Kornicki had recently graduated from the Polish Air Force Academy when the Germans invaded his homeland. With others he escaped to France via Romania only to have to flee again in June 1940 when he sailed for England. He joined a Polish Spitfire squadron and rose to become the commanding officer of No. 317 Squadron. He led many sweeps over northern France and was awarded Poland’s highest decoration. the Virtuti Militari. He remained in the RAF and became a catering officer and retired in 1972. He became a national celebrity last year when he was voted ‘the People’s Spitfire Pilot’ in a poll launched by the RAF Museum.
To read full obituary click HERE
Joy Lofthouse was one of the last two surviving ‘Spitfire Girls’ of the wartime Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). Together with her elder sister Yvonne, she joined the ATA in late 1943 and after training as a pilot went on to deliver single-engine fighters to the Fleet Air Arm in Scotland and to the RAF in the south of England. Her favourite was the Spitfire and she delivered 50 of them to squadrons. In the last period of her life she became well known and was immensely popular appearing at many functions and attending air shows.
AVM Ted Hawkins was twice awarded the DFC as the captain of a Catalina flying boat. First for a top-secret reconnaissance mission to the High Arctic and Spitsbergen. The second was awarded for sinking an Italian U-boat in the Mediterranean. He served as a squadron commander on Shackletons, commanded RAF Tengah in Singapore during the the Indonesian Confrontation and RAF Lyneham. He was the Senior Air Staff Officer of RAF Strike Command. He was appointed CB and CBE.
Geoffrey Packham was shot down in his Lancaster over the Netherlands in June 1944 and helped by the Dutch Resistance. Whilst in a ‘safe house’ in Flanders he was betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo. After his time as a POW he later became a captain with the Belgian airline SABENA before becoming a CAA flight inspector.
Bill Beaumont was the navigator of a Liberator bomber tasked on a mercy mission to drop supplies to remote POW camps in Burma and Thailand. Shortly after taking off the engines failed and the crew baled out over the Ganges Delta. Beaumont spent four days in the jungle before being rescued. He later served in the fighter control branch of the R Aux AF and was Speaker’s Secretary in the House of Commons.
This month’s edition of FlyPast has a feature on the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Included is my article on the numerous attacks mounted by carrier-borne squadrons of the FAA against the German battleship Tirpitz always referred to by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, as ‘The Beast’. The article covers the FAA’s intense efforts over a period of time but concentrates on the most significant, Operation Tungsten, mounted on 4 April 1944. This was the most successful attack with numerous hits by the Barracudas carrying a variety of bombs, which put the battleship out of action for a few months.
Sir Peter Bairsto was a highly regarded fighter pilot flying the Hunter in the 1950s. He led No. 43 Squadron’s aerobatic team, ‘The Fighting Cocks’ and then commanded No. 66 Squadron when it was judged to be the best fighter squadron in the RAF. He later served in Cyprus before commanding RAF Honington, the home of three Buccaneer squadrons. Although new to the maritime-attack role, he flew regularly and was appointed CBE at the end of his tour. In his later career he was Air Officer Training, the Air Commander of the Northern Maritime Region and retired after being the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command.
Royal Air Force Day by Day, first published in 208 to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the formation foe the RAF, has been republished to mark RAF 100, the RAF’s Centenary. The book has been brought up to date with new entries of events since 2008 and many photographs have been added. Some of the original illustrations have been replaced with more appropriate images. It is a diary of significant daily events providing a fascinating record of the RAF’s 100 year history. It describes not only the great air battles and major events, but also the tapestry of activities, traditions and culture that have created the rich heritage of the world’s oldest air force. The RAF’s current Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier KCB, CBE, DFC has written the Foreword.
Ronnie Buckland was the pilot of a Halifax bomber when his life was saved by the cigarette case in his pocket. On the bombing run to the target, a piece of shrapnel from exploding anti-aircraft fire pierced the aircraft and hit him in the chest. Despite his wounds and bouts of unconsciousness, and with the aid of his crew, he managed to return to the UK and make a crash landing in Essex. He was awarded an immediate DFC. Two months later he returned to flying to complete 35 bombing operations. Buckland is in the centre of the photograph.
Doug Radcliffe flew as a WOP/AG in Wellingtons during the Second World War. Flying in North Africa and Italy, he completed 30 bombing operations. He will best be remembered for his devoted service as the Bomber Command Association Secretary, a post he held for over 30 years and for which he was appointed MBE. He made a significant contribution to the establishment of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, which was dedicated by HM The Queen in 2012.
GRAHAM PITCHFORK 