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Decorated D Day glider pilot dies Jim Wallwork was the pilot of a glider involved in the Pegasus Bridge Raid that kicked off D-Day and the invasion of Normandy. He was dubbed “thefirst Allied soldier to land in Normandy”. Jim died of heart failure in White Rock on 21 Jan 13, aged 93. “After weeks in hospital, he still had his British sense of humour, manners and chivalry,” said Wallwork’s daughter Sylvia Hamilton. “Everybody in the hospital adored him.” Wallwork was born in Manchester and enlisted in the British Army before the Second World War. He piloted gliders for airborne troops in four major Allied operations. In addition to landing at Pegasus Bridge, he took part in landings at Sicily, Arnhem and the Rhine. He left the army at war’s end as a sergeant. Later years found him in Vancouver working for a wheel manufacturing and supply business, and raising three children. He is survived by his present wife, Genevieve, daughters Sylvia and Helen, three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life is planned for later this year.