Edwards took the part of Professor James Edwards M.A., the drunken, gambling, devious, cane-swishing headmaster who tyrannised staff and children at Chiselbury public school. The Edwards character bore more than a passing resemblance to Sergeant Bilko as he tried to swindle the children out of their pocket money to finance his many schemes.
You may also remember his ability on the trombone
Well I remember him well from TV in my youth - and the other day I was having an in office discussion about another topic being 'Bootsie & Snudge' and whilst looking in to who played Snudge (it was actually Bill Fraser) the name of Jimmy Edwards surfaced and I was just idly looking stuff up on him when I discovered this ........
He served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force during World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew a Dakota on the initial Arnhem drop. Also he flew re-supply flights into heavy anti aircraft fire. His Dakota was shot down at Arnhem in 1944, resulting in facial injuries requiring plastic surgery — he was a patient of the great surgical genius Archibald McIndoe and as a result Jimmy was a member of the Guinea Pig Club.
He grew the huge handlebar moustache, that later became his trademark, to disguise the traces of his surgery. He also founded and was Vice President of 'The Handlebar Club', whose members had large moustaches.
21 September 1944
271 Squadron.
Dakota KG444
Crashed between Oploo and Gemert.
The pilot of this aircraft was to achieve post-war fame as ‘Professor Jimmy Edwards’ but his RAF title was F/L. James Keith O’Neill Edwards.
This crew had delivered their load of supplies and the pilot climbed to 6,000 feet and carried out a circuit on the dropping areas before setting course to the south and climbing to 8,000 feet. South of Nijmegen, the aircraft was attacked by a fighter and after a running battle amongst broken cloud, the aircraft was severely damaged and set on fire. After deciding to bale out initially the pilot elected to crash land the aircraft, when he realised that several of the dispatchers had been wounded. Unfortunately the wounded soldiers could not be saved and they were killed when the aircraft crashed or died of their injuries immediately afterwards. F/L Edwards, his wireless operator and a soldier were able to reach Allied lines but the two other crew were made POWs
Lance Corporal G. Chisholme
Driver L H S. Abbott
Driver R. Abbott
Apparently he retained a great affection for the Dakota and he became reacquainted with the controls in a 1980s TV tribute to the RAF.
Funny what you learn when stooging the internet - what a bloke
