Captain Johnny Meagher
Wartime bomber pilot who later flew the Queen and helped bring the Bristol Britannia into service
CAPTAIN ALBERT “JOHNNY” MEAGHER, who has died aged 97, had a distinguished career as a squadron leader flying Lancaster bombers on operations over Europe and later as a pilot with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), flying worldwide routes when he served as flight manager of the Britannia and VC 10 fleets.
Meagher flew his first bombing operation on June 25 1942, when he attacked Bremen in a Lancaster of 61 Squadron. This was the third of the so-called “Thousand Bomber Raids”. He returned to the German city twice more over the next few days before taking part in raids against Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven. During the next six weeks he attacked 11 more cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Kiel and the industrial cities in the Ruhr.
On October 17, 94 Lancasters of Bomber Command’s No5 Group made a daring daylight attack against the Schneider factory at Le Creusot in Burgundy. The factory was regarded as the French equivalent of Krupps and produced heavy guns, railway engines, tanks and armoured cars.
The force flew at low level and crossed the French coast in the Bay of Biscay before climbing to bombing height. Meagher had to abandon his first run owing to problems with the bombsight. He circled and made a second run, by which time the target was shrouded in dense smoke.
He was able to identify the adjacent power station, and this was bombed. By the time he completed his attack the other bombers had left and he returned alone at low level to find his base covered in fog; he had to divert to another airfield after a flight of more than 10 hours.
Over the next few weeks he attacked the cities of northern Italy, including bombing a factory complex in Milan at low altitude. On later sorties he went to the Baltic ports to drop mines from low level at night. Meagher regularly brought back photographs to confirm the accuracy of his attacks and in November 1942 he was commissioned, having just been awarded an Immediate DFM for his “outstanding ability as captain and his continued gallantry”.
In January 1943, Bomber Command returned to attacking Berlin for the first time in more than a year. The raid on January 16 was to be given maximum publicity and the prominent American NBC reporter, Stan Richardson, joined Meagher’s crew and was able to record the operation for an American audience. This was Meagher’s 30th and final sortie before being rested. He was awarded the DFC.
Albert Meagher, always known as Johnny, was born in Salford on February 24 1921 and educated at Salford Grammar School. After leaving school he joined the central laboratory of ICI Metals Division in Birmingham, where he met his future wife, Maureen Mail. Although in a reserved occupation, he volunteered for training as a pilot and was called up in July 1941. He completed his training as a bomber pilot and joined No61 Squadron in June 1942.
After his operational tour, Meagher spent the next 18 months training pilots to fly four-engine bombers and returned to operations in October 1944 as a flight commander on the recently formed No227 Squadron. Over the next eight months he flew another 20 operations over Germany, some during daytime. Many of his targets were associated with the oil production facilities in the Ruhr.
On three occasions enemy night fighters attacked his Lancaster. Over the Pölitz oil refinery in Poland his aircraft was damaged, but he pressed home his attack and returned to his base on three engines. He flew on the Dresden raid, and on April 17 1945 made his last operational flight, when the target was Pilsen in Czechoslovakia. A Focke-wulf 190 which attacked his Lancaster was destroyed by his rear gunner. Meagher was awarded a Bar to his DFC for his “inspiring example and outstanding courage”.
In the final days of the war, Meagher’s squadron helped repatriate prisoners of war. “It was quite a contrast to fly to Brussels on May 4 to bring back 24 British Pows to an airfield near Oxford,” he wrote.
In August, Meagher was seconded to BOAC. Over the next four years he flew Lancastrian and York aircraft on the empire routes to Australia and Africa, having elected in June 1946 to remain with BOAC and leave the RAF.
Early in 1950, BOAC took delivery of the Handley Page Hermes aircraft and Meagher was involved in many of the proving flights to Africa. The Johannesburg service proved a particular problem, but eventually, in November 1950, the service opened with Meagher in command of the first flight.
In June 1951, following the Iranian nationalisation of the British-controlled Abadan oil refinery and expulsion of British nationals, Meagher flew to Iran to repatriate them. He took off with a full load of passengers; shortly after take-off one of the four engines failed, but he managed to reach Cairo.
In January 1952 Meagher was selected as one of the early Comet pilots. He flew routes to Africa and to Japan. On January 9 1954 he was in command of Comet Yoke Peter, which he flew from Karachi to Rome, having refuelled at Bahrain and Beirut. He handed the aircraft over to the new crew, who perished with their 29 passengers shortly after take-off when the Comet disintegrated over Elba.
Over the next few years Meagher played a key role in the introduction into service of the Bristol Britannia airliner. For 10 years he conducted many proving flights and flew one to the US on a sales promotion tour across North America. For his services in introducing the aircraft into BOAC service he was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.
He became the flight manager of the more advanced version of the Britannia, and in 1958 he was in charge of the flight that took the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on a state visit to Ethiopia. Before the flight he made visits to assess the suitability of local airfields, the one at Addis Ababa being at an altitude of 7,500ft. He assessed the airfield to be suitable, and after a 12-hour direct flight he took the Royal party to Ethiopia on November 16.
In January 1961 he took the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on a six-week state visit to India, Pakistan and Iran. This involved a great deal of planning and survey visits. Meagher arranged for the flight from West Pakistan to East Pakistan to fly along the southern edge of the Himalayas and pass close to Mount Everest at 25,000 feet.
In Iran, the Shah and his wife joined the Royal party on a flight from Tehran to Shiraz, and Meagher flew low-level passes to allow his passengers to see the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis. On March 6 the Britannia left Tehran to head back to the UK. As they flew over France, the Queen invited Meagher to join her, thanked him for his services and appointed him a Commander of the Royal Victoria Order.
In February 1965 Meagher converted to the Vickers VC 10, which he described as “a fine aircraft”. Two years later he was appointed flight manager of the fleet and was later a member of the BOAC team which negotiated the amalgamation of BOAC and BEA to become British Airways.
Meagher was a DIY enthusiast and built a reinforced concrete swimming pool in the family garden. He played squash and golf and won the autumn medal at his club, Burhill, when he was 58.
Albert Meagher married Maureen Mail in 1943; she died in 1996. Their two sons and two daughters survive him.
Albert “Johnny “Meagher, born February 24 1921, died September 21 2018