in the escort carrier when she was lost: she had finished flying for the day and aircraft were being refuelled when spilt aviation fuel exploded. Paterson, who was in the bow of the ship, the only area unaffected by the inferno, jumped into the freezing sea where the leaking fuel also caught fire. He managed to swim to a rescuing destroyer. After the war Paterson converted to helicopters. He also played an important part in rescue operations after the Greek earthquake disaster of 1953. Paterson had not waited for official approval and he loaded two Dragonfly helicopters on to the cruiser at Malta. For three weeks Paterson ran relief work around Zakinthos, flying food and medical supplies, evacuating the injured and organising a non-stop airlift between ship and shore. Paterson was awarded the MBE. He became commanding officer of No. 848 RNAS during the Malayan Emergency in 1956. Flying the Sikorsky S-55, the Squadron helped to pioneer the technique and tactics of troop lift, thereby giving much needed flexibility to land operations. By December that year, 848 had lifted 41,000 troops and more than 750,000 lb of freight. Paterson was awarded the DFC. Considered an able and conscientious staff officer who would have done well in the higher ranks, he retired from the Navy in 1959 after flying more than 2,000 hours in 20 types of aircraft. Later life He tried a career in film-making and was technical adviser on the set of Operation Amsterdam, starring Peter Finch; he became landlord of the Horse and Groom at Polegate, Sussex, and in 1970 successfully took over a company making metal and plastic labels. References 1919 births 1974 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II British World War II flying aces The Few Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People from Polegate 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm aviators