Douglas Rivers Bagnall

Wing Commander Douglas Rivers Bagnall DSO DFC (September 23, 1918 – 2001) led a number of successful Vickers Wellington operations in support of Allied forces in Sicily, Italy and the North African desert during World War II.

Early life and education
Douglas Rivers Bagnall was born in Auckland, New Zealand to Alfred Ernest Bagnall and Henrietta and was educated at King's Preparatory School and King's College, Auckland before reading commerce at Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington.

Career
Bagnall trained for the RAF as a pilot and was commissioned in 1938. In March 1943, aged 24, he was promoted to wing commander with No. 40 Squadron RAF which flew Vickers Wellington bombers.

He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his part in an attack on marshalling yards at Battipaglia in 1943 and the American Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944.

Personal life
He married Caroline Welham in 1945. He retired in 1965 as a wing commander and died in Hereford in 2001.