John Noel Dowland, GC (6 November 1914 – 13 January 1942) was a
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 ...
officer of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and a recipient of the
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
.Obituary in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 17 January 1942, p.2
Life
Dowland was the son of the vicar of Ruscombe, the Rev. F.M. Dowland, and educated at
St John's School, Leatherhead
St John's School in Leatherhead, Surrey is a fully co-educational private school for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school offers day, weekly and flexible boarding for approximately 800 pupils.
St John's was founded in 1851 to educate the sons of ...
before taking flight training at Cranwell in 1934. After Cranwell he commissioned a pilot officer and joined a squadron of Bomber Command. At the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he took command of a unit overseas.
Along with civilian armament instructor
Leonard Henry Harrison
Leonard Henry Harrison (6 January 1905 – 15 July 1989) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who was awarded the George Cross "for acts of exceptional coolness and courage on several occasions"defusing a bomb that had fallen on the grain ship SS ''Kildare'' in
Immingham
Immingham is a town and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, on the south-west bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary, northwest of Grimsby.
It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the Great Central Railway began de ...
docks on 11 February 1940. The bomb proved extremely difficult to defuse as it had embedded itself at an extreme angle in the main deck. The citation, which appeared in the ''
London Gazette
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
'' on 7 January 1941, noted that he displayed the same "conspicuous courage and devotion to duty in circumstances of exceptional danger and difficulty" when defusing a bomb on a trawler in June 1940.
His and Harrison's actions were the earliest to be awarded the George Cross, although Thomas Alderson's award was the first to be announced.
Dowland later achieved the rank of
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) 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.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
, but was killed when taking part in a raid on
Pantelleria
Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...
on 13 January 1942. After the aircraft he was piloting was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, Dowland attempted an emergency landing at
Luqa
Luqa ( , ) is a town located in the Southern Region of Malta, 4.3 km away from the capital Valletta. With a population of 5,945 as of March 2014, it is a small but densely populated settlement which is typical of Malta's older towns and vi ...
, Malta. Both he and his observer were killed in the subsequent crash. Dowland is buried in Capuccini Naval Cemetery, Malta.