Page 18 - Abingdon News

18 January 2015
Abingdon Out of the Past
Death of Abingdon’s Battle of Britain Pilot
What Goes Round Comes Round
It remained a House room until 2013
and then in September 2014 opened
its doors once more as a cafe.
On 16 January 1961 the School opened a tuck shop and café in a new
single-storey building at the top of the drive. For some years it was the
venue for meetings and events until the pressure of school numbers
meant that it was needed for a House room.
248 Squadron February 1940 – of the 25 men in the photograph, 14 have crosses under their
names indicating that they were killed. Roger Morewood is sixth from the right in the front row.
Roger Morewood, OA 1933, another of the
School’s diminishing number of OAs who
served in the Second World War, has died
at the age of 98. Roger came to Abingdon
as a boarder in 1929. His father was a
naval attaché with the Egyptian Navy,
and his mother died when he was born.
He would admit that he didn’t distinguish
himself academically, but he played rugby
and rowed for the School and was a very
keen photographer. He joined the RAF
in 1935 and in 1938 was serving with 56
Squadron when they were equipped with
Hurricanes – a plane for which Roger had
boundless admiration. On the outbreak
of war he was promoted to lead 248
Squadron, flying Blenheims – “useless
things” in Roger’s estimation. Nevertheless
Blenheims could stay in the air longer than
any other English or German fighter of the
time, which meant they were assigned to
long-range fighter sweeps over the coast
of occupied France and Holland during the
summer of 1940.
In 2010 a group from the School went
up to Scotland to interview him and so
have managed to capture for all time a
wonderful record of a charming, humorous
and modest man.