of Defence Staff. He had been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath the previous year.After leaving the RAF he worked as a public servant for the Department of the Environment for 12 years, advising on road building projects. He also composed piano music for television programmes.War veteranAir Marshal Sir Michael Giddings, KCB, OBE, DFC, AFC and Bar died on 5 April, 2009, aged 88. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, whom he married in 1946, and by two sons and two daughters.
Keep me informed of updates
