Brian Paterson

Lieutenant-Commander Brian "Blinkers" Paterson, (21 March 1919 – 12 July 2004) was a Battle of Britain Fleet Air Arm pilot and one of "The Few".

Early life Paterson was born 21 March 1919 and educated at St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate. After leaving school, he worked with the insurance brokers Willis Faber and Dumas on the floor of Lloyd's in Fenchurch Street. In 1936 he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and learned to fly in a de Havilland Tiger Moth at the training school at White Waltham Airfield before being posted to No. 46 Squadron at RAF Digby. In 1938 Paterson transferred to the Royal Navy.

On 27 March 1943 off the Clyde, Paterson was serving in the escort carrier when she was lost: she had finished flying for the day and aircraft were being refuelled when spilt aviation fuel exploded. Paterson, who was in the bow of the ship, the only area unaffected by the inferno, jumped into the freezing sea where the leaking fuel also caught fire. He managed to swim to a rescuing destroyer.

Postwar period After the war Paterson converted to helicopters. He also played an important part in rescue operations after the Greek earthquake disaster of August 1953. Paterson had not waited for official approval and he loaded two Dragonfly helicopters on to the cruiser at Malta. For three weeks Paterson ran relief work around Zakinthos, flying food and medical supplies, evacuating the injured and organising a non-stop airlift between ship and shore. In recognition of his "distinguished service in the Greek earthquake relief operations", Paterson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

He became commanding officer of No. 848 RNAS during the Malayan Emergency in 1954. Flying the Sikorsky S-55, the Squadron helped to pioneer the technique and tactics of troop lift, thereby giving much needed flexibility to land operations. By December that year, 848 had lifted 41,000 troops and more than 750,000 lb of freight. Paterson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross "for distinguished service with No. 848 Royal Naval Air Squadron in operations in Malaya".

Considered an able and conscientious staff officer who would have done well in the higher ranks, he retired from the Navy in 1959 after flying more than 2,000 hours in 20 types of aircraft.

Later life He tried a career in film-making and was technical adviser on the set of Operation Amsterdam, starring Peter Finch; he became landlord of the Horse and Groom at Polegate, Sussex, and in 1970 successfully took over a company making metal and plastic labels. He died on 12 July 2004, aged 85.