William Henry Rhodes-Moorhouse
| William Henry Rhodes-Moorhouse | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 March 1914 London, England |
| Died | 6 September 1940 (aged 26) Killed in Action |
| Buried at | Parnham House, Dorset |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 601 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II: Battle of Britain |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
William Henry "Willie" Rhodes-Moorhouse DFC, (4 March 1914 – 6 September 1940) was a Royal Air Force pilot who was killed in action during the Battle of Britain. He was one of The Few.
Rhodes-Moorhouse was born on 4 March 1914 at a house in Brompton Square, London. When he was less than a year old, his father, William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, who was the first airman to be awarded the Victoria Cross, was wounded in action and died of his injuries.The Rhodes-Moorhouse family enjoyed considerable wealth and circulated in the top echelons of upper-class society of the time.
William was educated at Eton College, where he was able to obtain his pilots licence aged 17. In October 1933, William inherited his father's estate of over £250,000 (a huge sum for the time).
After travelling extensively, on 15 September 1936 at Marylebone Rhodes-Moorhouse married Amalia Demetriadi, who had been approached to be screen-tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the film Gone with the Wind. She declined.
A keen sportsman, Rhodes-Moorhouse was selected for the British Winter Olympics team for the 1936 Winter Olympics, but an accident on the ski jump prevented him from competing.
In 1937 he joined the RAF, flying Bristol Blenheims with No. 601 Squadron RAF. At the start of the war 601 Squadron moved to Biggin Hill. On 28 November 1939 he participated on a raid by the Squadron's Blenheims on the German seaplane base at Borkum. The Squadron re-equipped with the Hawker Hurricane in March 1940.
...
Wikipedia