The association has learned of the death of Lt Cdr (A) Norris Geoffrey (Geoff) Haigh RNVR on Sunday 16 December 2012. He was a former FAA pilot who lived in Somerset.
Maurice FitzGerald writes,
‘Geoff Haigh died on 16 December 2012 aged 95. Born in Hull, he was brought up in Harrow-on-the-Hill. At school he developed his love for the theatre and rugby – his love for music he inherited from his mother, Annie, an opera singer. At the outbreak of World War II he was at university studying engineering. On completion of his course he joined the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. Following initial training on Tiger Moths he progressed to join the front line as a Swordfish TBR pilot. He saw service with 810 NAS in the spring of 1942 embarked in HMS Illustrious. By July of the following year he was Senior Pilot of 846 NAS which had formed at Quonset Point as a TBR squadron equipped with Avengers. Unfortunately his first catapult launch from HMS Ravager resulted in the aircraft ditching – it had been incorrectly mounted on the launcher. Geoff survived and the squadron crossed the Atlantic disembarking to Macrihanish. By December 1943 he was back in the USA, where he was in command of 853 NAS, formed at Squantum with 12 Avenger IIs. In May 1944 the squadron sailed for the UK on board HMS Arbiter, disembarking to Macrihanish prior to joining HMS Tracker for duty with Artic Convoys.
Convoy JW.61, sailing from Loch Ewe on 20 October 1944, was protected by the cruiser HMS Dido, 3 escort carriers (HMSs Vindex, Nairana and Tracker), the 17th Destroyer Flotilla and 2 Escort Groups. The convoy was opposed by 19 submarines of the “Panther” U-boat pack but fought through with no losses to the 29 merchant ships.
In December 1944 he took command of 763 NAS at Inskip – an anti-submarine operational training squadron equipped with Avengers. The squadron was disbanded on 31 July 1945 and absorbed into 785 NAS at Crail that was to be Geoff’s third, and last, command. At the Air Station chapel in Crail in January 1946 he married Second Officer Elizabeth Briggs whom he had first met at Macrihanish. Their first child, also named Elizabeth, was followed by two boys, Simon and Andrew.
After the war he went back to engineering but found his niche with Harvey’s wine company, eventually ending up as curator of their Wine Museum in Denmark Street, Bristol. He continued his interests in rugby, theatre, singing and music. In addition he was a Life Member of the West Somerset Railway Association, running steam trains on the Taunton to Minehead line.
Latterly Geoff and Elizabeth moved into an apartment in Waverly Court in Portishead. After 66 years of married life Elizabeth pre-deceased Geoff by only 6 month, dying in June 2012.’
From records
Served from 1941 to 1946 with 810, 846 and 853 Squadrons.
From ref books
Flying Grumman Avenger FN 790 with 846 Squadron, aircraft was mounted incorrectly on catapult during launching experiment and ditched from HMS Ravager, 7 July 1943.
Flying Swordfish V4640 with 810 Squadron on a torpedo attack exercise, landing at dusk on Illustrious, the undercarriage collapsed during a heavy landing, 12 April 1942. In the same aircraft, a few weeks later, 15 May 1942, on landing Illustrious in low wind speed, the wire parted and the aircraft went into the barrier.