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 | They don't make them like this any more. Captain T. B. Williams, or Bill to his aviation friends, led a very varied life. He was at one time or another, a shipping clerk, airship pilot, lumberjack, trapper, accountant, Major in the Home Guard, farmer, antique teapot collector and repairer. He had a commission in the Navy when he first went flying, in the First World War, which was converted to one in the RAF when that was formed. Being, later, an officer in the Home Guard he claimed to be the first person to hold three commissions in different services. He once said that when he took up anything he went into it completely – all arms and legs. This was certainly true of his many interests, but flying, particularly in Balloons and Airships, was his first love.
With the reintroduction of the Hot Air Balloons in the 1960s and 70s he had the opportunity to take to the air again and was still flying until he was 80. The book Airship Pilot No 28 came from members of the younger generation being interested in his experiences and asking him to write them down. He set to work and helped by his third wife, Mary, he took this tour through his Airship and Balloon experiences. He died in 1980 having not quite reached his 88th birthday.
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