Edward Mortlock Donaldson Air Commodore Edward " Teddy " Mortlock Donaldson CB , CBE , DSO , AFC & Bar ( 12 February 1912 – June 1992 ) was an RAF Second World War flying ace , and former holder of the airspeed world record . Biography . Born in Negeri Sembilan , then part of British Malaya , his father C . E . Donaldson was a judge . One of four brothers , three of whom would serve as fighter pilots with the RAF , and gain the DSO . Educated in England at the King ' s School , Rochester and Christ ' s Hospital , he then studied at McGill University in Canada . RAF career . Donaldson joined two of his brothers in the RAF in 1931 , granted a short service commission his first posting being to No . 3 Squadron flying Bristol Bulldog s . In 1932 he was runner up in the R . A . F . Wakefield Boxing Championship , which he won the following year . In 1933 the crack - shot won the RAF ' s Gunnery Trophy One , known as the " Brooke - Popham Air Firing Trophy , " and won it again in 1934 . In 1935 he became a stunt pilot as a member of the No . 3 Squadron aerobatic team of five Bulldogs , which he led in 1937 and 1938 at the International Zurich Rally . When World War II broke out , Squadron Leader Donaldson was commanding No 151 ( F ) Squadron flying the Hawker Hurricane . In their first engagement over France , they destroyed six enemy aircraft , shooting down many more in the following months including at the Battle of Dunkirk . For his leadership of the squadron during the battle and his personal tally of eleven kills , plus ten probable destructions , Donaldson was awarded the DSO . In desperate need for pilots , the RAF choose to transfer Donaldson to the gunnery instructor school . Posted to Canada , Donaldson self - penned an RAF training booklet titled " Notes on Air Gunnery and Air Fighting , " which after the United States entered the war , provided the basis for his instruction . As liaison to the US Army Air Force , his booklet was replicated over 7 , 500 times , and helped teach USAAF gunnery instructors . On his return to England in 1944 , he converted to jet aircraft and commanded the first operational Gloster Meteor squadron , at RAF Colerne . Airspeed record . During World War II , most of the pre - war airspeed records had been broken . The RAF decided to recapture the flight airspeed record with its new generation of jet aircraft , and set up a new High Speed Flight squadron . Group Captain Donaldson was selected to command the Air Speed Flight , established at the start of 1946 . On 7 September 1946 , he established a new official world record of in a Gloster Meteor F Mk4 over Littlehampton , although some unofficial Me - 262 and Me - 163 flights in World War II achieved higher speeds . As a result , he was awarded a bar to his Air Force Cross . Later RAF career . During the early 1950s , Donaldson served in West Germany and commanded RAF Fassberg and RAF Wunstorf airfields , gaining appointment to CBE in June 1953 , and advancement to Air Commodore in July 1955 after attending the Joint Services Staff College . From 1956 to 1958 he served as Deputy Commander of Air Forces in the Arabian Peninsula . On return to England , his final appointment was as Commandant of the RAF College , Manby . Personal life . Donaldson married Winifred Constant in 1936 , and the couple had two daughters . After they were divorced in 1944 , in the same year he married Estellee Holland , and the couple had one son . After they were divorced in 1956 , he married Anne Sofie Stapleton in 1957 , whom he divorced in 1982 . Donaldson retired as an Air Commodore in 1961 , and became the Air Correspondent for " The Daily Telegraph , " until 1979 . He retired to his home in Selsey , and died at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in June 1992 . Donaldson is buried at St Andrew ' s Church , Tangmere . Memorial . Donaldson ' s " Star " Meteor is on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum , together with that of later 1953 record holder , Squadron Leader Neville Duke , who flew a Hawker Hunter at . Donaldson lived at Iron Latch Cottage , Selsey , where a later blue plaque was placed on the beach at the bottom of Park Lane to mark the event . Donaldson has a second plaque at No . 86 , Grafton Road , Selsey . Donaldson ' s medals and flight books were sold at auction for £4 , 800 in June 2004 . Combat record . " The following table is not complete in numbers or detail . "