Best Foot Forward

Born in Wells, Somerset, in 1920, Colin Gerald Shaw Hodgkinson was accepted for pilot training in the Fleet Air Arm in 1938\. A crash in May 1939 resulted in both of his legs being amputated. Treated by Archibald McIndoe, leading to his membership of the Guinea Pig Club, Colin was determined to fly again. He left the Navy in 1942 and joined the RAF as a Pilot Officer. By March 1943 he was a Flying Officer with 611 Squadron, later joining 501 Squadron as a flight commander. Following a remarkable wartime career as a fighter pilot, Colin achieved post-war success in the competitive world of advertising and public relations, even being the star of an episode of the BBCs This is Your Life which was broadcast live on 7 October 1957\. He passed away on 13 September 1996.