Richard Gorham
Encyclopedia
Sir
Richard Matthew Gorham CBE
, DFC
, JP
was a prominent Bermudian
parliamentarian
, businessman and philanthropist
, who served as a pilot during the Second World War when he played a decisive role in the Battle of Monte Cassino
, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross
.
in 1938. The unit was mobilised, along with the other part-time units of the Bermuda Garrison
(the Bermuda Militia Artillery
(BMA), Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps
(BVRC), and the Bermuda Militia Infantry), when the Second World War was declared. As a Corporal
, he was attached to the signalling division at the Royal Naval Dockyard
, he earned a commission as a result of his saving an exercise when he suggested an emergency method of signalling visually to replace a broken wireless
transmitter.
As a Lieutenant
he learnt of an instruction from the Army Council
prevented commanding officers from preventing officers under their command from taking any training course for which they volunteered (although his commanding officer, Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore
, DFC - having transferred from the BVRC in France to the Royal Flying Corps
when he had been commissioned during the First World War, and heading the Bermuda Flying School
during the Second World War - must undoubtedly have approved of what Gorham intended).
pilots to the British Army. In 1918, the British Amy lost its air wing when the Royal Flying Corps
was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service
to create the independent Royal Air Force
(RAF). Since then, the RAF had jealously guarded its monopoly on British military and naval aviation. They provided the Royal Navy with RAF aircrew and support personnel to operate the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
, although the Navy had been allowed to begin training its own aircrew before the war began. The RAF also provided the aircraft and crews that worked in close support roles to the Army, notably the AOP pilots. These were pilots of light aircraft, such as the Auster
, who acted as artillery spotters, directing the fire of the guns
of the Royal Artillery
from the air. Having had poor success at training RAF pilots to direct artillery fire, it was decided to train Army officers who were proficient at the task to pilot aeroplanes. This preceded the recreation of a new air wing within the British Army, the Army Air Corps (which initially included parachute and glider landed units, as well as the Glider Pilot Regiment
, but would eventually take over the AOP and other air support roles from the RAF). Then Lieutenant Gorham requested to train for this role, and was detached from the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers to travel to England
for the training. Transferred into the Royal Artillery, and trained by the RAF, he served in a squadron controlled by the RAF. He served in North Africa and Italy. In Italy, while in command of B Flight of 655 Squadron, he played the decisive role in the Battle of Monte Cassino
when he spotted a German
division
moving in half-track
ed German
Armoured Personnel Carriers to counter attack the British 5th Division and the Polish Corps, which were themselves attacking the German-occupied monastery. Contacting the senior Royal Artillery fire control officer on the ground. All two-thousand field guns within range were switched from their local targets and placed under his control. Gorham directed their fire down onto the German Division. The guns fired for hours, with Gorham taking turns with other AOP pilots. The German division was completely destroyed, and the Allied ground forces broke through four days later. For this action, Gorham received the Distinguished Flying Cross, a relative rarity for an Army officer.
). Gorham entered the BVRC in which he served for a number of years. He was part of the detachment sent to the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
of the Parliament of Bermuda
(originally titled Member of the Colonial Parliament, or MCP, but today simply Member of Parliament, or MP). He donated much of his wealth to a host of causes, including the Bermuda Maritime Museum
, and the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
Richard Matthew Gorham CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
was a prominent Bermudian
Bermudian
Bermudian or Bermudan may refer to:* Something of, or related to Bermuda* A person from Bermuda, or of Bermudian descent. For information about the Bermudian people, see Demographics of Bermuda and Culture of Bermuda. For specific Bermudians, see List of Bermudians.* Bermudian English, the variety...
parliamentarian
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, businessman and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, who served as a pilot during the Second World War when he played a decisive role in the Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
.
Bermuda Volunteer Engineers
Born in Pembroke, Bermuda, the son of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Gorham, he enlisted in the Bermuda Volunteer EngineersBermuda Volunteer Engineers
The Bermuda Volunteer Engineers was a part-time unit created between the two world wars to replace the Regular Royal Engineers detachment, which was withdrawn from the Bermuda Garrison in 1928.-The Military Garrison in Bermuda:...
in 1938. The unit was mobilised, along with the other part-time units of the Bermuda Garrison
Bermuda Garrison
The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda by the regular British Army, and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The Garrison existed primarily to defend the Royal Naval Dockyard and other facilities in Bermuda...
(the Bermuda Militia Artillery
Bermuda Militia Artillery
The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda.-Foundation:...
(BMA), Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps
Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps
The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps was created in 1894 as an all-white racially segregated reserve for the British Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison...
(BVRC), and the Bermuda Militia Infantry), when the Second World War was declared. As a Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
, he was attached to the signalling division at the Royal Naval Dockyard
Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda
HMD Bermuda was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609...
, he earned a commission as a result of his saving an exercise when he suggested an emergency method of signalling visually to replace a broken wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
transmitter.
As a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
he learnt of an instruction from the Army Council
Army Council
The Army Council was a term first used in 1647 to describe an institution which coordinated the views of all levels of the New Model Army. During the Interregnum it metamorphosed into the Council of Officers....
prevented commanding officers from preventing officers under their command from taking any training course for which they volunteered (although his commanding officer, Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore
Cecil Montgomery-Moore
Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore, DFC, was a Bermudian First World War fighter pilot, and commander of the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers and the Bermuda Flying School during the Second World War.-First World War:...
, DFC - having transferred from the BVRC in France to the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
when he had been commissioned during the First World War, and heading the Bermuda Flying School
Bermuda Flying School
The Bermuda Flying School operated on Darrell's Island from 1940 to 1942. It trained Bermudian volunteers as pilots for the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm....
during the Second World War - must undoubtedly have approved of what Gorham intended).
Royal Artillery and Royal Air Force
At the time, the Royal Air Force was having great difficulty in providing effective Air Observation PostAir Observation Post
An Air Observation Post is a British military aircraft used for active or passive observation of artillery actions.-History:Air Observation Post is the term used by the Royal Air Force and other services of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth air forces for an aeroplane or helicopter used in the...
pilots to the British Army. In 1918, the British Amy lost its air wing when the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
to create the independent Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF). Since then, the RAF had jealously guarded its monopoly on British military and naval aviation. They provided the Royal Navy with RAF aircrew and support personnel to operate the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
, although the Navy had been allowed to begin training its own aircrew before the war began. The RAF also provided the aircraft and crews that worked in close support roles to the Army, notably the AOP pilots. These were pilots of light aircraft, such as the Auster
Auster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.-History:The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited, making light observation aircraft designed by the Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation of...
, who acted as artillery spotters, directing the fire of the guns
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
from the air. Having had poor success at training RAF pilots to direct artillery fire, it was decided to train Army officers who were proficient at the task to pilot aeroplanes. This preceded the recreation of a new air wing within the British Army, the Army Air Corps (which initially included parachute and glider landed units, as well as the Glider Pilot Regiment
Glider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European Theatre of World War II in support of Allied airborne operations...
, but would eventually take over the AOP and other air support roles from the RAF). Then Lieutenant Gorham requested to train for this role, and was detached from the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers to travel to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the training. Transferred into the Royal Artillery, and trained by the RAF, he served in a squadron controlled by the RAF. He served in North Africa and Italy. In Italy, while in command of B Flight of 655 Squadron, he played the decisive role in the Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
when he spotted a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
moving in half-track
Half-track
A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities of a tank and the handling...
ed German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Armoured Personnel Carriers to counter attack the British 5th Division and the Polish Corps, which were themselves attacking the German-occupied monastery. Contacting the senior Royal Artillery fire control officer on the ground. All two-thousand field guns within range were switched from their local targets and placed under his control. Gorham directed their fire down onto the German Division. The guns fired for hours, with Gorham taking turns with other AOP pilots. The German division was completely destroyed, and the Allied ground forces broke through four days later. For this action, Gorham received the Distinguished Flying Cross, a relative rarity for an Army officer.
Post-War Service
Returning to Bermuda after the War with the rank of Captain, Gorham found his original unit, the BVE, was disbanded in 1946. All of the other local military units were demobilised at the same time, though the BVRC and BMA would both maintain skeleton command structures 'til their strength was built back up again in 1951 (they would amalgamate in 1965 into the Bermuda RegimentBermuda Regiment
The Bermuda Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the all white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps and the mostly black Bermuda Militia...
). Gorham entered the BVRC in which he served for a number of years. He was part of the detachment sent to the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Civil Life
In his civil life, Richard Gorham became a prominent businessman and MemberMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
of the Parliament of Bermuda
Parliament of Bermuda
Parliament has two chambers. Originally, there was only one, the House of Assembly, which held its first session in 1620, making Bermuda's Parliament amongst the World's oldest legislatures. An appointed Privy Council originally performed roles similar to that of an upper house, and of a cabinet...
(originally titled Member of the Colonial Parliament, or MCP, but today simply Member of Parliament, or MP). He donated much of his wealth to a host of causes, including the Bermuda Maritime Museum
Bermuda Maritime Museum
The Bermuda Maritime Museum is the largest museum in Bermuda and explores Bermuda's history. The maritime museum is located within the grounds of the fortress Keep of the former Royal Naval Dockyard in Sandys Parish on the Ireland Island at the western end of Bermuda...
, and the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.
External links
- The Royal Gazette, Bermuda, 30 December 1994
- Bermuda Online website
- Bermuda War Veterans Association (BWVA) notice
- Notice of the marriage of Gorham's stepdaughter, Robin Auchincloss, to Henry Dwight Sedgwick
- Notice of the marriage of Gorham's son, Anthony Masters McIntire Gorham, a trust officer at the Bank of Butterfield, Hamilton, Bermuda, to Laura Young Taylor
- Bermuda Biological Station for Research: Honor Roll of Donors - The Associates Program 2003
- Bermuda Online: Bermuda's History from 1952 to 1999 1994; December 31. 12 Islanders are recognised in the Queen's New Year's Honours List