Notes
John Clifford North-Lewis was born on 22 July 1913, the twin son of Henry North-Lewis, a solicitor, and Eleanor (née Bushell). His brother, William Esmond North-Lewis, also attended Worcester College. John North-Lewis was educated at Harrow School from 1927 to 1931, and entered Worcester College, Oxford on 7 October 1932. He achieved 3rd class honours in Jurisprudence in 1935 and was a member of the Kingsley dining club during his time at the College.
After leaving the University of Oxford John North-Lewis became a solicitor, but was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 15 October 1941. He was promoted to Flying Officer on 1 October 1942, and married to Margaret Taylor the same year.
On 2 May 1943 John North-Lewis and his crew took off from RAF Honeybourne in Worcestershire for a night navigational exercise. They set a course towards the Scottish borders but the air station received a distress message from the aircraft when it was over the sea, as it had suffered an engine failure. Flying Officer John North-Lewis was forced to crash land onto the sea and he and two other crew members were killed. He was 29 years old.
John North-Lewis is buried at St Martin’s Church, Brampton in Cumbria, and is commemorated on the war memorials at Harrow School, and Worcester College, Oxford.