Early Life
Desmond J Scott was born in Ashburton in the province of Canterbury, New Zealand on 11 September 1918. He was educated at Cathedral Grammar School in Christchurch, before becoming a salesman.
In the late 1930s Scott joined the Territorial Army and became a trooper in the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. After an encounter with a New Zealand Permanent Air Force Bristol F.2 Fighter Scott decided to become a pilot, enlisting with a local flying club where he learned to fly a de Havilland Gypsy Moth. After a total of six and a half hours of dual instruction Scott flew solo. Each hour of instruction cost 30 shillings and Scott was:
| “ | ...saved from my creditors by a stroke of good fortune. Just prior to Hitler's indiscretions, our government introduced a scheme in which successful applicants were given 40 hours flying at the taxpayer's expense. Much to my surprise my application was successful. About the same time as I completed my 40 hours, England declared war on Germany. I promptly received a registered letter from our Air Department reminding me of a small clause at the bottom of our contract. Thus I was compelled to leave the cavalry and become a member of His Majesty's Junior Service. | ” |
| — Desmond J. Scott, "One More Hour" |
Scott was sent for training to the Air Force base at Wigram Aerodrome where he was teamed up with a Stan "Spud" Murphy to fly Fairey Gordons. In late 1940 Scott sailed to England as part of a contingent of New Zealand pilots from his course at Wigram. On arrival in Scotland in September the New Zealanders were sent to the aircrew reception centre at Uxbridge.
Read more about this topic: Desmond J. Scott
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)