Richard Carew Reynell (12 April 1912 – 7 September 1940) was a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

and fighter 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 ...

. He was born into the prominent Reynell family of winemakers from Reynella,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. His father, Carew Reynell, who was a leading winemaker died at Gallipoli in 1915 while commanding the 9th Light Horse. Reynell was educated at St Peter's College in Adelaide, and left Australia in 1929 to read agriculture at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. In 1931 he joined 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 ...

, serving in No. 43 Squadron and became an instructor at No. 8 Flying Training School, Montrose. Before the start Second World War he took a job as a test pilot with Hawker Aircraft. While in England, Reynell met Marjorie Watts-Allan. They married and had a son, John, who died in a helicopter accident in 1973. In August 1940, Reynell rejoined No. 43 Squadron to assess the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

in combat conditions. In two weeks of combat he shot down one aircraft and scored several probables. On 7 September, Reynell was called back to Hawker to replace a pilot who had been killed. He elected to complete the day's flying operations. This was the day of the Luftwaffe's first large scale raids against London and his squadron of 12 aircraft attacked 100 German planes. Reynell's plane was shot down near Blackheath and broke apart. Reynell bailed out but his parachute did not open. Reynell survived bailing out with serious injuries but died at the scene. In 2013, a stone in memory of Reynell was unveiled in Point View park, Greenwich, close to the site. He is buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey.

References

1912 births 1940 deaths Australian test pilots Australian World War II pilots The Few Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Military personnel from Adelaide Royal Air Force officers Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford {{Australia-bio-stub