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)