The following is based on a memoir by Norma Galton, Graham’s widow,
written for the Kingston Aviation Festival.
Aged sixteen Graham Norman Galton joined Hawker Aircraft Ltd in 1942,
straight from school, when the factory was in Canbury Park Road. His
father thought it was a good idea to apply for an apprenticeship with
an aircraft company as Graham was very keen on making model aeroplanes,
had good results in his Matriculation exam and was good at maths. The
scheme allowed him one day off a week to study at Kingston Technical
College with a view to becoming a Chartered Engineer. He also attended
evening classes three nights a week and eventually achieved his
ambition.
World War II was still raging at this point which made things difficult as almost everything was rationed including petrol. Graham recounted tales of his experiences coping with the lack of petrol for his motorbike and the difficulties he encountered when trying to get home to Streatham from Kingston after attending college in the evening. He frequently ended up wheeling his motorbike for miles when his tank ran dry. There was also a complete black-out in force to hinder enemy bombers trying to locate their targets. Unfortunately the inhabitants of the British Isles could not see either. Nearly every household and business burned coal with the consequence that ‘pea-souper’ fogs were frequent and one could literally see no more than four or five inches ahead, compounding the effect of the ‘black-out’.
The enemy bombers were intent on blowing up any factory they could find and it became too dangerous for the Hawker Design Department, where Graham subsequently worked, to continue to be housed at Canbury Park Road. The Department was, therefore, moved to Claremont School in Esher, a beautiful old house. The Chief Designer, the brilliant Sydney Camm, used to call the designers his “boys”.
Norma met and married Graham in 1955 and Graham now worked at the
new Hawker factory on the Richmond Road near the shopping parade at
Ham. By then Graham was a Chartered Engineer having worked his way
through the Hawker factory in departments such as the Drawing Office,
the Stress Office etc. He and his team were testing fighter aeroplane
structures for strength and resilience on huge test rigs.
Norma knew nothing of the details of these tests as employees were sworn to secrecy. She was aware that the tests were long and arduous and Graham would come home very tired. The prototype structures were stressed until faults showed up. Graham enjoyed this aspect of his work as he liked working with a team and being ‘hands-on’. The test rigs themselves were enormously complex and were designed specifically for the aircraft being tested. Graham’s immediate boss at the time was a lovely man called Charles Plantin, a brilliant mathematician and Chartered Engineer. Graham was part of his team for many years and had enormous respect for him.
Recently Norma discovered a patent bearing Graham’s name and was fascinated to learn that he and three others were credited with the invention of a means of attaching miniature detonating cord to the hood above a pilot’s head in such a way that the hood breaks up in a safe and precise pattern ensuring that the pilot is not injured by the hood fragments when ejecting. For quite a few years Graham had been involved in pilot safety aspects of the fighter aircraft being developed by Hawker and British Aerospace. This involved a great deal of testing at places like Boscombe Down and Pendine Sands where Graham and his team would test the Martin Baker ejection seat installations for the Harrier and Hawk.
Liked and respected, Graham retired at 63 after 43 years of
employment by Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Siddeley and British Aerospace,
and sadly died of a stroke in 2007 aged 81 after 51 years of marriage
to Norma with two daughters.