Lieutenant Colonel Ken Mead
Army pilot who in a long career took part in the D-day landings and was wounded at Arnhem
LIEUTENANT COLONEL KEN MEAD, who has died aged 95, was one of the British Army’s most experienced pilots. He saw action on D-day and at Arnhem before a lengthy career which included operations in Malaya and a series of demanding helicopter instructor appointments.
After working as a mapmaker in the Royal Engineers, Mead volunteered to be a glider pilot. He trained as a second pilot on Horsa gliders, teaming up with Sergeant Ken Bottomley. They were posted to Broadwell, near Lechlade, where they spent six months perfecting mass landings in preparation for D-day.
In the early hours of June 6 1944 they embarked men of the Royal Ulster Rifles and took off behind a Dakota tug aircraft. Mead recorded in his log book: “Operation Mallard, Broadwell to Normandy. 2hr 30 min.” An understated piece of history!
Mead and Bottomley were next in action during Operation Market Garden, the ill-fated airborne assault at Arnhem in September. They flew in the second lift on the 18th of the month and landed seven miles from the bridge after a tow of almost four hours. About 1,300 glider pilots landed and then served as rifle-carrying infantrymen. During several days of hard fighting, Mead received a flesh wound before he and some of his colleagues were forced to surrender.
Initially he was taken to Stalag 12A near Frankfurt, before being moved by cattle truck to Stalag 4B between Dresden and Leipzig. Mead considered this period, in the filth and disease of the camp, as the worst time in his life. Eventually the Russians arrived and the prisoners were later handed over to the Americans before being flown back to an airfield near High Wycombe.
The son of a retired Sergeant Major, Kenneth Andrew Mead was born on August 10 1923 at Southend-on-sea and was educated at St Mary’s College, Southampton. In September 1939 he followed his father into the Royal Engineers and trained as a topographical draughtsman and surveyor.
After his return from captivity, Mead rejoined the Glider Pilot Regiment, qualified as a first pilot and took part in numerous trials. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1959 created a need for more Air Observation Post (AOP) pilots, and Mead volunteered to fly Auster aircraft. His first appointment, as a staff sergeant, was to RAF Bückeburg in Germany, where he flew with the newly formed 1912 Liaison Flight.
On January 26 1954 he was ordered to fly to RAF Gatow in Berlin using the air corridor through the Russian zone. He hoped that he was correctly positioned on the centre-line at 1,200ft and would not attract a MIG fighter. Mead was then instructed to fly around the perimeters of the British, American and French zones in the city, watching for any sudden build-up of troops or armour in the Russian zone. A few days later he returned to Bückeburg.
In 1954 he was posted to Malaya and joined 656 AOP Squadron at Seremban. He was the only NCO pilot, but in terms of flying hours the most experienced. His background as a glider pilot and Royal Engineer surveyor was also unique in the company of Royal Artillery gunners.
The Austers played a vital role in the campaign against the communist terrorists (CTS). They were principally engaged in visual reconnaissance over the dense jungle. Pilots soon got to know the features of their sector and on patrols they watched for any changes and signs of movement or human activity.
They did not loiter, which could have alerted the CTS that they had been seen, so the pilots flew on, having fixed the details in their memory, before reporting back to the intelligence team when they landed. Somewhat reluctantly, the Austers also undertook propaganda leaflet drops, which often served as safe-conduct passes for CTS who wanted to give up.
Mead also flew target-marking sorties for bomber aircraft. The markers – coloured smoke – were dropped 40 seconds before the arrival of the planes, which bombed on the markers. He also marked for a Royal Navy cruiser shelling CT positions inland from the Malacca Straights.
In 1957, the RAF’S AOP squadrons were disbanded and the Army Air Corps (AAC) was formed. Mead left Malaya in January 1958 and shortly afterwards it was announced that he had been awarded the DFM for “his exceptional flying record during three years on operations”.
He trained on helicopters and flew the Alouette with No6 Liaison Flight, which involved a great deal of VIP flying. In December 1961 a party of ill-equipped schoolchildren was lost in dreadful weather on Dartmoor. Mead took part in the search and managed to find the children, who were in a poor state and exhausted. For his actions he was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.
In April 1962 Mead qualified as a helicopter flying instructor. He was one of only three instructors on the new Scout helicopter and he received an endorsement in his log book for his outstanding handling of an emergency following an engine failure.
In 1964 he was commissioned, the first other rank to be commissioned in the AAC as well as the first ex-glider pilot to be so honoured. After a period flying at the US Army Academy in Alabama he returned to the AAC at Middle Wallop as the standards officer, responsible for standardisation of instructor techniques throughout the AAC. He saw in the introduction of new helicopters, including the Sioux, before a posting to Germany as a flying instructor.
In 1971 he served as a staff officer responsible for monitoring the standards of AAC pilots throughout the world. In addition, he was tasked to select landing sites for support and patrol helicopters in Northern Ireland during the difficult period in the Province. Two years later he joined the Joint Services Helicopter Trials Unit at Boscombe Down.
He returned to Middle Wallop as the senior examination officer on both the Lynx and the Gazelle before retiring in 1978, having amassed the remarkable total of 7,830 flying hours. On his retirement he was appointed OBE.
A self-effacing and modest man, Mead retired to Middle Wallop, where he became a well-known and respected man in the community. He lectured widely on the Army Air Corps and until 2016 he was a volunteer at the Museum of Army Aviation, where his knowledge and great experience was invaluable in helping to develop the museum.
Ken Mead married Joyce Welch in 1946; she died in 2005. Their only son died in a canoeing accident in 1973 aged 15.
Lt Col Ken Mead, born August 10 1923, died December 17 2018