Alan Bristow

Alan Edgar Bristow, (3 September 1923 – 26 April 2009)

World War II After World War II broke out, on his 16th birthday in 1940 Bristow joined the British-India Steam Navigation Company as a deck officer cadet. He twice had ships sunk under him: the , by Japanese warships in the Bay of Bengal on 6 April 1942; and the by the German submarine U-214 on 18 August 1942. He was present at the evacuation of Rangoon and the Operation Torch landings in North Africa.

Career After demobilisation he joined the Westland Aircraft Company as its first helicopter test pilot, but was sacked for attacking the company's sales manager. In the 1990s Bristow invented a waterbed for dairy cattle; his animal bedding is sold internationally.

Personal life Twice married, he had a son Laurence, a professional racing driver, and a daughter by his first wife, Jean. He died on 26 April 2009, aged 85, survived by his son and by his second wife, Heather.