Talk:Alfred Warrington-Morris

Uncle Drummond

Nothing serious to add here - just gratitude to whoever it was who created this page for Uncle Drummond, my mother's uncle, whom I remember from my childhood. --Molly Mockford (talk) 21:39, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

That would be me....but "Uncle Drummond"?, what is that all about? 21stCenturyGreenstuff (talk) 21:57, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Drummond was the name to which he answered. His first name was Alfred, but he was always known as Drummond - it's not uncommon, to be called by a name which is not the first of one's forenames, especially when the first name is given out of duty to a grandparent or godparent.

Although he was my maternal grandmother's brother, I was always encouraged to call him "Uncle Drummond", not "Great-Uncle Drummond" - he would probably have complained that "Great-Uncle" made him feel old!

After his retirement, he dropped a rank (I believe this is usual) and my childhood letters to him were always addressed to "Wing-Commander A. D. Warrington-Morris", not to "Air Commodore".

I first remember him coming into the room when I was a toddler in my high-chair, in the early 1950s when he would have been nearly 70, and he seemed at least eight foot tall - he had to duck through the doorway, and his head nearly touched the ceiling. In fact, it was a combination of his very upright bearing, and the fact that the ceilings (and doors) in that house were rather low (and that I was very small); he probably wasn't all that much over six foot. Nevertheless, it can't have been easy to curl himself into an aeroplane!

None of this stuff is suitable for the main article, being merely personal recollection; nevertheless, I hope it proves of some interest to those who look at the article, adding a wee bit of humanity to the strict facts.

--Molly Mockford (talk) 22:27, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for that...Hmmm....I suppose that even in the 1940s a senior RAF officer would be abashed at being known as "Alf"...a little de rigor...I don't see why a little note cannot be added to the effect that his normal given name was Drummond, I cannot see how that would hurt.

I did wonder about the rank thing. The Director of the ATC was always a Group Captain and it would have been really strange for him to be outranked by his deputy 21stCenturyGreenstuff (talk) 22:42, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

I think he was known as Drummond long, long before the RAF was invented! :-) Not that Alfred would have been seen as infra dig in those days - don't forget he was born in 1883, and fashions have changed in the last 100+ years. I'll add a note about his name to the article, referencing this Talk page.

Is it possible to alter the page title to "Alfred Drummond Warrington-Morris"? I know about editing pages, but I've never played around with titles. But that would help future searches, I'm sure.

Re rank while he was in the ATC: don't forget that it was war-time, and that he was recalled from retirement to take up the post. I suspect that a serving Group Captain would still have outranked a retired Air Commodore - but there must be others out there who know how these ranks worked in war-time. It would undoubtedly have been a matter of pragmatism and practicality, and who was the best man for the job!

--Molly Mockford (talk) 22:57, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Not sure about changing the name of the page. It seems to be a pretty standard format for senior military officers to just use one christian name and surname. I suppose, bearing in mind the earlier discussion that it could be changed to Drummond Warrington-Morris it is easily done, but I would have to change references to it in all the associated pages. Let me muse on that thought for a few days 21stCenturyGreenstuff (talk) 23:03, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Sure, no rush at all. Maybe a redirection page from Drummond Warrington-Morris to Alfred Warrington-Morris (or vice versa) might do the trick?--Molly Mockford (talk) 23:14, 22 August 2008 (UTC)