R to S

T to Z

Sgt Charles John Wilson Tait, pilot, 565362, RAF, 3/1/40 to 18/6/1940, KIFA

Son of John Wilson and Rosa Matilda Tait, of Edinburgh.

Age 25

Photo supplied by Patricia Molloy daughter of J. F. Fraser

Son of John Wilson and Rosa Matilda Tait, of Edinburgh. One way in which the RAF Sports Board was to give considerable assistance, was in the provision of badly needed trophies. Over the years they have kindly donated seven trophies. One of the most treasured is the Sergeant Tait silver loving cup. Sergeant C J W Tait was killed on active service in 1940 serving with No 112 Squadron. To commemorate his death his mother gave the cup to the Sports Board who considered badminton an appropriate sport. The Sergeant Tait cup has been in constant use every since. Mrs Tait was kept informed of the competition results until her death and after that the Association corresponded with her niece until contact was finally lost with the family in 1974.

I have looked through the archive photos and have found a picture taken in approx 1950 - 

I have scanned it and attached it as a .pdf so you can link it in a website or print off for your documents

Kindest Regards

Carl Payne

Chf Tech
LAIPT SM (IBM) SSM 1a1
MOD LITS, Central Management Facility
IBM (UK) Ltd, Warwick, CV34 5JL 

Taussig, Kurt, (unconfirmed 163112) from 28/8/45 to 20/9/45

Prior service with 225 Squadron

North West Evening Mail

Honour for 100-year-old heroine of war
Published on 27/04/2007

A FORMER Grammar School teacher was reunited with one of the wartime evacuees she gave a home to as part of her 100th birthday celebrations.
Winifred Dean was presented with two certificates by Kurt Taussig at St George’s Nursing Home on her birthday yesterday.
Kurt and his younger brother Karl, both Czechoslovakian Jews, were taken in by Winifred and her late husband, William, in 1938, aged 14 and 16.
The boys were among 10,000 children evacuated under the Kinder transport organization.
This was at the request of Miss Jessie Hillier, a senior mistress at the Barrow Girls Grammar School, where Mrs. Dean taught French from 1930 to 1967, who was their sponsor and guardian.
Mrs. Dean’s niece, Hélène Hopper, of Orchard Avenue, Barrow, said: “The boys’ 18-year-old brother, Erik, got them out and then he went underground.
“He went to Vienna and spent the whole war there.
“The brothers were eventually reunited in London.
“At 18 Kurt volunteered for the air force and he was a Spitfire pilot.
“Karl was with Winifred until he was 18.”
The first certificate presented to Mrs. Dean was from Sir Nicholas Winton, MBE, whose idea it was to rescue the children.
The second was from the Kinder transport organization itself, saying “Thank you”.
For a number of years after retiring Mrs. Dean worked as a volunteer in the Oxfam shop in Dalton Road, Barrow.
She enjoyed crocheting blankets which were sent to people in poverty overseas.
Relatives and close friends were also with her to celebrate her centenary

TAYLOR, Anthony (Tony) Knowles, Service No.328249 Flt Lt SAAF and 112 Squadron RAF WWII

Anthony Knowles (Tony). No.328249 Flt Lt SAAF and 112 Squadron RAF WWII). 

Judy, Lynn and Kathleen, father-in-law of Ross, Mannie and Laurence. Loving Grandpa of Robyn, Alistair, Fiona, Dael, Andrew, Guy, Philip and Jenny.

 A service for Tony will be held at 11.00am, on Friday 14 January 2005, in the Howick RSA Clubrooms, 

25 Wellington St, Howick, to be followed by private cremation. 

In lieu of flowers donations to the South Auckland Hospice, 

PO Box 75560, Manurewa would be appreciated. 

Tilton Opie & Pattinson, FDANZ Howick 534-2704   Published Thursday, January 13 2005

not confirmed as the right man for 112 Sqdn, An S Thompson or 

Thomson served with 112 Sqdn from ? / 4/41 to ? /5/41 as Cyper Officer 

Stanley Edward Thomson, 406604, RAAF he enlisted 3 Feb 1941 at PERTH, WA  

and was a POW, discharged 15 Jan 1946 

My father (Jim Tunnah, from Edinburgh, Scotland) served in 112 squadron in WWII. Unfortunately he 

died just before his 80th birthday in 2001, but in going through my fathers papers I came across a few 

things, including a record of his travels with 112 squadron written into the cover of an RAF New 

Testament bible he had kept from that time.

His number was 1374022 - he still remembered this without difficulty!

J Tunnah                                Jim and the dog Prince ?                    Jim and friends on leave

He was at Halton (England) from April to August 1941, Shrewsbury from August to February 1942, and 

Worcester from February to April 1942.
He set sail from Britain on 12th April 1942 and arrived at Durban (Africa) where he stayed from May to June 1942.
He was in Egypt in June 1942, Palestine in July 1942, El Alamein in September 1942, and Tobruk in November 1942.
In January 1943 he was in Tripoli, in March 1943 he was in Tunisia, then on to Italy in September 1943.
He remained in Italy until December 9th 1945 when he returned home to Edinburgh.

His rank was LAC and he was occasionally involved in 'Search and Recovery' missions. The team he was in would go

into the desert to recover planes (of either side) to attempt to repair and fly back to base, or salvage as much as 

possible before destroying the rest. Sometimes in doing this he ended up behind enemy lines.

I also came across quite a few photographs which date from this time, many taken by my father and his friends, as 

well as a few recovered from enemy camps that were over-run. These include general aircraft and squadron people 

shots as well as photos of Montgomery, Churchill, Rommel and Mussolini. I intend to copy these by scanning to disk 

so that the other members of my family can have copies. If you wish a copy for your archives, please let me know 

and I will send you a set on CD or email. However, there are a lot and they are not catalogued, so it may be a while 

before I do them all.
                   

Geordie Moore              Len Phillips                   Sam (last name unknown)   Sam again

Are you aware of the 112 Squadron association (contact David Musther at musther@mcmail.com )?
They produce newsletters and organize reunions of the Squadron, admittedly in England. Also the book 

'They Flew Through Sand' has a lot of information about the squadron.
Also, see below for a British War Museum contact for video of the squadron at around this time.
Drop me an email for more information.

Regards,

Chris Tunnah


Dear Sir

Thank you for your very interesting mail. I have done a quick search for you an as yet have only found a roughly edited version of this film without sound. I will find out if we have a full copy on Monday as I am out of the office tomorrow.
You may be interested in the other items we have on this famous unit  and details follow herewith. We can make video copies of films at a cost of £15.00 for one reel and £5.00 for subsequent reels copied. We would also ask you to supply  a blank cassette.
If you have any queries please let me know.

Yours sincerely
Brad King


FILMS HELD:

Film Number           WPN 29
Film Title            WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 29 [main]

Production Date       20/10/1941
Production Country    GB
Production Sponsor    Ministry of Information, Middle East

Production Company    War Pictorial News

I. 'RAF SHARK FIGHTER SQUADRON.' RAF ground crews load 50-inch bullets into the nose-mounted 

Browning machine guns of a Curtiss Tomahawk fighter aircraft of 112 Squadron RAF, which bears "sharks mouth"
insignia around its air intake and filter. The Squadron's mascot, the dog "Prince", is passed from hand to hand and 

jokingly placed in the Tomahawks capacious air intake below its propeller. RAF pilots run from an operations tent and 

collect parachutes from the bonnet of a parked lorry during a Squadron scramble. A pilot, burdened by his parachute
climbs into the cockpit of his Tomahawk as its Allison engine is started. RAF Curtiss Tomahawk fighters perform a 

Squadron take off from a rough desert airstrip, one aircraft bearing the legend "Menace" on the side of its fuselage 

(Squadron codes not visible). Air to air footage follows, with the Tomahawks making mock firing passes at the
camera aircraft.

About 3 minutes of a 10 minute newsreel.

Brad King
Public Services Officer
Film and Video Archive
        

Prince in Tomahawk Intake      Rearming Tomahawk named Menace

*****************************************************

Plt Off P. R. M. Van der Heijden, 40190, RAF, 16/5/39 to 28/7/40, injured and posted out

Photo supplied by Patricia Molloy daughter of J. F. Fraser

RESERVE COLONEL DANIEL LE ROY DU VIVIER

Reserve Colonel Daniel Le Roy du Vivier was born in Amersfoort (Holland) on January 13 1915 from a Belgian 

father and Dutch mother. On April 13 1943 he is attached to he Middle East Command Headquarters.On the Middle 

East front Le Roy du Vivier takes command of the 239 Fighter Bomber Wing Tunis-Sicily composed of the 1 South 

African Sqn , the 3 and 450 Australian Sqn’s and the 112 and 260 British Sqn’s. He his appointed as Superior 

Officer responsible for the operations at the 324 Fighter Wing composed of the 43 , 72 , 93 , 111 and 601 Sqn’s.  

Le Roy du Vivier died in a car accident on September 2 1981…….

Captain Servaas de K. Viljoen, SAAF no. 102785V

Viljoen served in 1 SAAF Squadron in May – June 1940 before being posted on attachment to 112 Squadron on 

19 June 1940.He left 112 Squadron in July 1940 and returned to 1 SAAF Squadron. This unit operated over 

Eritrea from July 1940 and was initially equipped with Gloster Gladiators

****************************************************************************************

James Arthur "Jimmy or Johnnie" Walker DFC, 40768, RCAF,
This officer has shown himself to be a keen and steady pilot and has displayed magnificent courage in the face of superior numbers of enemy aircraft. Since the middle of May he has shot down at least six enemy aircraft.

NOTE: Public Record Office Air 2/9456 has original recommendation dated 17 August 1940 which does not differ materially from the above. It was endorsed and supported by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, Air Officer Commanding, No.11 Group, on 22 August 1940 and approved by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding on 24 August 1940.

Son of George Henry and Edith Walker, of Gleichen, Alberta
Born in Gleichen, Alberta, 1918;
Educated there.
Appointed Acting P/O on Probation, RAF, 7 May 1938.
Served in No.111 Squadron, outbreak of war to
25 April 1941 when posted to No.57 OTU;
posted to No.94 Squadron, 24 April 1942 to 31/5/42

posted to No 112 Squadron from 6/6/42 to 22/7/42

posted as CO of 250 Squadron, until September 1943
also served with 603, 610, &31 Sqs
killed 8 February 1944 in India

WALKER, JAMES ARTHUR S/L (P) 40768 D.F.C. & Bar - Royal Air Force. From Gleichen. Alberta. Killed In Action Feb.8/44 age 25. #31 Squadron (In Caelum Indicum Primus). S/L. Walker was an ace, credited with destroying 6 and one shared enemy aircraft. He was in the Battles of France and Britain and was with #111 Squadron flying Hurricane aircraft over Dunkirk when he shot down four aircraft in May and June, and three more in August of 1940. S/L. Walker flew Spitfire aircraft with #610 Squadron and was assigned to the Middle East with #94 Squadron to fly Hurricanes in 1941; in 1943 he went to India to Command #31 Squadron. One of the Sqdn. pilots ex F/O. Andy Russel D.F.C. of Indian Head, Saskatchewan recalls the following, "S/L Walker's instructions in what to do in case they were attacked were, "dive for the ground in all directions." When Japanese Zero fighter aircraft attacked the Squadron every pilot followed instructions except Walker, who stayed up there flying his Dakota aircraft in circles so the rest of us could escape, he should have got the V.C. for his sacrifice." S/L. Walker and his brother George were two of the very few brothers who were each awarded a D.F.C. George earned his D.F.C. in early 1940 before his #58 Squadron Whitley aircraft was shot down and he was taken Prisoner Of War. He was shot down a week before he was to be married. George died in 1982. Squadron Leader Pilot Walker has no known grave, his name is inscribed on the Singapore War Memorial, Malaya.

quoted from "They Shall Not Grow Old" by Les Allison & Harry Hayward

Rumor has it he started the Shark mouth design on the 112 Sqdn planes, but he would be the first to tell you 

it was Pete Brunton's idea

credited with eleven victories Jerry Westenra passed away at Omokoroa on 17 August 1999.

Group Captain George Westlake, CO 239 Wing during Operation Bowler

From Telegraph.co.uk

Group Captain George Westlake, who has died aged 87, was the leader of the brilliantly executed Operation Bowler, the bombing of shipping in the docks at Venice and the only authorized wartime air attack against the Italian city. Burt Horden writes about this day in his book "Shark Squadron".

With the destruction of the rail and road network in northern Italy by early 1945, the Germans resorted to transporting desperately needed supplies by ship to Venice for onward distribution by canal and river craft. In March that year authority was given to attack the port of Venice - there were strict instructions that there must be no damage to the historic buildings and fabric of the city, which lay just outside the dock's boundary.

The operation's codename was the idea of the Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice Marshal "Pussy" Foster, who anticipated being "bowler hatted" (dismissed from the service) should the city suffer any damage.

Westlake was leader of No 239 Wing, a mixture of Kittyhawk and Mustang squadrons specializing in dive-bombing operations. During the afternoon of March 21, flying a Kittyhawk of No 250 Squadron, he led 64 aircraft on the attack. Twenty-four fighters of the USAAF were also attached to his formation, with a Spitfire squadron providing an escort.

Within a few yards of the dock area were churches and housing; beyond lay a large population and centuries worth of noble buildings and works of art. Once over the target, Westlake assessed that the weather was suitable and he ordered some of the Mustangs and the American fighters to attack the gun defenses as he dived almost vertically from 10,000 ft with his four squadrons following him into the attack.

The results were spectacular: a large cargo ship was seriously damaged and left listing, and a number of smaller vessels and naval escorts destroyed. As the last of the Mustangs pulled away there was a huge explosion as a store of sea mines was hit.

The local Italian population stood on nearby rooftops just outside the target area watching the specttacolo with great enthusiasm and admiration. The AOC was equally impressed, and sent a signal of congratulation, relieved that he had avoided a bowler hat. Westlake was awarded the DSO for his "excellent leadership, great tactical ability and exceptional determination".

George Herbert Westlake was born on April 21 1918 at Rangoon, where his father was the harbourmaster. He was educated at Shoreham School and de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School. In 1937 he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve and began training as a pilot. At the outbreak of war he was called up and soon completed his flying course, when he was commissioned.

After a brief spell instructing other pilots Westlake joined No 213 Squadron, flying Hurricanes during the closing stages of the Battle of Britain. Within a few weeks he had his first success, shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 south of Selsey Bill on November 15 1940.

Six months later No 213 embarked in the aircraft carrier Furious and headed for the Mediterranean. On May 21 his squadron took off from the ship and set off for Malta, 800 miles away. After a hasty lunch, Westlake and his fellow pilots were airborne again, and three hours later landed at Mersah Matruh, in Egypt. In their single-engine aircraft, they had been airborne for almost eight hours, all entirely over the sea.

Within a few days Westlake was detached to No 80 Squadron, operating in Syria. He was soon in action against the Vichy-French Air Force, and in the space of a few days had shot down a bomber and shared in the destruction of two fighters. Once the air threat had been reduced, Westlake attacked airfields and road convoys as the Vichy forces retreated. At the end of the brief campaign he left for Nicosia, where he rejoined No 213.

On July 18 1941 Junkers 88 bombers appeared over the airfield, and Westlake was scrambled to intercept them. He caught one 80 miles off the coast and, in full view of a small Cypriot fishing fleet, he chased it at very low level and shot it down. The Governor of the island gave him a bottle of whisky with the promise of a crate if he repeated his success. In August Westlake shot down an Italian bomber, which crashed near Capo Greco, the first enemy aircraft to fall on the island. Unfortunately for Westlake, the Governor had left the island the day before - but he did receive a tankard.

In December No 213 left for the Western Desert, where it was involved in fierce fighting. Westlake was made flight commander and, during the next few months, he shot down five more aircraft and damaged three others. After almost two years of continuous action (during which his aircraft was never hit by the enemy) he left the squadron in the autumn of 1942, when he was awarded the DFC.

Westlake joined No 211 Group of the Desert Air Force as a fighter operations controller and moved forward with the advance to Tunisia. He was involved in planning air support for the invasions of Sicily and Italy before taking command of a mobile operations room as a wing commander, landing in Sicily two days after the troops had gone ashore. Anxious to return to flying, he dropped a rank in order to command one of the first Italian squadrons to fight alongside the Allies, No 4 Stormo, flying the Airacobra on ground attack operations. That month he was appointed to lead No 239 Wing.

Westlake remained in the RAF after the war. He specialized in fighter operations, serving at HQ 12 Group before filling an exchange posting with the USAF at HQ Air Defense Command, Colorado Springs. After commanding the Southern Sector of the UK Air Defence Region, he spent two years at RAF Geilenkirchen in Germany as the wing commander in charge of flying. In 1961 he was promoted to group captain and commanded the RAF's northern fighter control station at Buchan, near Peterhead

During the Indonesia Confrontation campaign, Westlake coordinated air defense operations at HQ Far East Air Force. At the end of 1967 he returned to Britain responsible for flying activities at Signals Command before retiring from the RAF in July 1969.

Westlake spent a number of years in Kuwait, which he much enjoyed, working as the aviation consultant, then manager, of Abdulla Al Rifai and Sons, agents for numerous large British aerospace and engineering companies. He retired to Cyprus, but returned to England in 1994.

Westlake was an expert fly-fisherman and an accomplished artist with a particular aptitude for sketching buildings. With very forthright, sometimes blunt, views, he was excellent company.

In later life his mobility was severely restricted, but he took to an electrically-powered tricycle to travel around Stratford-upon-Avon, where he lived. One neighbour commented that "he drove with verve and great abandon, as if he was still

in his fighter aircraft. We all stepped back when we heard him coming."

George Westlake died on January 18. His marriage ended in divorce. His son, a former RAF Harrier pilot, and his daughter survive him.

LT Micheal Grant White.   South African Air Force 75645V, 6 Dec 1943 to 3 May 1944, RAF 112 Sqdn KIA

Bernie Peters was flying with Mike in a dog-fight with the Luftwaffe on April 7th, 44, near Rieti in central Italy. At one point in that skirmish, Dad claimed that he and Mike were the only two of their flight remaining, against about 6  FW190s. 

On the day Lt White died, (3 May 1944, on his 22^nd birthday),  he was one of 12 pilots of 112 squadron (including Bernie Peters), heading out on another operational flight. Bernie Peters’ log book entry that day says, "viaduct north east of Rieti. Flight time: 2hrs 10 minutes. I got a direct hit and returned quickly with engine trouble. 20+ 190s and 109s attacked three of our gaggle. Mike White missing." These log book entries are always extremely brief - only 1 or 2 lines of space were available - even though they often deal with such momentous events.  To translate the above (with the benefit of Dad's recollections): the squadron were on a bombing operation - aimed at the viaduct. Dad's bomb scored a "direct hit", but his plane then developed engine trouble -so he went home early. Because of this, he wasnt around when the "20 plus" German fock-wulf 190s and Me109s attacked "three of our gaggle" [=three planes of our flight]. Mike White must have been one of the three.

Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403 Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403 Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403 Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403 Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403 Wing Commander Peter Reginald  Whalley  Wickham DSO DFC and Bar, RAF no. 33403, 3, 112, 33, 131 & 122Sqn, 122 Wing, Peterhead Wing, victories 10

graduated in 1939 and being posted to 3 Squadron., 17May’39 - RAF Middle East, attached H.Q. Soudan Defence Force, Khartoum (pending posting to No.112 Squadron).

On 16 May 1939 he was posted to 112 Squadron when this unit was formed aboard HMS Argus in Portsmouth, 

Hampshire and in September he was sent out to the Middle East and Egypt.

When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 he served as Pilot Officer in ‘A’ Flight.

In the end of June he was temporarily assigned to 33 Squadron to gain experience, which was based at 

Maaten Gerwala in the Western Desert. On 29 June 1940while with 33 Sqdn., At 11:00, three Gladiators flown by Flying Officer Ernest Dean (Gladiator L9046), Sergeant J. Craig (N5783) and Pilot Officer Wickham (K8031) took off. These were followed by two more flown by Pilot Officer Vernon Woodward (N5774) and Pilot Officer Henry Harrison (a 112 Squadron pilot on attachment to 33 Squadron) (N5768), which took off at 11:40.During this patrol, Pilot Officer Harrison claimed a damaged CR.32 in the Capuzzo-Sidi Aziez area. At 08:00 on 30 June three CR.32s of the 160 Squadriglia took off from Ponticelli to escort a reconnaissance Romeo Ro.37.

The Italian aircraft were variously identified as CR.42s or CR.32s, one of them shot down in flames. One of the planes was claimed by Pilot Officer Wickham while the other fell victim of Flying Officer Ernest Dean. One Gladiator was damaged in this combat.
Dean described the combat:

“Peter Wickham and I were patrolling near Bardia, and spotted two CR 42s. We each took one, and within minutes there were two black plumes on the ground. I got involved with another CR 42, a quite aggressive “Eyetie” (most rare), and I unfortunately got into head-on attacks with him, which are not recommended. We had three passes at one another but with no apparent damage, except that when we reached base together I didn’t perform any victory rolls, although Peter was performing perfect flick rolls in formation. Lucky for me, because my riggers reported to me that my centre section was badly damaged, and it was well I had overcome my exuberance.”

Later he returned to 112 Squadron. 

He left 112 Squadron on 30 October and was again posted to 33 Squadron, apparently claiming two further victories during the First Libyan Campaign of December 1940/January 1941.The unit then moved to Greece. On 13 April Flying Officer Wickham caught a reconnaissance Bf110 from 7(F)./LG2 over Mount Olympus and shot it down in flames. This was L2+HR flown by Leutnant George Lange (fate unknown).During the day on 20 April 1940, Eleusis was almost under constant attack, The first trio to arrive over the port, flown by Flying Officers Wickham, Flight Lieutenant Henry John Starrett (RAF no. 40188) and Percival ‘Ping’ Newton (a Rhodesian), caught 15 Ju88s dive-bombing ships in the harbour (the Greek hospital ship Ellenis was sunk during the attack). The three Hurricanes followed them down and attacked as they pulled out of their dives; Wickham claimed one shot down, whilst Newton claimed two more. Just then Pilot Officer William Vale arrived on the scene, reporting seeing some 30 Ju88s:

He was awarded a DFC in July, a Bar following on 25 August 1942 for his leadership over Dieppe on 19th of that month. Both citations credited him with nine victories, the Bar citation adding that he had also claimed five probables. Immediately after this award, he was posted to command 131 Squadron.

He was rested in November but returned to operations in April 1943 as commander of 122 Squadron, which he led until November. He then became Wing Leader of 122 Wing in 2nd TAF. He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 January 1944.

From January to March 1944 he served with OLTW. In March 1944 he joined 2 TEU as CFI, remaining on strength until 12 September, when he was posted to HQ, ADGB. From October 1944 to March 1945 he was a staff officer at HQ, Fighter Command, following which he led the Peterhead Mustang Wing on sorties up the Norwegian coastal area. At the end of the war a full account of his wartime activities was prepared to support a recommendation for a DSO, this listing his claims as ten confirmed, seven probables and 15 damaged. The DSO citation, which appeared in August 1945, combined the two former figures and credited him with 17.

Wickham ended the war with 4 biplane victories and a total of 7 (plus another 3 without details) destroyed.

He remained in the RAF, commanding 43 Squadron on Meteors from February to December 1949, and ultimately becoming a Group Captain. He was stationed at Duxford in the mid 1950s, becoming a Wing Commander again on 1 January 1953. At the end of June 1956 he was posted as Air Attaché, Bern, Switzerland, as a Group Captain. He retired from the service on 26 March 1961.

Pete Wickham died on 29 April 1970.

FX760 "?" (FX760,GAT then GA? cn 9150M) 43-23639 to RAF as Kittyhawk IV FX760. Shot down by flak during close support mission Aug 21, 1944 not sure it was on 112 Sqdn strength when this occurred), the replacement for FX740 "?" was flown by Flt/Lt Reginald Albert Wild, DFC, 407884, RAAF, regularly until it was exchanged for the Mustang Mk III, on 23 June 1944.  Flt/Lt Reginald Albert Wild, joined RAF 112 Sqdn on 1 June 1944 on his 2nd tour of duty. Flying practice commenced on Mustangs and continued until the first operational flights took place on 5 July 1944.

(HB900,GA?) 42-103869 to RAF Jun 1944 as Mustang III HB900. SOC Apr 14, 1946, Regularly flown by Flt/Lt Wild from 5 July 1944 until his tour expired on 14 Oct 1944.F/O William David Musther, 187271, RAFVR, then flew HB900 "?" until replaced by KH589 "?" on 16 Dec 1944, (KH589,GA? later GAX) 44-11014 to RAF as Mustang III KH589. SOC Mar 14, 1946),  He explains that HB900 GA-? was the Mustang that had "Wimpy painted on it.

RAF 112 Sqdn From 16/5/39 to 18/7/40

Photo supplied by Patricia Molloy daughter of J. F. Fraser

OC "A" Flight, 1939, the London Gazette lists a Wallace Cowling Williams as a Pilot Officer with service number 39010, 21 May, 1940 then 09/09/41 Flt Lt to temporary Squadron Leader

The RAAF lists a Squadron Leader Wallace Cowling Williams with service number 297404, now the mystery is to determine which one was with RAF 112 Sqdn, my bet goes to the RAAF man, knowing our man was Australian points to this man

Written by S/L. J.F. FRASER….Dec. 1939 (and on to August 1940 )

The squadron consisted of S/L D.M. SOMERVILLE, commanding Officer;

A/F/Lts Williams, Savage and Strong; F/O Fraser, Adjutant & 25 other officers including 21 pilots and about 30 worn out Mk1 Gladiators stowed away in the Aircraft carrier’s hangar.  There were many rumours as to our final destination, Palestine, Iraq, N.W. Frontier.  This hurried most secret move must mean action!

Since the outbreak of War with Italy on June 10^th, 1940, A and C Flights, commanded by F/L W.C. Williams and F/L C.H. Fry, were stationed at HELWAN about 15 miles south of CAIRO and solely responsible for the defense of Egypt’s Capital.  No.80 Squadron, also equipped with Gladiators, were at AMIRIA, responsible for the defence of ALEX and H.M.’s Fleet, while the only other fighter squadron in the whole of the Middle East Command, from the Equator to the Syrian frontier and from Sollum to Baghdad, was No. 33 Squadron, stationed at MERSA MATRUH, sole defenders of the Western Desert

It was an excited formation of Gladiators which flew across from Helwan to Gerawla, a few miles south-east of Mersa Matruh.  All were restless to show the W.O.P. and the rest of the R.A.F. that although 112(F) Squadron was unknown in peacetime, it was going to be accepted as one of the most famous during wartime.    However, in spite of the excitement of what lay in our near future, it was not without regret that Helwan was left behind.  For our stay of over a year had been extremely happy there and many ties and affections were left behind, between Cairo and Helwan.  L/Ldr D.M. (Slim) Somerville, F/L W.C. Williams, F/Os Ross and Campbell Strahan and R.H. Smith, had all left their wives behind in Helwan.  F/O J.F. Fraser was to be married in a couple of weeks and the affections of many other pilots were temporarily severed between first meetings and engagement rings.

During August, the Squadron’s C.O. Slim Somerville was still non-operational, recovering from extensive burns which he had received getting out of a Gladiator on fire while practicing aerobatics at Helwan.  The Flights were commanded by F/Lt C.H. Fry and Algy Schwab, the latter had just been posted in Wally Williams place as O.C. “A” Flight

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