Ronald Thomas Shepherd

Ronald Thomas Shepherd OBE (1896 – 1 March 1955) was a British aviator and test pilot for Rolls-Royce.^[1] He was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine.^[1]

Ronald Thomas Shepherd
Born	1896 Kensington London, England
Died	1 March 1955 Nuthall, Nottinghamshire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Aviator and Test Pilot
Employer	Rolls-Royce Limited
Awards	OBE

Early life

Shepherd was born in Kensington, London in 1896^[1] the son of Thomas and Agnes Shepherd, his father was a lithographic printer.^[2]

Career

At first he was employed by Vickers-Armstrongs in the manufacture of guns but on the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Honourable Artillery Company.^[3] Shepherd joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 where he flew with 102 Squadron and 37 Squadron.^[3] He left the RFC (now the Royal Air Force) in 1918 but re-joined in 1921 and served in England and Egypt until 1929.^[3]

After a few years as a civilian flying instructor he joined Rolls-Royce in 1931. In 1935 he was appointed chief test pilot.^[1] Shepherd was responsible for the first flight of many of the company's aero engines, including the Merlin, Kestrel and Griffon piston engines and the Nene and Avon jet engines.^[3]

After a serious illness in 1951 he relinquished his chief test pilot role and became an aviation consultant.^[1] Although no longer flying full-time, on 3 July 1953, aged 58, he made the first free flight of the unusual Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig, a pioneering vertical take-off and landing experimental aircraft at Hucknall Aerodrome.^[1]

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 for his work as a test pilot, particularly in the development of the Merlin.^[1] He died on 1 March 1955 at his home at Nuthall and was buried in the village's New Farm Lane cemetery.^[1]