
Frank was born in 1913 to Donald and Margaret Loudon who lived in Folkestone, Kent.
Frank was a pupil at the Harvey Grammar School in the town and after completing his secondary education joined the Royal Air Force. He passed suitable for pilot training and on the 24th March 1934 was gazetted Acting Pilot Officer.
In 1939, he married Phoebe who set up home in Kenley. Not long after the beginning of the Second World War, Squadron Leader Loudon was posted to Africa.
Around the 8th November 1940 Frank Loudon took off from Germiston, South Africa, at the controls of Lockheed Electra AX688. On board were four members of the South African Air Force plus two RAF personnel en-route to Heliopolis in Egypt. The plane had landed at Dodoma to refuel, then flew to Nairobi for another refuelling stop.
On the 10th November, although the weather conditions were poor, with high winds and heavy rain, the aircraft took off from Wilson airfield for the next leg of its flight to Egypt. Shortly after take-off, having reached an altitude of 500 feet, Lockheed AX688 turned to port, went into a spin, stalled and crashed near the end of the runway.
