The Daily Telegraph Airmen's Obituaries Book Three by Graham Pitchfork

Author:Graham Pitchfork [Pitchfork, Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Sports, Cycling
ISBN: 9781781310359
Publisher: Aurum
Published: 2012-06-03T04:00:00+00:00

Geoffrey Howard Dhenin was born on April 2, 1918, the day after the formation of the RAF, and educated at Hereford Cathedral School and St John’s College, Cambridge. He completed his medical studies at Guy’s Hospital in London.

He joined the RAF in February 1943 as a junior medical officer and served on bomber stations in Lincolnshire. One night in October 1943, a Lancaster bomber had to return from a raid with an engine failure. The aircraft crashed near the airfield, disintegrated and caught fire.

Dhenin was immediately on the scene with a RAF Regiment gunner to find the injured rear gunner trapped in his crushed turret. Although there was a high-explosive bomb in the blazing wreckage, Dhenin administered medical aid as he and the airmen tried to release the man. For 30 minutes they worked in the intense heat before a crane arrived to lift the wreckage. Displaying a total disregard for the acute danger and his own safety, Dhenin then crawled under the raised wreckage and released the gunner, one of only two survivors of the seven-man crew.

Dhenin was later awarded the George Medal for his outstanding courage; his colleague received the BEM for gallantry.

Two days after D-Day, Dhenin joined a mobile field hospital, and throughout the campaign in north-west Europe was involved in evacuating casualties by air. He was mentioned in despatches.

In 1945 Dhenin trained as a pilot, and was one of a few doctors to be employed as a flying medical officer. After serving on bomber stations and at the Institute of Aviation Medicine at Farnborough, in 1950 he joined, No. 1 Flying College Course, a post-graduate course for experienced senior aircrew. His ability was recognised when, on graduation, he was appointed to the staff. He then qualified as a senior specialist in radiology and in 1953 went to HQ Bomber Command, where he was the deputy principal medical officer (flying).

After attending Staff College, he spent a year on external study and received the London Diploma of Public Health and the Chadwick Gold Medal and Prize. He commanded the RAF Hospital in Cyprus from 1960 to 1963 before returning to Britain to command the hospital at Ely. In 1968 he served as director of Health Research at the MoD and in 1970 was appointed honorary physician to the Queen.

For three years from 1971 he was the principal medical officer at RAF Strike Command, and during this period he was elected a Fellow of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine. In 1974 he was promoted to air marshal; for four years he served as director-general of Medical Services (RAF), the first active pilot appointed to the post.

During the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Review of the RAF, all branches of the RAF created a ground display to illustrate their roles. Dhenin, a man who cared deeply for the RAF family, chose the theme ‘Total Medical Care’, which one senior officer said typified his attitude and his personality. He was appointed KBE (1975) and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.