Squadron Leader Peter Rothwell (20 October 1920 – 20 December 2010) was an English bomber pilot in 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 key figure in the defence of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

during

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 ...

Life

Rothwell was born in Bristol, the son of a vicar. He was the eldest of seven children and was 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 ...

. His education was cut short by the early death of his father, resulting in him taking a job with

Imperial Tobacco Imperial Brands plc (originally the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland, and subsequently Imperial Tobacco Group plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is ...

. He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1938 and joined 221 Squadron after pilot training. In early 1942 Rothwell transferred from Iceland to the Special Duties Wellington flight based on

. The Special Duties group flew with the Royal Navy to locate enemy convoys, and bring in ships or aircraft, dropping flares, observing results and also bombing themselves. He arrived during one of the coldest winters on record and was billeted in a former leper colony. In an interview Rothwell said "It was freezing. The boys were all drinking gin with hot water and eating tiny pickled onions to help them forget the cold." After the billets were destroyed by enemy action the squadron was moved to the seaplane base at Lalafrana. From Malta, Rothwell and his colleagues attacked Axis convoys and airfields. After their accommodation at Lalafrana was again destroyed, they were forced to live in nearby caves, where they had to endure vicious sand bugs. Later in the war, Rothwell was brought back to the UK where he undertook instructing and then moved to a Halifax flying meteorological squadron. When he was demobbed, Rothwell had flown 158 operational sorties. His first wife Eileen died in 1959 and he also lost his eldest son; he raised his remaining five children and set up and ran a boat-building business in Hampshire. He married a second time to Margaret, who pre-deceased him in 2002. In retirement he was an active member of the George Cross Island Association and undertook annual pilgrimages to Malta each April.

References

External links

War Experience Org
Military personnel from Bristol 2010 deaths 1920 births Royal Air Force squadron leaders Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II bomber pilots Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead {{RAF-bio-stub

Life

See also

References

External links