Richard 'Dickie' Rymer flew with Coastal Command during the war. He also spent time instructing and as flight commander of the joint RAF-BOAC school at Ossington. He was seconded to BOAC at Whitchurch,before joining BEA as a pilot in 1947.
In 1949-50 Capt Rymer was in charge of BEA training and development flying. During this period he became the first airline pilot to hold a turboprop endorsement when he flew the Vickers Viscount. He was also the first commander of a turboprop aircraft on a commercial service - the Viscount 630's flights from London to Paris.
He was awarded the Queens Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the Coronation Honours List.
In 1953 he joined Vickers-Armstrong as a Test Pilot and flew the Viscount,Vanguard and latterly the BAC 1-111. He was killed in 1963 along with fellow test pilot Mike Lithgow and test crew when the prototype BAC-111 crashed after going into a deep stall.
