10th October 2007
Bill Goldfinch. 1916-2007. RIP
Picture: Old Sarum Flying Club
Former Luton Minor builder Bill Goldfinch has died at the age of 91. He is perhaps most famous as the man who designed and helped build the famous Colditz Cock glider,which was secretly assembled at the castle POW prison in a long-term and ambitious escape plan. In recent times, a replica was built and flown at Lasham airfield, and proved to be an acceptable design.
Well into his ninth decade, Bill was still enthusiastically working on his self-designed, home-built amphibian in the hangar at Old Sarum.
He once broke off from his work on "the boat" to talk Luton Minors. He was a fan of the Luton Minor from as early as 1938, as well as owning a Chrislea Airguard, G-AFIN, but of course war and the RAF intervened.
He became a PoW after his Sunderland flying boat capsised after hitting submerged object while landing off Crete. He was moved to Colditz after proving a keen tunneller at his previous accommodation!
When he and Jack Best hatched the glider scheme in Colditz, the design was largely based on a book of aerodynamics by Luton Minor designer Cecil Latimer-Needham, which had somehow made its way into the prison library, along with Bill's memory of the original Luton plans. The glider was minus of course an engine and with a passenger seated inside the fuselage behind the pilot! Motive power was to have come from a bucket of concrete dropped over the edge from the castle roof!
Bill then bought a set of post-war Luton plans and finally completed his own example in 1970. He was clearly delighted to hear that G-AYDY was under restoration to fly again in the near future.
A remarkable man. And a true enthusiast of flying, for flying's sake.
Happy landings Bill.
For more on the Bill's Colditz story and the glider click on the following link: