Read To Lead: Believe In Your Mission

Work Through

Wilfred Coxton – a WWII hero! Never heard of him? Not surprised, but his story gives a valuable life lesson.

When the RAF were developing the Pathfinders (an elite target marking team of bombers), Will was the man behind the creation of the complex flare-markers that this new team would drop over targets to ‘guide the way’ for the other bombers to bomb accurately. He might not have been, though, had he not stuck to his guns – or more fittingly – his fireworks.

William was dedicated to his pursuit. He, like so many chasing a dream, worked long into the night, experimenting with various methods, one failure after another. Usual stuff, so far.

At one point, he was struggling with creating a viable fuse mechanism that would work at the correct altitude. Although he was confident in cracking the problem, his employer – the Air Ministry – was certainly not: they pulled the plug on him, and his research, ordering him to cease and desist trying.

So, now without support, backing or official funding he cracked on regardless – on his own, in private – convinced he could do it while carrying out “totally unauthorised experiments in secret”, writes Iredale, while he continued with his “official” job with the Directorate of Armament Development.

Sure enough, he soon had a breakthrough! Sneaking off with an engineering friend to perform his secret trials on the Boscombe Downs in Wiltshire, he succeeded in developing a multi-altitude fuse that worked.

Great! You would think. Success and celebrations all round: job done! When the Air Ministry found out, however, instead of celebrating and rewarding Coxton, impressed with his resolve and initiative, they criticised and censured him: even charging him with “carrying out illicit trails that endangered crew and planes”.

Staggering!

Nevertheless, “his determination burnt as bright as his pyrotechnics” says Iredale, so despite this serious set-back and yet another failure of support – or belief in his abilities – from his seniors, he focused on the positive and pressed on to perfect the tech that Bomber Command desperately needed in order to take the advantage over the Nazis.