Rollo Amyatt Wolseley de Haga Haig was born on 25 September 1894 in Newcastle upon Tyne, the son of Colonel Herbert de Haga Haig and Caroline Margaretta Amyatt de Haga Haig (neé Burney).

The family having moved to Bristol, Haig was educated at Clifton College. A member of the Clifton College Contingent, Junior Division, Officers Training Corps, he joined the Glamorgan Royal Garrison Artillery on 1 March as a 2nd Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain, he gained his RAeC Aviators Certificate, No. 5606, on 20 July 1916 before transferring into the Royal Flying Corps later that year, serving with 7 Sqn, RFC from April to October 1917, when he was appointed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough as test pilot.

On its formation on 1 April 1918, Haig transferred to the RAF with the rank of Captain and on 28 November 1919 was granted a short service commission in the rank of Flight Lieutenant (Acting), granted a permanent commission in that rank on 19 December 1923. He had been in command of Experimental Section, Royal Aircraft Establishment since April 1923 where, according to his AFC commendation, “during this period, despite heavy administrative and technical work, he has constantly carried out his flying duties with courage and enthusiasm. Invariably he himself flies for the first time all experimental types and all aeroplanes fitted with new experimental equipment and apparatus, and by his indifference to all considerations of personal risk, he has set a splendid example of courage and devotion to duty.”

1925 was a particularly good year for Haig. On 1 January 1925 he was awarded the Air Force Cross and, promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 July 1925, Haig made history on 4 December that year by being the first aviator in the World to drop in an aeroplane from an airship and hook onto it again. He did the job in a D.H. 53 light aeroplane which was built for the Air Ministry trials of 1923, and the Airship R.33. Placed on the retired list at his own request on 3 March 1926, he joined William Beardmore and Co., Ltd., as test pilot and then replaced Bill Shackleton as Chief Designer when the latter was recovering from a serious operation. This position became permanent when Shackleton decided to emigrate to Australia.

While with Beardmore’s he worked on the development of the Monospar scheme with H. J. Stieger, and the original Monospar patents were held jointly by Stieger, Haig and Alan Chorlton. When Beardmore's shut down on all their production of aircraft, the Monospar patents needed finance, so Haig, by way of M.L. Bramson, led to connection with the financiers who were responsible for the flotation of the General Aircraft Company.

Unfortunately, before the formation of General Aircraft, Haig was persuaded to relinquish his interest in the Monospar patents and, in 1932, left the company. Following that he has been engaged in various aircraft ventures, all the way from selling kite balloons to foreign nations up to the development of the radiaura device, intended to give proximity warning of nearby aircraft.

On 10 November 1936 Sqn Ldr de Haga Haig AFC, was drowned in heavy weather when he fell overboard from his motor trawler. He and E. R. Lambton, who had for some time been associated with him in business, had bought the motor trawler with the intention of fitting it up as a small yacht and taking it out to the Indian Ocean. They left Plymouth to take it round to Southampton and ran into heavy weather. They were carrying a foresail to steady the boat and the foresheet carried away. Haig went forward to secure it and either fell or was washed overboard. He grabbed a fender but was either knocked or washed off and Lambton was unable to manoeuvre the boat so as to reach him again.

1. Aeroplane 16 Nov 1936
2. The London Gazette (various)
3. ancestry.co.uk