The John & Andrée East Award
2020
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Adrian
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Arthur Ernest East
[Editor: East FHS member Adrian Pearson promised our research manager that he would send a copy of his research into Arthur E East, his grandmother’s first husband. An article mentioning Arthur included in Points East Issue 21 (Spring 2003) by Christine Bockett concluded “He left a wife and son, Arthur Derek...his wife remarried and had three daughters.” Adrian’s mother was the eldest daughter and half-brother to Arthur Derek. Christine was apparently told by researchers (prior to 2003) that Arthur Derek didn’t wish to be contacted. He has since died and Adrian is not in touch with his daughter or sons.]
Flight Corporal Arthur Ernest East, my grandmother’s first husband, was a parachute tester, instructor and display jumper in the years when parachutes were still unfamiliar to many early aeroplane pilots. At the age of just 25 he died when a jump went terribly wrong. This is the story of that tragedy.
Arthur was the son of George East, who was born in 1865. George had married on 6th October 1889 Alice Poole, born in 1871. They had six children: Albert Edward (who died an infant), Ethel, George Edward, Charles Frederick, Arthur Ernest (the subject of this study) and Henry Robert. Alice died in 1914 and on 3rd April 1915 George remarried: his new wife was Alice Maud Bond, born in 1879. Henry Robert died after being knocked down by a car at Petersham, also in 1915. George senior, who had been a Special Constable during WW1, by the time of Arthur’s parachute jump in 1927 was living with his second wife at 76 Princes Road, Richmond.
Arthur was the son of George East, who was born in 1865. George had married on 6th October 1889 Alice Poole, born in 1871. They had six children: Albert Edward (who died an infant), Ethel, George Edward, Charles Frederick, Arthur Ernest (the subject of this study) and Henry Robert. Alice died in 1914 and on 3rd April 1915 George remarried: his new wife was Alice Maud Bond, born in 1879. Henry Robert died after being knocked down by a car at Petersham, also in 1915. George senior, who had been a Special Constable during WW1, by the time of Arthur’s parachute jump in 1927 was living with his second wife at 76 Princes Road, Richmond.
Arthur Ernest was born on 4th July 1901 in Richmond and educated at Eton Street School under the headmastership of Councillor W. Bashford. He was also a member of the Vineyard Congregational Sunday School. He joined the nation’s embryonic air force, then known as the Royal Flying Corps, in December 1917 (Service No. 157816) when still aged just sixteen, initially as a rigger. In 1925, the RAF officially adopted the parachute for use in aeroplanes. East, by now a corporal, immediately seized the opportunity of making parachute descents himself, setting up a parachute section at R.A.F. Northolt. He and his group, who became known as “the Loonies,” spent the next two years jumping from aeroplanes and demonstrating the capability of parachutes – for at that time pilots preferred to risk a crash landing rather than putting trust in the deployment of this new technology.
The Richmond Herald said of East’s parachute expertise: “To him the accomplishment was an ordinary one: he saw nothing in it and he must have made sixty or seventy descents during his career.” The aviation correspondent of the Evening Standard said, “There was no more remarkable parachutist in the RAF than Corporal East. He was at the time [of his death in 1927] one of the few men who could claim to have jumped from an aeroplane in flight.” Other newspapers said he was “the most experienced parachutist in the Air Service”.
East was awarded the Air Force Medal in the 1927 New Year’s Honours list but was to be killed before he received it.
The Richmond Herald said of East’s parachute expertise: “To him the accomplishment was an ordinary one: he saw nothing in it and he must have made sixty or seventy descents during his career.” The aviation correspondent of the Evening Standard said, “There was no more remarkable parachutist in the RAF than Corporal East. He was at the time [of his death in 1927] one of the few men who could claim to have jumped from an aeroplane in flight.” Other newspapers said he was “the most experienced parachutist in the Air Service”.
East was awarded the Air Force Medal in the 1927 New Year’s Honours list but was to be killed before he received it.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 9th March 1927, when he was 26, and living at Albert Road, Peckham, he made what was to be his final jump above Biggin Hill Aerodrome, about 10 miles north of London. The Richmond Herald sets the scene: “He had joined the 56th Fighting Squadron. East was one of the “star” men of the RAF on this particular parachute practice. He was one of a number of experts who were stationed at RAF Henlow and travelled around with their own special machine to various air stations to give pilots instructions in parachute descent.”
RAF Henlow was a station in the Bedfordshire countryside, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. In May 1920, RAF Henlow had been made the first parachute testing centre, later to be joined by the parachute unit from RAF Northolt. Parachute testing was undertaken using Vimy aircraft, the parachutist hanging off the wings and allowing the parachute to deploy.
However, for some time past, East had been refining what was known as the delayed descent, in which the parachutist fell as far as he possibly could before opening the parachute. According to the Herald, “No other man in the RAF had made so many descents of this kind. On one occasion at Duxford Aerodrome East stepped out of an aeroplane and fell for 3,200 ft before pulling the cord of the parachute. He had a narrow escape from serious injury for he had only just opened the parachute fully when he hit the ground. This experience didn’t terrify East, who was soon up again eager to beat this achievement. He was known for having a knack of controlling himself in the air, for although he might be tumbling over and over in somersaults as he fell, he had the ability to right himself at any moment with ease. ‘The great thing’, East had said on one occasion, ‘is that you should keep your head. You don’t get any sensation of falling at all if you don’t want it’.
However, for some time past, East had been refining what was known as the delayed descent, in which the parachutist fell as far as he possibly could before opening the parachute. According to the Herald, “No other man in the RAF had made so many descents of this kind. On one occasion at Duxford Aerodrome East stepped out of an aeroplane and fell for 3,200 ft before pulling the cord of the parachute. He had a narrow escape from serious injury for he had only just opened the parachute fully when he hit the ground. This experience didn’t terrify East, who was soon up again eager to beat this achievement. He was known for having a knack of controlling himself in the air, for although he might be tumbling over and over in somersaults as he fell, he had the ability to right himself at any moment with ease. ‘The great thing’, East had said on one occasion, ‘is that you should keep your head. You don’t get any sensation of falling at all if you don’t want it’.
Flying Officer Grace, in charge of parachute training, said, at the inquest subsequent to East’s death, that he had known East to be an excellent parachutist.
“All the jumps are voluntary and nobody is ordered to do them. [On this occasion] East asked if he could make a delayed jump and it is usual to give one of these demonstrations at each place we visit. We discussed the jump which was to be made and East said he would leap from a height of about 6,000 ft. He promised not to make a longer delayed drop than 2,000 ft.”
When the inquest coroner asked Grace why East had made that promise he explained “He had been asking me if he could make a really long delayed drop of 3,000 ft or 4,000 ft, but I had refused to agree.” Grace continued, “For 3,000 ft East fell in a slow spin head downwards. That was usual. This movement then changed to a head-over-heels and somersaulting movement. For the rest of the descent East continued to somersault. When less than 100 ft. from the ground I saw him pull the ripcord. That released the pilot parachute and this dragged about 10 ft. or 12 ft. of the main parachute out before East disappeared behind the hedge against the road. The parachute was examined and found to be in perfect order.”
Despite East’s earlier reassurances to his senior officer to the contrary, later press reports suggested that he was in fact privately determined to try to beat the world “delayed drop” record of 4,300 feet then held by the Americans.
Questioned by the Coroner whether Grace thought the somersault interfered with East, he stated, “That is my opinion. He was used to coming down head first, when he could see the ground. When that movement changed to a somersault, obviously he would be looking now at the ground and then at the sky. I think that affected his judgement. Obviously, he misjudged the distance he was from the ground.”
Flight Sergeant Woods, the pilot of the machine from which East jumped, said later that when the plane was at a height of 6,200 ft he signalled to East that he was at a height of 5,000 ft, so that East would have more time than he thought. Woods stated, “He was in the best of spirits and waved his hand. He was a teetotaller and a non-smoker. He loved his work. The more he jumped the better he liked it.”
Corporal Lawrence Parrett, who had assisted East to pack the parachute, said that East had been perfectly satisfied with everything. “I watched East jump and when half-way between the plane and the ground he turned a somersault. After that he was continually somersaulting.”
Leading Aircraftsman Symons, also called to speak at the inquest, confirmed he “distinctly saw Corporal East pull the ripcord when only 60 ft. or 70 ft. from the ground.”
“All the jumps are voluntary and nobody is ordered to do them. [On this occasion] East asked if he could make a delayed jump and it is usual to give one of these demonstrations at each place we visit. We discussed the jump which was to be made and East said he would leap from a height of about 6,000 ft. He promised not to make a longer delayed drop than 2,000 ft.”
When the inquest coroner asked Grace why East had made that promise he explained “He had been asking me if he could make a really long delayed drop of 3,000 ft or 4,000 ft, but I had refused to agree.” Grace continued, “For 3,000 ft East fell in a slow spin head downwards. That was usual. This movement then changed to a head-over-heels and somersaulting movement. For the rest of the descent East continued to somersault. When less than 100 ft. from the ground I saw him pull the ripcord. That released the pilot parachute and this dragged about 10 ft. or 12 ft. of the main parachute out before East disappeared behind the hedge against the road. The parachute was examined and found to be in perfect order.”
Despite East’s earlier reassurances to his senior officer to the contrary, later press reports suggested that he was in fact privately determined to try to beat the world “delayed drop” record of 4,300 feet then held by the Americans.
Questioned by the Coroner whether Grace thought the somersault interfered with East, he stated, “That is my opinion. He was used to coming down head first, when he could see the ground. When that movement changed to a somersault, obviously he would be looking now at the ground and then at the sky. I think that affected his judgement. Obviously, he misjudged the distance he was from the ground.”
Flight Sergeant Woods, the pilot of the machine from which East jumped, said later that when the plane was at a height of 6,200 ft he signalled to East that he was at a height of 5,000 ft, so that East would have more time than he thought. Woods stated, “He was in the best of spirits and waved his hand. He was a teetotaller and a non-smoker. He loved his work. The more he jumped the better he liked it.”
Corporal Lawrence Parrett, who had assisted East to pack the parachute, said that East had been perfectly satisfied with everything. “I watched East jump and when half-way between the plane and the ground he turned a somersault. After that he was continually somersaulting.”
Leading Aircraftsman Symons, also called to speak at the inquest, confirmed he “distinctly saw Corporal East pull the ripcord when only 60 ft. or 70 ft. from the ground.”
Parachute descents had been practised over Biggin Hill Aerodrome regularly prior to the occasion, attracting sightseers, and when the tragedy occurred there was a crowd of interested onlookers nearby. East crashed onto a main road in full view of a bus loaded with passengers, the driver having stopped so that they all could witness the descent. An eyewitness stated that he “heard the body whistling through the air.” Newspapers reported that “a motor cyclist, who failed to see the coming accident, only avoided the airman, who was descending at the rate of 300 miles an hour, by running his machine into a hedgerow.”
In the 2005 book, Lost Voices of the Royal Air Force, edited by Max Arthur, Leading Aircraftman Harold Andrews recalled what must have been East’s descent. “While I was at Biggin Hill we had a parachute display session given by an instructor from Henlow Parachute School. He attempted the world record delayed opening drop from 6,500 feet. He jumped backwards off the wings of a Vimy and we saw him coming down and down. We said to each other, ‘Why doesn’t he open his parachute? Why doesn’t he open his parachute?’ When he got about a hundred feet from the ground it suddenly opened, but it was too late to stop him from crashing on the road, right in front of a poor old chap on a motorbike. He was in a thick canvas Sidcot Suit which kept him together as he was just a lump of jelly inside. We had all volunteered for a parachute drop, but further practice drops were cancelled for the day.”
Had he fallen 24 yards further west East’s life might not have been lost. Eyewitnesses stated that “though his parachute actually opened, it did so too late to arrest his fall.” Twenty odd yards further west he would have descended a further 600 ft into the valley opposite the aerodrome. Some suggested it had been his intention to conclude the descent into this valley but by bad luck he had drifted over high ground: and with his chute only half deployed was killed instantly.
The inquest was held at Biggin Hill on Friday 11th March.
Alice, East’s widow and my grandmother, stated that his general health had been good, but that he had suffered from pains in the head and at times was depressed. The trouble, she said, was due to his having been hit by a piece of parachute harness some time previously. When the Coroner asked “Was he fond of his work?” she replied, “Yes, he loved it. I sometimes asked him to give it up, as it was so dangerous and used to worry me a lot. His reply was ‘It is always safety first with me. Don’t be afraid. I never do anything without thinking it out first.’ ” Dr. Frederick Gordon Smith of the R.A.F. Medical Service said that Corporal East fractured his skull and death was instantaneous.
A verdict of “Death from Misadventure” was returned.
News of the tragedy was widely reported in the newspapers across the country and across the empire. It was described the next day in the House of Commons. Hugh Dalton, then MP for Peckham and who later became Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a speech: “May I be allowed to interpose a few words arising out of the speech made by the Prime Minister on the subject of accidents and the personal qualities of the personnel of our Air Force? I am sure that all of us, and certainly I for my part, pay a tribute to the personnel of the Air Force, and fully recognise the splendid human quality of that Force. I read only this morning of the death of an airman, who, unhappily, was a constituent of my own. I have not seen full accounts of the affair yet. He was Corporal East, who appears to have been killed through leaping from an aeroplane at a height of 6,000 feet and delaying too long before putting his parachute into action. I read in the Press that he was attempting to break a world record held by an American airman for the longest drop from an aeroplane before opening the parachute. I mourn, and I am sure we all mourn, the death of one more of these gallant pioneers in the cause of aerial science. We can, at any rate, say that attempts to break a world record are a form of international rivalry and competition for which no one will have anything but the keenest and warmest admiration. Like the Prime Minister, we all feel the fascination which the Air Service holds for the young and the adventurous and the brave, the best among our rising generation. Our hope is that the gallant service which they will do in the future will be done under conditions of peace, and not in the midst of the horrors of war.”
Alice, East’s widow and my grandmother, stated that his general health had been good, but that he had suffered from pains in the head and at times was depressed. The trouble, she said, was due to his having been hit by a piece of parachute harness some time previously. When the Coroner asked “Was he fond of his work?” she replied, “Yes, he loved it. I sometimes asked him to give it up, as it was so dangerous and used to worry me a lot. His reply was ‘It is always safety first with me. Don’t be afraid. I never do anything without thinking it out first.’ ” Dr. Frederick Gordon Smith of the R.A.F. Medical Service said that Corporal East fractured his skull and death was instantaneous.
A verdict of “Death from Misadventure” was returned.
News of the tragedy was widely reported in the newspapers across the country and across the empire. It was described the next day in the House of Commons. Hugh Dalton, then MP for Peckham and who later became Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a speech: “May I be allowed to interpose a few words arising out of the speech made by the Prime Minister on the subject of accidents and the personal qualities of the personnel of our Air Force? I am sure that all of us, and certainly I for my part, pay a tribute to the personnel of the Air Force, and fully recognise the splendid human quality of that Force. I read only this morning of the death of an airman, who, unhappily, was a constituent of my own. I have not seen full accounts of the affair yet. He was Corporal East, who appears to have been killed through leaping from an aeroplane at a height of 6,000 feet and delaying too long before putting his parachute into action. I read in the Press that he was attempting to break a world record held by an American airman for the longest drop from an aeroplane before opening the parachute. I mourn, and I am sure we all mourn, the death of one more of these gallant pioneers in the cause of aerial science. We can, at any rate, say that attempts to break a world record are a form of international rivalry and competition for which no one will have anything but the keenest and warmest admiration. Like the Prime Minister, we all feel the fascination which the Air Service holds for the young and the adventurous and the brave, the best among our rising generation. Our hope is that the gallant service which they will do in the future will be done under conditions of peace, and not in the midst of the horrors of war.”
Arthur East’s funeral was conducted at Richmond Cemetery on Monday 14th March 1927 at 11.30 with military honours.
Councillor W. A. Bashford, late Headmaster of St Mary’s School, where East had been a pupil, said after hearing the news, “I can remember Corporal East quite well and I have several photographs of him. He was an excellent worker and was quite good at games. I am sure that all his schoolfellows will hear of his death with great regret. He was very popular with them.”
The following extract, from "The Sky People, a History of Parachuting” by Peter Heam (1990), recalls East and puts in useful perspective his place in parachuting history alongside a fellow parachute pioneer named Dobbs : “In England, it was the men of the Parachute Test Unit who led the way. Amongst them were two jumpers called Dobbs and East, who made a largely unrecognized but significant contribution to British parachuting, and who would have contributed even more had they lived longer. “'Brainy' Dobbs, they called him, for he had an inventive mind not entirely applied to the parachute, for he made a two-wheeled car, and an aquaplane, which he eventually crashed on the banks of the River Deben. Towards the parachute, he had the right attitude. 'A parachute', he would say to the men he trained, 'must be so simple that even the highest officer in the Royal Air Force can understand it.’…
“Dobbs was a good parachutist, but East was said to have been even better. The two of them, with no guidance, had tackled the mysteries of free fall, and it had been East who had quickly discovered that the normally tumbling body could be stabilized by spreading out arms and legs, and that even though this caused a tendency for the body to rotate like a propeller, that too could be controlled by adjusting the relative positions of the limbs. He hadn't fully mastered it yet, but he was close. He would surely have been amongst the first of the world's controlled free fallers had his bravery and confidence not killed him at the age of twenty-five… “Some said that he had been trying to dive into the valley and open his 'chute out of sight of the aerodrome 'to give them a real thrill'. What is more likely is that when that slow and not unpleasant somersaulting began, he became so intent on this novel sensation and on finding a means to control it, that despite the extra 1,000 feet that 'Timber' Woods had given him, he lost sense of time and of the looming earth until it was too late. He probably died as other free fallers have died since – from sheer preoccupation. “Two days later, 'Brainy' Dobbs was practising 'balloon hopping' at Stag Lane aerodrome in North London . Harnessed to a small gas balloon, he was making gigantic leaps across the airfield, rising to over 100 feet, and then settling back to earth before propelling himself once more into the air and the gentle wind. It was great sport! At the end of the field he made one final bound. He sailed over a tree, and came down the other side onto electric power cables. He, like East, died instantly.”
Arthur had married Alice Elizabeth Weston in January 1926. At the time of the tragedy their son, Arthur Derek, was just ten weeks old. Alice subsequently married in 1928 Frank Power, my grandfather. Alice and Frank had three daughters, Barbara (my mother), Sheila and Maureen. Arthur Derek in 1951 married Kathleen. George, Arthur Ernest’s father, died at Richmond on 28th May 1936. Alice Maud, Arthur Ernest’s stepmother, died in 1960. His eldest surviving brother, George Edward, died at Christchurch on 20th November 1968.
Councillor W. A. Bashford, late Headmaster of St Mary’s School, where East had been a pupil, said after hearing the news, “I can remember Corporal East quite well and I have several photographs of him. He was an excellent worker and was quite good at games. I am sure that all his schoolfellows will hear of his death with great regret. He was very popular with them.”
The following extract, from "The Sky People, a History of Parachuting” by Peter Heam (1990), recalls East and puts in useful perspective his place in parachuting history alongside a fellow parachute pioneer named Dobbs : “In England, it was the men of the Parachute Test Unit who led the way. Amongst them were two jumpers called Dobbs and East, who made a largely unrecognized but significant contribution to British parachuting, and who would have contributed even more had they lived longer. “'Brainy' Dobbs, they called him, for he had an inventive mind not entirely applied to the parachute, for he made a two-wheeled car, and an aquaplane, which he eventually crashed on the banks of the River Deben. Towards the parachute, he had the right attitude. 'A parachute', he would say to the men he trained, 'must be so simple that even the highest officer in the Royal Air Force can understand it.’…
“Dobbs was a good parachutist, but East was said to have been even better. The two of them, with no guidance, had tackled the mysteries of free fall, and it had been East who had quickly discovered that the normally tumbling body could be stabilized by spreading out arms and legs, and that even though this caused a tendency for the body to rotate like a propeller, that too could be controlled by adjusting the relative positions of the limbs. He hadn't fully mastered it yet, but he was close. He would surely have been amongst the first of the world's controlled free fallers had his bravery and confidence not killed him at the age of twenty-five… “Some said that he had been trying to dive into the valley and open his 'chute out of sight of the aerodrome 'to give them a real thrill'. What is more likely is that when that slow and not unpleasant somersaulting began, he became so intent on this novel sensation and on finding a means to control it, that despite the extra 1,000 feet that 'Timber' Woods had given him, he lost sense of time and of the looming earth until it was too late. He probably died as other free fallers have died since – from sheer preoccupation. “Two days later, 'Brainy' Dobbs was practising 'balloon hopping' at Stag Lane aerodrome in North London . Harnessed to a small gas balloon, he was making gigantic leaps across the airfield, rising to over 100 feet, and then settling back to earth before propelling himself once more into the air and the gentle wind. It was great sport! At the end of the field he made one final bound. He sailed over a tree, and came down the other side onto electric power cables. He, like East, died instantly.”
Arthur had married Alice Elizabeth Weston in January 1926. At the time of the tragedy their son, Arthur Derek, was just ten weeks old. Alice subsequently married in 1928 Frank Power, my grandfather. Alice and Frank had three daughters, Barbara (my mother), Sheila and Maureen. Arthur Derek in 1951 married Kathleen. George, Arthur Ernest’s father, died at Richmond on 28th May 1936. Alice Maud, Arthur Ernest’s stepmother, died in 1960. His eldest surviving brother, George Edward, died at Christchurch on 20th November 1968.
Arthur Ernest East when he joined the Royal Flying Corps as a boy entrant in 1917.
Arthur Ernest East standing by a Vickers Vimy, the ’plane he used to jump from.
Genealogical notes
George East b 1865 d 28/5/1936 m firstly 6/10/1889 Alice Poole b 1871 d 1914. The children of George and Alice East i) Albert Edward (1890-1891) ii) Ethel iii) George Edward (1895-20/11/1968) m 1923 Hilda Rose Lee (1897- 1984) and bore Donald John East iv) Charles Frederick v) Arthur Ernest (4/7/1901-9/3/1927) m Alice Elizabeth Weston 1/1926 and bore Arthur Derek (b 30/12/1926 d 4/6/2016) who married 1951 Kathleen Keegan and bore Martina, Derek and Gerald vi) Henry Robert d 1915 George East m secondly 3/4/1915 Alice Maud Bond (1879-1960) The children of George and Alice Maud East i) Henry George b. 1916 ii) Alice Adelaide (1918-2002) who bore Christine m – Bockett
George East b 1865 d 28/5/1936 m firstly 6/10/1889 Alice Poole b 1871 d 1914. The children of George and Alice East i) Albert Edward (1890-1891) ii) Ethel iii) George Edward (1895-20/11/1968) m 1923 Hilda Rose Lee (1897- 1984) and bore Donald John East iv) Charles Frederick v) Arthur Ernest (4/7/1901-9/3/1927) m Alice Elizabeth Weston 1/1926 and bore Arthur Derek (b 30/12/1926 d 4/6/2016) who married 1951 Kathleen Keegan and bore Martina, Derek and Gerald vi) Henry Robert d 1915 George East m secondly 3/4/1915 Alice Maud Bond (1879-1960) The children of George and Alice Maud East i) Henry George b. 1916 ii) Alice Adelaide (1918-2002) who bore Christine m – Bockett
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