Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr.

Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland Jr., OBE (18 February 1910 – 27 September 1946) was a British test pilot. He was the son of Geoffrey de Havilland, the English aviation pioneer and aircraft designer. Early life Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland was born on 18 February 1910 at Crux Easton, Hampshire, the son of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, founder of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, and his wife, Louise (1881–1949). Geoffrey was the eldest of three children, the others being Peter Jason (born in 1913) and John (born in 1918).. He first flew at the age of 8 months, carried in his mother's arms in a plane piloted by his father. At the age of 6, he was flying as a passenger with his father at Hendon in a D.H.6. While he was at Stowe School from 1924 to 1927, his parents would visit him in a Gipsy Moth, landing in a field in the school grounds. In 1928, he joined the de Havilland company as a premium apprentice, working in the engineering department, with his last two years spent in the drawing office. Alongside his apprenticeship, he learnt to fly at the Royal Air Force Reserve School located on de Havilland's Stag Lane aerodrome. In 1929, he took his "B" licence. When his apprenticeship ended in 1932, he left to join the Aircraft Operating Company as a pilot carrying out air survey work in South Africa. This gave him very little flying experience, and at the end of six months he returned to England and became a flying instructor, first at the de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School and later at the London Aeroplane Club, Hatfield, Hertfordshire.