Background
Mervin Rex de Silva was born on 29 November 1918. His father was John Walter de Silva (a head guard in the Ceylon Railway) and his mother Freda (née Ebert).
Mervin Rex de Silva was born on 29 November 1918. His father was John Walter de Silva (a head guard in the Ceylon Railway) and his mother Freda (née Ebert).
He was educated at Street Peter"s College, Colombo and later worked as a stenographer.
He had flying lessons after winning a scholarship awarded by William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme. He volunteered to the Royal Air Force and trained at the Elementary Flying School at Fairoaks. He flew Spitfire VB aircraft with 504 Squadron from 1943 to 1944, from Ibsley, Church Stanton and Redhill as an interceptor as well as flying bomber escort missions, escorting Marauder bombers.
In 1944 he was posted to 17 Squadron and flew Spitfires (notably MT719/YB J) from Minneriya Ceylon, Calcutta and Chittagong, Assam and Burma.
After serving in Bangalore and as Flight Controller in Katunayake, Ceylon (Royal Air Force Negombo) he was demobilised. He was appointed a probationary pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force volunteer reserve and gazetted on 9 October 1945.
On demobilisation he was recruited to Air India and flew District of Columbia-3 Dakota and Vickers Viking aircraft out of Bombay. In 1947 he joined Air Ceylon and became its Chief Pilot.
He immigrated to Australia in 1955, working as a Senior Administration Officer for the City of Waverley in Glen Waverley, Victoria and retired in 1982.
He died on 18 August 2005.