Mervyn Williams

Mervyn Williams
Born	24 March 1911 Steyning, Sussex
Died	13 March 1987 St Albans, Hertfordshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1931–1958
Rank	Group Captain
Service number	26250
Commands held	No. 42 Squadron RAF RAF Akrotiri
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Dispatches

Group Captain Mervyn Francis Douglas Williams CBE DSO (24 March 1911 – 13 March 1987) was a British Royal Air Force pilot of the Second World War who later served as security coordinator at 10 Downing Street.

Early life

Williams was the son of Herbert Douglas Williams, a school headmaster, and Alice Elizabeth Piper.^[1] He was educated at Brighton College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.^[2]

Career

He commissioned into the RAF on 19 December 1931.^[3] Between September 1933 and April 1934 he served with 811 Naval Air Squadron, before serving with 812 Naval Air Squadron until March 1935. Williams then undertook a course at the Air Armament School at RAF Eastchurch. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 19 June 1936.^[4] He then served at RAF Gosport with a Naval Squadron, and was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 February 1939.^[5]

In 1942 Williams became Commanding Officer of No. 42 Squadron RAF, which was operating as a torpedo-bomber unit at the time. In March 1942 his plan crashed and exploded while returning from a raid along the Norwegian coast, although Williams was uninjured in the incident. On 17 May 1942 he led his squadron's 48 aircraft (Bristol Blenheims and Bristol Beauforts) in a night-time torpedo attack against the German cruiser Prinz Eugen. During the attack, Williams' aircraft was shot down. He was subsequently recovered from the sea by the Germans; the only survivor from his four-man crew. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership of No. 42 Squadron during the engagement.^[6] He became a prisoner of war, held at Stalag Luft III. While at the camp, he became camp intelligence officer and was involved in planning the breakout immortalised as The Great Escape.^[7] He was mentioned in dispatches twice during the war.^[8][9]

Following his release at the end of the war, Williams served with the RAF in Malta, Aden and Cyprus. He was mentioned in dispatches for a third time in 1947.^[10] In 1950 he became the first Commanding Officer of RAF Akrotiri. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1951 Birthday Honours.^[11] On 3 July 1958 he retired from the RAF, and in 1961 he was appointed security coordinator at 10 Downing Street.^[12] He served in the role for 15 years under Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath.

Personal life

On 28 January 1972 he married Jane Hull in Kensington.^[13]

Citation

During the time this officer commanded No. 42 Squadron he was responsible for raising it to a high standard of operational efficiency. On the night of May 17th, 1942, he led a force comprising Beauforts, Hudsons, Blenheims and Beaufighters in an attack on the Prinz Eugen. Despite intense defensive fire from the cruiser and four escorting destroyers, Wing Cdr. Williams led his force into the attack with great courage and determination. Unfortunately, he was shot down during the engagement and is a prisoner of war. He always displayed inspiring leadership.

— Citation for Distinguished Service Order, London Gazette, 4 August 1942.^[14]

References