An Cosantóir

28 | Imperial Airways Cabot Lockheed Hudsons flying in formation From Rebel to MBE: John Joseph Gilmore by Guy Warner G uy Warner, author and regular contributor to the Ulster Aviation Society's journal 'Ulster Airmail' and An Cosantóir brings us this very interesting story. Joe Gilmore, the son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Crangle) Gilmore, was born on June 22nd 1900 at 31 Lowry Street in East Belfast. When quite young he went to live with his maternal grandmother near Ardglass. It was there that he went to school, completing his education in Downpatrick Technical College. He was by all accounts energetic and fearless. He played football for Ardtole GAA and later for the Down senior team. During his early manhood his mechanical ability and daring nature led him to automobiles, motorcycles and trucks. Joe set up his own engineering works at the bottom of Hill Street in Ardglass and had other workshops in the dock area. He also ran a taxi and a cartage company in Ardglass and worked in Belfast building aircraft engines. He had a brush with the law in the 1920s when he became involved in IRA activity. In July 1923 he was arrested in the course of helping a wounded IRA prisoner to escape to the Irish Free State (as it was then known) and spent some time in custody. In 1929 Joe joined the Irish Free State Air Corps in Dublin as an aircraft engineer. He gained his pilot's license (No 23) on November 17th 1932. On April 17th 1933 at Baldonnel Aerodrome, from a height of 2,500 feet, he became the first Irishman to parachute from an aircraft and land on Irish soil. In all, he made a total of 15 parachute descents. In 1933 he joined Imperial Airways, initially at Croydon Airport, as an aircraft engineer. In the same year he purchased a highwing monoplane in East Lincolnshire and crashed it on the way home. He stored it on a local farm and having retrieved the wreckage some time later proceeded to rebuild it, using various spare parts and making his own where none was available. He An Cosantóir Feb 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie flew upwards of 300 hours in this machine. This was the Civilian CAC Coupe G-AAIL, which Joe re-registered EI-AAV. He was promoted Station Engineer and then served at Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man and at Poole in Dorset. In 1936 Imperial Airways chose him as engineer for an experimental flight to Arabia and return by way of Ethiopia, Egypt, Malta and France. In 1938 he was transferred to Atlantic Division and sent to Montreal, Quebec in connection with North Atlantic flights, and participated in the preparation of the marine base at Boucherville, Quebec, and in aircraft servicing at Port Washington, New York. In August 1940 Joe was transferred to Gander in Newfoundland where he became the first employee of the new Canadian Pacific Air Service department, set up to deliver aircraft to Britain to assist the war effort. Gander was the great airport carved out of the forests and the closest airport to Europe. In 1941 his transfer became permanent when the operation was taken over by RAF Ferry Command. He was the Superintendent of Maintenance and so was involved in the preparation of the aircraft for the long trans-Atlantic flights. He personally flew with at least eight of these aircraft to Britain. Over the course of the war more than 9,000 aircraft were ferried over the Atlantic and made a major contribution to the Allied victory. During his time in Gander Joe was also involved in salvaging crashed aircraft and returning them to service. In addition to his official duties he flew many rescue missions, many of them extremely hazardous given the nature of the weather and terrain in that part of the world. It is estimated that of over 500 such missions carried out during his time there, Joe Gilmore undertook more than half of them. Joe developed a great fondness for the people of Newfound-

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