Nuthall Cemetery, New Farm Lane, Nottingham - all the graves are facing east-west except one. Can you spot it? It's the grave of Rolls Royce chief test pilot Capt. "Shep" Shepherd who wanted to be buried facing his old airfield in Hucknall.
His career of derring-do included chasing Zeppelins in WW1, crashing into Watnall Hall's garden wall and flying the lethal Harrier jump jet prototype the "Flying Bedstead"...
In 1954, aged 58, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Wanting to spare his fellow test pilots from flying, untethered, the extremely dangerous Flying Bedstead, he came out of retirement and did all the test flying on it. He didn't crash it, in fact he flew it perfectly. There is video of him during the test flights with bowler-hatted boffins from the Air Ministry looking on. After Shepherd succumbed to his cancer the following year, further testing was still needed and sadly a test pilot from RAE Bedford was killed flying the Bedstead.
The Flying Bedstead test rig area is still in existence by the old RAF Hucknall runway. It's recognisable by the distinctive high temperature-resisting bricks used on the landing pad. The graves alongside Capt Shepherd are of two other RAF aircrew who died more recently. An RAF Tornado navigator killed on duty and a Wing Commander¹ who flew Buccaneers and Tornadoes. Intriguingly they both had the same wife...
 |
| The Air Ministry boffins watch Shepherd demonstrating the Flying Bedstead 1954 |
 |
| Shepherd aboard the Flying Bedstead 1954 |
 |
| The Flying Bedstead test pad |
Comments
Post a Comment