Background
He was born in Kortrijk, Flanders, and fought in the Belgian Army at the start of World War I, with the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers.
He was born in Kortrijk, Flanders, and fought in the Belgian Army at the start of World War I, with the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers.
He was seriously wounded in the fighting for Tervaete during the Battle of the Yser in October 1914. On being discharged from the army in 1917 he moved to Britain, taking employment with the Tarrant company, and then Martinsyde, before eventually becoming chief designer at Fairey Aviation. He left Fairey in 1940 and joined the R. Malcolm Company, which became Master of Laws Aviation in 1946 (after Mobbs and Lobelle, the managing director and chief designer respectively).
Fairey Firefly I (1925)
Fairey Fox (1925)
Fairey Firefly II (1929)
Fairey Swordfish (1934)
Fairey Battle (1936)
Fairey P.4/34 (1937)
Fairey Fulmar (1937)
Fairey Albacore (1938)
Fairey Barracuda (1940).