| Bill Lucas | |
| Birth Name: | William Ernest Lucas |
| Birth Date: | 16 January 1917 |
| Birth Place: | Tooting, London, England |
| Death Place: | Cowfold, West Sussex, England |
| Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
| Branch: | Royal Air Force |
| Serviceyears: | 1940–1945 |
| Rank: | Squadron Leader |
| Servicenumber: | 122826 |
| Unit: | No. 9 Squadron RAF No. 15 Squadron RAF No. 162 Squadron RAF |
| Battles: | Second World War |
| Awards: | DFC Mentioned in Despatches |
| Laterwork: | Olympian (1948 Summer Olympics) |
William Ernest Lucas (16 January 1917[1] – 24 March 2018) was a British RAF officer and long-distance runner who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. In 2017, Lucas was noted for having been Britain's oldest living Olympian.
Lucas was born in London, the only child of a bricklayer who had served as a sergeant with the Northamptonshire Regiment during the First World War and had received the Military Medal.[2] After leaving grammar school at 15 in 1932, he worked in London at several jobs, as a packer for a trading house, a clerk for a publisher and as an assessor for a insurance company.[3]
When war was declared in 1939, Lucas chose to serve in the Royal Air Force, joining the RAFVR in 1940.[3] After a period of training at RAF Burnaston, he made his first solo flight in a Miles Magister, and after advanced flight training received his wings as a fighter pilot.[4] [5] After victory in the Battle of Britain made the induction of further pilots in the fighter stream unnecessary, Lucas was posted to RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland for further training as a bomber pilot on Vickers Wellingtons.[3] In August 1941 Lucas, now a sergeant pilot, was assigned to No. 9 Squadron RAF, then stationed at RAF Honington.[3] After flying on three bombing missions over Germany, Lucas was assigned his own crew, flying a further 14 missions.[3] He was then requested to take a conversion course in order to fly larger four-engined Short Stirling bombers. After completing the course, Lucas transferred to No. 15 Squadron RAF at RAF Wyton,[3] flying another 26 missions over Europe through mid-1942.[3] By now a flight sergeant, Lucas received an emergency commission as a pilot officer (on probation) on 1 May 1942, with seniority from 11 May. He participated in the Allies' first 1000-bomber raid over Cologne on 30 May.[3]
On 9 November 1942, Lucas was promoted to war-substantive flying officer (on probation). Following his first tour, Lucas was again posted to Scotland through late 1944, receiving a promotion to war-substantive flight lieutenant on 11 May 1944. In Scotland, he served as an instructor with No. 19 Operational Training Unit at RAF Kinloss.[6] While there, he met a fellow instructor, Wing Commander Hamish Mahaddie, as a result of which Lucas soon joined the Pathfinder Force in October 1944.
For the remainder of the war, Lucas served with the Pathfinder Force, earning a mention in despatches in January 1945 and receiving the DFC in July.[3] He left the RAF after the end of the war, with the rank of squadron leader.[7]
Lucas returned from the military in 1946 and worked in insurance while raising a family.[7] When the 1948 Olympics came, he had trained only lightly for a limited period and failed to qualify for the final of the 5000 metres race.[7] In reflection of his career, Lucas recalled: "The biggest regret of my career is my lost Olympic years of 1940 and 1944" in 2008.[7]
Lucas ran for Britain in various internationals, won numerous Surrey titles and won a huge number of medals in the London to Brighton Relay for his club, Belgrave Harriers.[7]
Despite all his racing, Lucas never gained any income from the sport and he retired in 1954.[7] Years later, he made a brief comeback as a veteran and found himself racing Sydney Wooderson in a 100 x one mile relay.[7] In 2017, Lucas was recognized as Britain's oldest living Olympian.[8]
Lucas lived in Cowfold, West Sussex, with his wife, Sheena. He died on 24 March 2018 at the age of 101.[9]