William Ernest Lucas (16 January 1917 – 24 March 2018) was a British RAF officer and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

. In 2017, Lucas was noted for having been Britain's oldest living Olympian.

Early life

Lucas was born in London, the only child of a bricklayer who had served as a sergeant with the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and had received the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

. After leaving grammar school at 15 in 1932, he worked in London at several jobs, as a packer for a trading house, a clerk for a publisher and as an assessor for an insurance company.

Military career

When war was declared in 1939, Lucas chose to serve in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, joining the

RAFVR The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

in 1940. After a period of training at RAF Burnaston, he made his first solo flight in a

Miles Magister The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatic ...

, and after advanced flight training received his wings as a fighter pilot. After victory in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

made the induction of further pilots in the fighter stream unnecessary, Lucas was posted to

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...

in Scotland for further training as a bomber pilot on

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

s. In August 1941 Lucas, now a sergeant pilot, was assigned to

No. 9 Squadron RAF Number 9 Squadron (also known as No. IX (Bomber) Squadron or No. IX (B) Squadron) is the oldest dedicated bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force. Formed in December 1914, it saw service throughout the First World War, including at the Somme and ...

, then stationed at

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. It was used as a bomber station during the Second World War and through the Cold War, hosting Han ...

. After flying on three bombing missions over Germany, Lucas was assigned his own crew, flying a further 14 missions. He was then requested to take a conversion course in order to fly larger four-engined

Short Stirling The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war (the earlier Handley ...

bombers. After completing the course, Lucas transferred to No. 15 Squadron RAF at

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and the station is now under the comm ...

, flying another 26 missions over Europe through mid-1942. By now a

flight sergeant Flight sergeant (commonly abbreviated to Flt Sgt, F/Sgt, FSGT or, currently correctly in the RAF, FS) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structur ...

, Lucas received an emergency commission as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

(on probation) on 1 May 1942, with seniority from 11 May. He participated in the Allies' first 1000-bomber raid over

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

on 30 May. On 9 November 1942, Lucas was promoted to war-substantive

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

(on probation). Following his first tour, Lucas was again posted to Scotland through late 1944, receiving a promotion to war-substantive flight lieutenant on 11 May 1944. In Scotland, he served as an instructor with No. 19 Operational Training Unit at

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss, or more simply RAF Kinloss, is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland, UK. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a traini ...

. While there, he met a fellow instructor, Wing Commander Hamish Mahaddie, as a result of which Lucas soon joined the

Pathfinder Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, at which a main bomber force could aim, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norm ...

in October 1944. For the remainder of the war, Lucas served with the Pathfinder Force, earning a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

in January 1945 and receiving the DFC in July. He left the RAF after the end of the war, with the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Running career

Lucas returned from the military in 1946 and worked in insurance while raising a family. When the 1948 Olympics came, he had trained only lightly for a limited period and failed to qualify for the final of the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

race. In reflection of his career, Lucas recalled: "The biggest regret of my career is my lost Olympic years of 1940 and 1944" in 2008. Lucas ran for Britain in various internationals, won numerous

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

titles and won a huge number of medals in the London to Brighton Relay for his club,

Belgrave Harriers Belgrave Harriers is an athletics club in London, England, with headquarters located in Wimbledon, close to Wimbledon Common. Belgrave Harriers compete in track and field, road running, racewalking and cross country events, and have traditional ...

. Despite all his racing, Lucas never gained any income from the sport and he retired in 1954. Years later, he made a brief comeback as a veteran and found himself racing

Sydney Wooderson Sydney Charles Wooderson MBE (30 August 1914 – 21 December 2006), dubbed "The Mighty Atom", was an English athlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s. He set the world mile record of 4:06.4 at London’s Motspur Park on 28 August ...

in a 100 x one mile relay. In 2017, Lucas was recognized as Britain's oldest living Olympian.

Death

Lucas lived in

Cowfold Cowfold is a village and civil parish between Billingshurst and Haywards Heath in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is at the intersection of the A272 and A281 roads. The parish has a land area of . In the 2001 census ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, with his wife, Sheena. He died on 24 March 2018 at the age of 101.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Bill 1917 births 2018 deaths English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners British men centenarians Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Royal Air Force squadron leaders Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People from Tooting Athletes from the London Borough of Wandsworth Military personnel from the London Borough of Wandsworth British World War II bomber pilots People from Cowfold 20th-century English sportsmen

Early life

Military career

Running career

Death

See also

References