Henry Alan Marsh
| Alan Marsh | |
|---|---|
| Born |
29 January 1901 Stratton, Dorset |
| Died | 13 June 1950 (aged 49) Eastleigh. Hampshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1918–1930, 1939–1946 |
| Rank | Squadron Leader |
| Awards | AFC, AFRAeS |
Henry Alan Marsh AFC AFRAeS (29 January 1901–13 June 1950) was a British rotorcraft instructor and test pilot.
Alan Marsh was born in Stratton, Dorset. In 1917, he completed his education at Weymouth Secondary School, and started an engineering apprenticeship in Dorchester, Dorset.
In 1918, he joined the RAF as a 3rd Air Mechanic, and was posted to the first aircraft apprenticeship course at Halton. After being promoted to corporal, he joined the second course of NCO pilots at No. 2 FTS, Duxford. In November 1923, he passed out as a Sergeant Pilot with special distinction, and was posted to No. 41 Squadron. In 1924, he joined No. 1 Squadron, flying Sopwith Snipes in Iraq. In 1926, he was posted to No. 111 Squadron, flying Armstrong-Whitworth Siskins. In 1927 and 1928, he represented No. 111 Squadron in RAF flying displays.
In September 1928, he joined an instructors' course at the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAF Wittering. He passed out from the course with an A.2 certificate, and then became an instructor at No. 2 FTS at RAF Grantham, flying Siskins and Atlases. In May 1929, he was posted to CFS as a Flight Sergeant instructor. In 1930, he left the service with an A.1 instructor's certificate, and was retained in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
In 1930, he was employed as an instructor at the Hampshire Aero Club, and then briefly as instructor at the Scarborough Aero Club. He had flown a Cierva C.19 autogiro, and in 1932 Reggie Brie invited him to join the Cierva Autogiro Company as an instructor and demonstration pilot. He became Chief Instructor at the Cierva Autogiro Flying School at London Air Park (Hanworth Aerodrome), and instructed over 80 trainee autogiro pilots in Cierva C.19 and Cierva C.30 types. He took part in the development of direct control autogiros, and later, autogiros with "jump start" features. In 1936, after Juan de la Cierva was killed in an airline accident, Marsh took over as Chief Test Pilot for the Cierva company. He also carried out test flying for G and J Weir Ltd., that was providing financial backing for Cierva, and developing its own autogiros. Weir's designer, C. G. Pullin, became chief designer and managing director of Cierva. In 1936, Marsh was commissioned in the RAFVR.
...
Wikipedia