Edward Stewart - Flying Instructor then 50 Wellington Missions Middle East / Western Desert
Edward Colston Stewart completed his elementary flying training on Tiger Moths at No 6 EFTS, Sywell during July and August 1940. Between August and October he underwent ‘Service’ flying training at The RAF College, Cranwell, flying the Airspeed Oxford twin-engined trainer. Stewart remained at Cranwell on to train as a flying instructor on No 3 (War) Instructors Course, still flying the Oxford. He graduated on 5 Dec 40 “Qualified to instruct on Multi-Engined Types only”. By 12 Dec, he had arrived at RAF Ansty to instruct on Tiger Moths.
Stewart’s logbook shows him flying R5172 on 10 Feb 1941; this was his fifth of eight flights that day, carrying out Ex 7, 9 with a student named Gilpin. He flew R5172 next on 13 Feb, carrying out Ex 14, 19 with student Chadwick; this was Stewart’s first of 5 flights that day. The next day, he again flew R5172 with Chadwick, carrying out Ex 15, 16, 19 as his fourth of 5 flights. Thereafter, Stewart logged neither ac serial numbers, pupils names nor exercises!
Stewart instructing on R5172, February 1941 (via IBCC)
Edward Stewart was posted from Ansty in January 1942 graded ‘Above Average’ as an instructor and having amassed 952 hrs total flying time. After completing another course on the Airspeed Oxford at No 3 Service Flying Training School at RAF South Cerney and a Beam Approach Training course at RAF Little Rissington, Stewart converted to the Vickers Wellington medium bomber with No 21 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh.
On 18 July 1942, Stewart was posted to 1446 Ferry Flight, where his flying started with UK-based ‘consumption’ flights. He carried out operational sorties to ‘B’ on 7 & 9 August and to ‘A’ on 11 August. We have yet to ascertain the detail of these targets, but by 18 August, we know that Stewart was in Sudan and that he arrived in Cairo on 23 August.
Flying Officer Stewart was posted to 104 Sqn, based at Kabrit, Egypt and carried out his first operational mission with that Squadron on 27 October, flying as second pilot to Sqn Ldr Leggette on an operation to the Battle Area to carry out night bombing of Sidi Haneish airfield. Stewart’s early operations were in support of the second Battle of El Alamein; the details of all his missions can be found here.
104 Sqn Wellington II (benitz.com)
With the Squadron preparing to move to LG224 (Cairo West), 6 aircraft and 11 crews were detached to Malta, Stewart making the journey as second pilot to Sqn Ldr Leggette on 6 November. His last operation as a second pilot was 2 days later, the target Axis airfields on Sardinia.
Stewart’s first mission as first pilot was against El Aouina airfield in Tunis, returning again the following night. Throughout November and December, his targets were airfields and ports in Tunisia, Sicily and Sardinia, the clear aim being to disrupt supplies to Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the East and those opposing the allied invasion of North Africa, Operation TORCH in the West.
By January 1943, Stewart’s operational flying became mixed with instructional duties, typically providing training to four new Sgt pilots at a time. There was a subtle change in the nature of his targets too, with a number of missions against troop and MT concentrations near Tripoli.
104 Sqn Wellington II with 500lb GP bombs (IWM)
Returning to Egypt on 26 January, 104 Sqn moved west with the Battle, first to Soluch (Benghazi) and then to Gardabia in Tripolitania (Libya). Stewart’s operational flying resumed on 24 February, with an attack on Gabes airfield, town and nearby roads. For the remainder of Stewarts’s tour, the majority of his missions would be against Axis troop concentrations behind their defensive position, the ‘Mareth Line’, in preparation for the Battle of El Hamma; the details of his missions are here.
Graded as ‘exceptional’ at the end of his operational tour and returning to the UK, Flt Lt Stewart served as an instructor on Wellingtons with 28 OTU at RAF Wymeswold between August 1943 and October 1944.
Avro York (IWM)
Joining 511 Sqn to fly the Avro York transport from RAF Lyneham, Sqn Ldr Stewart’s ‘conversion’ training appears to have been to fly to Columbo via Naples, Cairo and Karachi to deliver Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser to his command of the British Pacific Fleet. Discharging their VIP at Columbo on 10 Nov, the crew returned to the UK, suffering an engine fire on departure from Cairo on 20 Nov and arriving at Lyneham on 25 November 1944
We next find Stewart flying Tiger Moths as a civilian instructor with no 2 Grading School, RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey during 1953. He underwent a course to fly the Vickers Varsity at 201 Advanced Flying School at RAF Swinderby before serving as a Flt Lt staff pilot at No 1 Air Navigation School, RAF Hullavington between July 1953 and March 1954.
