John Hickson Gordon Moriarty – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Pilot Officer John Hickson Gordon Moriarty – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Birth and Family Background

John Hickson Gordon Moriarty

John Hickson Gordon Moriarty was born in 1921 at Swansea. He was the son of John Hickson Gordon Moriarty and Florence Louisa Chapman, who were married in 1920 at Hammersmith, London.

1939 Register

The 1939 Register provides the only surviving official domestic record for John. The family were residing at Casina Rosa, 33 Rotherslade Road, Mumbles.
His father, John H. E. Moriarty, was employed as a company director and manager in retail women’s clothing, while Florence Louisa undertook domestic duties. John H. G. Moriarty was recorded as a student.

Military Service

John enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer. He was one of four pilots from Swansea selected for training as flying instructors, indicating a high level of flying skill and operational promise.

As part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, he was posted to the United States and attended the Instructors’ School at Mather Field, near Sacramento, California, a major centre for advanced and instructional flying training.

Death

North American AT-6A Texan

On 5^th February 1943, Pilot Officer John Hickson Gordon Moriarty was killed while flying a North American AT-6A Texan training aircraft at Mather Field. The accident occurred within the traffic pattern, meaning the aircraft was manoeuvring close to the airfield during circuit or landing practice rather than on a cross-country flight.

Mather Field was an extremely busy training base, with large numbers of RAF and USAAF aircraft flying continuous circuits as pilots practised advanced handling and instructional techniques. Although the AT-6 Texan was a reliable aircraft, collisions within the circuit were a recognised hazard in such congested airspace, particularly during intensive wartime training.

South Wales Evening Post

During the flight, John’s aircraft was involved in a collision and crashed approximately two miles north-east of the airfield, resulting in his death. Training accidents of this nature accounted for a significant proportion of wartime aircrew fatalities and were officially regarded as operational service losses, reflecting the essential but dangerous role of instructor training. John’s death was reported in the South Wales Evening Post.

Burial

John Hickson Gordon Moriarty
East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento, California
credit - findagrave

Pilot Officer John Hickson Gordon Moriarty is buried at East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento, California, where he is commemorated far from his home in Swansea.