Ulric Cross
| Philip Louis Ulric Cross | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Black Hornet |
| Born |
1 May 1917 Port of Spain, Trinidad |
| Died | 4 October 2013 (aged 96) Port of Spain, Trinidad |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1941–47 |
| Rank | Squadron Leader |
| Commands held | No 139 (Jamaica) Squadron |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross |
Philip Louis Ulric Cross DSO, DFC (1 May 1917 – 4 October 2013) was a Trinidadian jurist, diplomat and Royal Air Force (RAF) navigator. He is recognised as possibly the most decorated West Indian of World War II.
Ulric Cross was born on 1 May 1917, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, to Reginald Rufus and Maud Iris Cross. He was the second child in a family of nine. At the age of 11, he passed the Government Exhibition Examination and was awarded one of eight annual scholarships that qualified him for five years of free secondary education. He came first in the island by achieving the highest marks scored nationally, and went on to attend St Mary's College. He was devastated by his mother's death when he was just 13 years old. His academic focus was completely derailed by this latter event and so, after completing five years of college education, he left school. His first job was with the Trinidad Guardian as a copy editor. Then he worked for about four years as a clerk to Leo Pujadas, Solicitor. When Cross turned 21, he joined the Civil Service and worked for a while with the Trinidad Government Railways. In this job, his close colleague was J. O'Neil "Scottie" Lewis.
In 1941, aged 24, Cross joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and served with RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War, attaining the rank of Squadron Leader. He was the only West Indian in his squadron. In June 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and in January 1945 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in recognition of his "fine example of keenness and devotion to duty" and "exceptional navigational ability". He was a member of the elite Pathfinder Force that perfected techniques for precision main force bombing. In his own words: "We did a lot of low-level daylight bombing. We flew at just 50 feet instead of the normal 25,000 feet. We dropped four 500-pound bombs. You flew in to your target at 50 feet and as you approached it you went up to 1,200 feet. You then did a shallow dive onto the target and released your bombs. The bomb had an 11-second delay, so you shot up to avoid the bomb blast. We went over in formation and we bombed in formation, but we came back independently". Cross flew 80 missions over Germany and occupied Europe as navigator of a Mosquito fighter-bomber, and was the model for the black character, Squadron Leader Charles Ford, in Ken Follett's novel Hornet Flight.
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