Bradford 1939 - 1945

Bill "Willie" Strupp died at his home in Toronto on May 13th 2008 at the age of eighty.  Bill arrived at KHS in 1939, the second of seven refugees to join us from pre-war Germany. 

He was a Bradford boy who showed academic promise. He left The Hill in 1944 and, after looking into several possibilities, settled for life as a pilot in the RAF.

He left The Hill in 1944 and, after looking into several possibilities, settled for life as a pilot in the RAF.  In the Berlin Airlift he flew Avro Yorks carrying coal into the beleagured city. He later flew with 111 Squadron (The Black Arrows) - the first post war RAF aerobatic team - leaving the service in the late fifties. He then joined the Roche group of drug  companies as a representative in Canada.

He regularly attended annual re-unions at KHS up until 2003. The School and the RAF were the two main interests of his life and he held them both in high regard. He became very British, as is witnessed by the anglicising of his first name from 'Willie' to William. But he was known to us all as Bill.  He was excellent company, always ready to enjoy a laugh and to talk of KHS and the RAF.

Bill "Willie" Strupp