Flight Lieutenant David Lord VC RAF

.David Lord was born in Cork, Ireland in 1913, the son of a Warrant Officer in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He joined the RAF in 1936 and qualified as an NCO pilot in the rank of sergeant. He flew operations in India, North Africa, India again, before being commissioned and flying supply missions over Burma, being awarded the DFC and Mentioned In Dispatches.

In January 1944 he was posted to RAF Down Ampney and in training for the invasion of mainland Europe later that year. On D-Day Lord dropped paratroopers and successfully returned to base despite his aircraft being hit and losing the use of his flaps.

On 19 September 1944 Flt Lt Lord was flying a Dakota transport with 271 San RAF dropping vital supplies to the beleaguered paratroopers at Arnhem, his aircraft being hit twice and an engine caught fire.

On discovering that there were still two supply containers that had failed to drop, and knowing that the fire could cause his wing to collapse at any moment, he elected to carry out a second run to drop the supplies, then order his crew to bail out whilst he kept the aircraft steady. A few seconds later the aircraft crashed in flames, only the navigator Flying Officer Harold King surviving to tell the tale.

It was only on the release of Fg Off King and several paratrooper prisoners of war, from 10 Para, that David Lord's actions became known to the authorities and the process was initiated to award Flt Lt Lord a posthumous VC. Flt Lt Lord's parents received his VC posthumously at Buckingham Palace in December 1945,

Author's note: The uncommon combination of awards of a Victoria Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross and King's Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air all point to a highly courageous officer whose loss would have been very deeply felt.