Lewis Hodges
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges KCB
, CBE
, DSO
& Bar
, DFC
& Bar
, DL
(1 March 1918 – 4 January 2007) was a pilot for Special Operations Executive
(SOE) in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force
and NATO.
, England
. He was educated at St Paul's School in Barnes and joined the RAF College at Cranwell
in 1937.
in December 1938, joining Bomber Command
and flying Vickers Wellesley
s with No. 78 Squadron
at RAF Finningley
, and then moving to fly Handley Page Hampden
s with No. 49 Squadron
in 1940. On 4 September 1940, his aircraft was damaged in an air raid on Stettin, and he crash-landed in Brittany
. He and a gunner named John Hugh Wyatt who had not bailed out attempted to escape to Spain, but were arrested by the Vichy
police near Marseilles. He escaped from custody at St Hippolyte du Fort, near Nîmes
, and crossed the Pyrenees
into Spain
, only to be arrested and imprisoned at Miranda del Ebro. He was eventually released some weeks later, reaching Gibraltar
and then returning to England in June 1941.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
in May 1942, while commanding a flight
of No. 49 Squadron, for operations including attacks on the German small battleship
s Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau
in February 1942. He was mentioned in despatches in June 1942. Wing Commander Charles Pickard invited him to join No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron
at RAF Tempsford
later in 1942, commanding a flight of Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
s and Handley Page Halifax
es on SOE operations. He became the commander of No. 161 Squadron in May 1943, and was promoted to squadron leader
. In addition to other operations, such as parachute drops, he landed Westland Lysander
s and Lockheed Hudson
s in occupied France several times, bringing Vincent Auriol
and François Mitterrand
back to England. Unaware of their identities at the time, the former made him a Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur
in 1950, and the latter a Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1988. For his actions with SOE, he received a Bar to his DFC in May 1943, and the Distinguished Service Order
in October 1943. He was also awarded the French Croix de guerre
.
He attended the Staff College
in 1944, and served with the Bomber Command operations staff. He was selected to serve in the Far East as a staff officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory
. However, he requested a return to active service after his younger brother was killed, and took command of No. 357 (Special Duties) Squadron
at RAF Jessore near Calcutta in December 1944, flying Liberators
, Dakotas
and Lysanders in support of SOE's Force 136
in Burma and other resistance groups in Thailand and Malaya. Fortunately for Hodges, this meant that he did not fly to India with Leigh-Mallory: the aircraft crashed in the Alps
, killing all on board. Hodges received a Bar to his DSO in October 1945 for his services in the Far East.
in Haifa
in 1945, and then the Joint Services Staff College
at Latimer
in 1947, before a stint at the Air Ministry
from 1949 to 1952, and then at Bomber Command. He was promoted to wing commander
in 1950. He commanded the RAF team of three Canberra
s in the London to New Zealand
Air Race in October 1953. He was in the lead until he suffered from engine problems, and ended fourth. He commanded RAF Marham
from 1956, while the RAF was converted to V-bombers. He received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1953, became a group captain
in 1957, and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1958. He was Assistant Commandant of the RAF College in Cranwell from 1959 to 1961, and became an air commodore in 1961. He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1963, was promoted to air vice marshal, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and then served at SHAPE
headquarters. He was promoted to air marshal
in 1968, and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. After serving as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) from 1965, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Air Support Command
from 1968 and Air Member for Personnel
from 1970, he was promoted to air chief marshal
in 1971. He served as NATO Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe and as Air Aide-de-Camp
to the Queen
from 1973 to 1976.
He retired from the RAF in 1976. He was a director of Pilkington Brothers (optical division) from 1979 to 1983, and a governor of BUPA
from 1987. He served as chairman of the governors of the Duke of Kent School and of the education committee of the RAF Benevolent Fund
from 1979 to 1986. He was also as president of the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
from 1979 to 1995, of the Royal Air Force Association from 1981 to 1984, and also of the Special Forces Club
and the RAF Club. An account of his wartime service for SOE was published in Royal Air Force at War in 1983.
He lived near Sevenoaks
in Kent
, and became a Deputy Lieutenant
of Kent in 1992. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Blackett. They were married in 1950, and had two sons together.
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Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(1 March 1918 – 4 January 2007) was a pilot for Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and NATO.
Early life
Hodges was born in Richmond in SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was educated at St Paul's School in Barnes and joined the RAF College at Cranwell
Cranwell
Cranwell is a village situated in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It is part of the Civil Parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is located 3.95 miles north-north-west of Sleaford and 16.3 miles south-east of the county town of Lincoln...
in 1937.
War service
Known as "Bob" Hodges, he was commissioned into the RAF as a pilot officerPilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
in December 1938, joining Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
and flying Vickers Wellesley
Vickers Wellesley
The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force...
s with No. 78 Squadron
No. 78 Squadron RAF
No. 78 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Merlin HC3/3A transport helicopter from RAF Benson.Until December 2007 it was the operator of two Westland Sea King HAR3s from RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands.-History:No...
at RAF Finningley
RAF Finningley
RAF Finningley is a former Royal Air Force station at Finningley, South Yorkshire, partly within the traditional county boundaries of Nottinghamshire and partly in the West Riding of Yorkshire, now wholly within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster....
, and then moving to fly Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
s with No. 49 Squadron
No. 49 Squadron RAF
No. 49 Squadron was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1965. They received their first Hampdens in September 1938.They were a famous Hampden squadron; with the only Victoria Cross awarded Rod Learoyd amongst the ones who served on the type....
in 1940. On 4 September 1940, his aircraft was damaged in an air raid on Stettin, and he crash-landed in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. He and a gunner named John Hugh Wyatt who had not bailed out attempted to escape to Spain, but were arrested by the Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
police near Marseilles. He escaped from custody at St Hippolyte du Fort, near Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, and crossed the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
into Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, only to be arrested and imprisoned at Miranda del Ebro. He was eventually released some weeks later, reaching Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and then returning to England in June 1941.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
in May 1942, while commanding a flight
Flight (military unit)
A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...
of No. 49 Squadron, for operations including attacks on the German small battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and Gneisenau
German battleship Gneisenau
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...
in February 1942. He was mentioned in despatches in June 1942. Wing Commander Charles Pickard invited him to join No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron
No. 161 Squadron RAF
No. 161 Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe...
at RAF Tempsford
RAF Tempsford
RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire, England was perhaps the most secret Royal Air Force airfield in World War II. It was home to the Special Duties Squadrons, No. 138, which dropped Special Operations Executive agents and their supplies into occupied Europe, and No...
later in 1942, commanding a flight of Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
s and Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
es on SOE operations. He became the commander of No. 161 Squadron in May 1943, and was promoted to squadron leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. In addition to other operations, such as parachute drops, he landed Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
s and Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
s in occupied France several times, bringing Vincent Auriol
Vincent Auriol
Vincent Jules Auriol was a French politician who served as the first President of the Fourth Republic from 1947 to 1954. He also served as interim President of the Provisional Government from November to December 1946, making him one of only three people who were heads of state of the French...
and François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
back to England. Unaware of their identities at the time, the former made him a Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1950, and the latter a Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1988. For his actions with SOE, he received a Bar to his DFC in May 1943, and the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in October 1943. He was also awarded the French Croix de guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
He attended the Staff College
Staff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
in 1944, and served with the Bomber Command operations staff. He was selected to serve in the Far East as a staff officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO & Bar was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during World War I...
. However, he requested a return to active service after his younger brother was killed, and took command of No. 357 (Special Duties) Squadron
No. 357 Squadron RAF
No. 357 Squadron RAF was a special squadron, involved in the supply of covert forces behind enemy lines during World War II in South East Asia Command-History:The squadron was formed on 1 February 1944 at Digri, Bengal from No. 1576 Flight...
at RAF Jessore near Calcutta in December 1944, flying Liberators
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, Dakotas
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
and Lysanders in support of SOE's Force 136
Force 136
Force 136 was the general cover name for a branch of the British World War II organization, the Special Operations Executive . The organisation was established to encourage and supply resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory, and occasionally mount clandestine sabotage operations...
in Burma and other resistance groups in Thailand and Malaya. Fortunately for Hodges, this meant that he did not fly to India with Leigh-Mallory: the aircraft crashed in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, killing all on board. Hodges received a Bar to his DSO in October 1945 for his services in the Far East.
Post-war
After the war, he joined the Staff CollegeStaff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
in 1945, and then the Joint Services Staff College
Joint Services Staff College
Joint Services Staff College may refer to:* Joint Services Staff College , the former name of the "Joint Service Defence College"* Joint Services Staff College , the former name of the "Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies"...
at Latimer
Latimer, Buckinghamshire
Latimer is a village and civil parish that sits on the border between Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, in England. The parish forms part of the Buckinghamshire district of Chiltern. Latimer parish includes the villages of Latimer, Ley Hill and Tyler's Hill.Latimer was originally joined with the...
in 1947, before a stint at the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
from 1949 to 1952, and then at Bomber Command. He was promoted to wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
in 1950. He commanded the RAF team of three Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
s in the London to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Air Race in October 1953. He was in the lead until he suffered from engine problems, and ended fourth. He commanded RAF Marham
RAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
from 1956, while the RAF was converted to V-bombers. He received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1953, became a group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
in 1957, and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1958. He was Assistant Commandant of the RAF College in Cranwell from 1959 to 1961, and became an air commodore in 1961. He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1963, was promoted to air vice marshal, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and then served at SHAPE
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
headquarters. He was promoted to air marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
in 1968, and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. After serving as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) from 1965, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Air Support Command
RAF Air Support Command
Air Support Command of the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 August 1967 by the redesignation of Transport Command. Its change of name reflected the change of emphasis of the Command from merely transporting materials and men around the world to providing general support to RAF operations around the...
from 1968 and Air Member for Personnel
Air Member for Personnel
The Air Member for Personnel is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board...
from 1970, he was promoted to air chief marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
in 1971. He served as NATO Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe and as Air Aide-de-Camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
from 1973 to 1976.
He retired from the RAF in 1976. He was a director of Pilkington Brothers (optical division) from 1979 to 1983, and a governor of BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
from 1987. He served as chairman of the governors of the Duke of Kent School and of the education committee of the RAF Benevolent Fund
RAF Benevolent Fund
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF - regardless of rank - as well as their partners and dependents.They help members of the RAF family deal with a wide...
from 1979 to 1986. He was also as president of the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
Royal Air Forces Escaping Society
The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society, was a UK based charitable organization formed in 1946 to provide help to those in the former occupied countries in World War II who put their lives at risk to assist and save members of the "Royal Air Forces" who were attempting to escape and evade...
from 1979 to 1995, of the Royal Air Force Association from 1981 to 1984, and also of the Special Forces Club
Special Forces Club
The Special Forces Club was founded by surviving members of the Special Operations Executive , in 1946. "The Club", as it is simply known by its members, was established for all secret agents as a home in London....
and the RAF Club. An account of his wartime service for SOE was published in Royal Air Force at War in 1983.
He lived near Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and became a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Kent in 1992. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Blackett. They were married in 1950, and had two sons together.
External links
- Obituary, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 6 January 2007 - Obituary, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 5 January 2007 - Obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 8 January 2007
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