Bill Bedford

Alfred William "Bill" Bedford OBE AFC FRAeS (18 November 1920 – 20 October 1996) was a British test pilot and pioneered the development of V/STOL aircraft. Bedford was born on the 18 November 1920 at Loughborough and was educated at Loughborough College. He was serving an electrical a mechanical apprenticeship and training to be a steeplejack when the war started. Bedford joined the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1940. He flew the Hawker Hurricane and the Republic Thunderbolt with No. 605 Squadron RAF and No. 135 Squadron RAF, and the North American Mustang with No. 65 Squadron RAF. Bedford was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1945. After the war, he took a permanent commission with the RAF and became an all-weather flying...