Next da Read allIn May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action sign their names on a blackboard. Wellum remained in the RAF after the war and flew a variety of early jets. Later, Wellum recalled: "You make yourself a difficult target. "I was shot up badly on three occasions," he says. "I was 20 and, since then, everything else has seemed anticlimactic. Squadron Leader Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum DFC (4 August 192118 July 2018) was a British Battle of Britain fighter pilot and author.. Wellum suffered severe sinusitis and battle fatigue after three years' intensive frontline flying. . "As the three ships come through the harbour entrance, just about maintaining steerage way, the cheering of the Maltese who have to welcome her in slowly subsides until there is absolute silence. Two days later Britain declared war on Germany. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. He is now known world-wide. Heughan does a great job playing the part of a young inexperienced Spitfire pilot. [3] In 1943, he married Grace Neil, his wartime girlfriend, with whom he had three children. In May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action sign their names on a blackboard. of his instructors, he grew up quickly, although his age and cockiness earned him the nickname Boy. Thereafter he briefly test-flew Typhoons and then saw out the war as a pilot attack instructor. Wellum was educated at ForestSchool, Snaresbrook, where he captained the school cricket team.[3]. In May 1940, on the eve of Dunkirk, so bad was the situation deemed that he was posted to 92 Squadron before his training was complete. Later, in First Light, he wrote of the experience: "I experienced an exhilaration that I cannot recall ever having felt before. Aged eighteen, Wellum signed up on a short-service commission with the RoyalAirForce in August 1939. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. I even began to enjoy [teaching] pupils". "But what would I write about, darling? Within eight months he was flying with No92 Squadron. Friday July 20 2018, 9.00am, The Times. After the war he remained in the RAF until 1961, and later ran a haulage business. His marriage ended in divorce in 1975 and six years later he retired to Mullion, on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall. In May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action sign their names on a blackboard. Thanks for your help! TheHistoryof92SquadronRAF, "YoungestBattleofBritainRAFpilotdies", 5 August 1941 - Flying Officer Geoffrey Harry Augustus Wellum (42925) of. It would be a good film for a hight school history class. Later he became a commodities broker. Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum was born at Walthamstow, on August 14 1921. In this film Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC, a veteran of the Battle of Britain, narrates the Airman's Grace. Geoffrey Harry Augustus Wellum was born in Walthamstow, Essex, where his father managed an off-licence. As he fought against hordes of enemy fighters he compared the ugliness of his situation set above the beauty of the English countryside he loved. Their son and daughter survive him and a second daughter predeceased him. Wellum returned to operations in February 1942 as a flight commander with No65 Squadron, flying sweeps over France and Belgium. The Germans were flying a formidable new fighter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and Wellum was beginning to suffer from persistent headaches. "I am certain that my time came with my three years as an operational fighter pilot in our nation's finest hour. He was educated at Forest School, Snaresbrook, where he was captain of the cricket XI in his last term before joining the RAF on a short service commission. Many of the chaps became alcoholics.". He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend, and they had three children. In the mid . Dad would drive past and then, in about 1937, there was one of the new Hurricanes taxiing in, and there was the pilot with the oxygen mask on him, and I thought, God, I want to be one of those. . Born the only child of Percy and Edith Wellum, Geoffrey grew up in Walthamstow and attended the Forest School in Snaresbrook. Squadron Leader Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum DFC (4 August 192118 July 2018) was a British Battle of Britain fighter pilot and author. Geoffrey Wellum was born on August 4, 1921 in Walthamstow, London, England. But all of this was a prelude to the squadrons move, on 9 September 1940, to Biggin Hill in Kent, at the centre of that summers battle. Flying alongside celebrated pilots such as Brian Kingcome, Bob Stanford Tuck and Tony Bartley, and then in Sailor Malans wing from 1941, Wellum destroyed four enemy aircraft and damaged several others, although being bloody-minded he was not meticulous in keeping a record of his kills. Geoffrey Wellum - Wikiwand Learn more about merges. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Soon after arriving, the doctor told him he was "played out mentally and physically". For Wellum and his comrades the intensity eased, as Spitfires were unsatisfactory nightfighters, and the squadron moved into winter quarters at Manston in Kent. [4] On 9 September 1940, 92 Squadron was posted to RAF Biggin Hill in Kent, in the centre of the fighting. In air combat over France, Wellum's number two, Freddie Haskett, was killed by a Fw 190, and Wellum himself survived only by "throwing the spit all over the sky without really looking round". After the war he remained in the RAF until 1961, and later ran a haulage business. [3] This was followed by a four-year tour with 192 Squadron. The reminiscences that he wrote a quarter of a century later were put away in a drawer for another three decades before he lent them to an editor at Penguin researching the period. He remained on the island as part of the air defence force before returning to Britain, suffering from exhaustion. Two days later Britain entered the war. In 1943 Wellum married Dorothy Grace Neil. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. My only regret is that it had to happen so early in life". [11], In July 1942, Wellum was sent to Glasgow, where he participated in Operation Pedestal, a convoy mission to carry supplies for the relief of the besieged garrison at Malta. From early 1941, Fighter Command went on the offensive, flying sweeps over northern France, sometimes escorting small bomber formations, all with the intention of drawing the Luftwaffe into combat. Ellie Cullen. Stunned, Holland showed it to friends at Penguin, who immediately decided to publish it. people today dont realise that feeling; its all too clinical.. In August 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. My target, concentrate, the target. Failed to report flower. At 17, in his last year at school and six months before the war began, he applied to the RAF. [11], On Malta, Wellum was diagnosed with severe sinusitis and battlefatigue, after three years' of intensive frontline flying. Geoffrey Wellum was the youngest spitfire pilot to serve in the Battle of Britain in 1940 (during World War Two). "That at some point in my life I had been of use.". He and his wife were divorced in 1975. First Light: Directed by Matthew Whiteman. Dear Jesus why this? During the battle he had shot down a Heinkel He 111 bomber, and claimed a quarter share in a Ju 88. At the end of July he joined others on the aircraft carrier Furious in the Clyde and sailed for the Mediterranean. Colum MacKenzie (Gary Lewis) is Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) Uncle. Battle of Britain RAF Spitfire pilot Geoffrey Wellum dies The movie wasn't so much about Spitfires as it was on the affects the fighting had on the pilots. He was involved in dozens of dogfights over France and England. After surgery, he returned from Malta to Britain via Gibraltar, and later became a test pilot for new aircraft, such as the new Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber, based at Gloster Aircraft. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. But Geoff's was different.". Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. He left the service in 1960 with the rank of Squadron Leader. During the hectic fight that followed he sighted a lone Heinkel 111 bomber, pursued it and shot it down off Dungeness. Geoffrey Wellum - Wikiwand I even began to enjoy [teaching] pupils". In May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action sign their names on a blackboard. Try again later. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. He served with 92 Squadron and his first missions included the "dogfights" above London and the Home Counties for which the battle became known. Geoffrey Wellum | Military Wiki | Fandom Geoffrey Harris Augustus "Boy" Wellum - Find a Grave (modern). He was also stationed at RAFGaydon, and in East Anglia. Geoffrey Wellum married Grace Christian in September 1943. But was the writing at least cathartic? Later, Wellum recalled: "You make yourself a difficult target. Youngest Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot whose bestselling war memoir was hailed as one of the most powerful and poignant ever written. Try again later. In 1943 he married Grace Neill and the couple had three children. GEOFFREY WELLUM, a veteran of the Battle of Britain, was the youngest fighter pilot (at 18) in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have fought in that battle. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Not 'Ooh, this is frightening', but 'Oh God, this bloke is going to kill me'. It unwound me, but it couldn't get it out of my system. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Wellum recovered from his breakdown, married "Grace", his girlfriend in the book, had three children and stayed in the RAF for another 20 years. Quite often youd find yourself surrounded by aeroplanes and then the sky would be empty. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.[15]. "One time, I had literally to fight my way back to the White Cliffs; on another, there was a German hanging on my tail, who wouldn't let me go. (One journalist who interviewed him for a national newspaper asked if it was the computer in his Spitfire that told him when his ammunition had run out. The youngest Spitfire pilot to fly in the Battle of Britain during World War Two has died, it has been announced. Geoffrey Wellum married Grace Christian in September 1943. Geoffrey Wellum, born August 4 1921 died July 18 2018. He reached the island by flying off a lethally short aircraft carrier. Britain stood alone. Never stay still, never fly straight and level, chuck it around. Geoffrey Wellum - IMDb [4], Much later, in an unpublished interview with TheTimes, Wellum recalled: "After I joined the squadron they went to Dunkirk and by the end of that day we'd lost five people, four of whom I'd met the night before in the officers' mess. Several times he narrowly evaded being shot down. Nothing can possibly quite rise to such heights.. SimonMorris. [3] In 1943, he married Grace Neil, his wartime girlfriend, with whom he had three children. [5] It was at 92 Squadron that he first encountered a Spitfire, and flew the aircraft for the first time. Retirement. "The Air Force soon knocked that out of me. "I'd never seen a Spitfire before, let alone flown one, but there was a war on and they needed pilots. [12], After the war, Wellum stayed with the RAF, serving first as a staffofficer in the Second Tactical Air Force in WestGermany, where he flew jet aircraft such as the GlosterMeteor, the deHavillandVampire and the EnglishElectricCanberra. His father, Percy, who managed an off-licence, had fought at Gallipoli as a quartermaster sergeant before receiving a battlefield commission. Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Wellum, who was just 18 when he joined the RAF in August 1939, died at his home in Cornwall on Wednesday evening aged 96. Geoffrey Wellum, born August 4 1921, died July 18 2018, The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? WELLUM, Geoffrey Harris Augustus - All Spitfire Pilots He was subsequently involved in the testing of Hawker Typhoon fighter-cum-ground-attack aircraft, but did not return to combat duties. Having learnt to fly in Tiger Moths, he first went solo on September 1, 1939. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. By now, the Luftwaffe was flying a new fighter aircraft, the Focke-WulfFw190, superior in all but turn radius to the SpitfireV, and the squadron took heavy losses. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Although urged to continue his career as an author, he never found a theme that inspired him as much. He remained in the RAF after the war. He was a regular at his local pub, having never lost his taste for English bitter. A year later, in preparation for Pedestal, the convoy operation carrying vital supplies to Malta, Wellum led a flight of eight Spitfires out to the island via north Africa. . His headaches became severe and he was diagnosed with sinusitis. The sun glints on their wings and bellies as they roll like trout in a stream streaking over smooth round pebbles. A few weeks later Wellum was in his local in Cornwall when the landlady handed him the phone. Wellum suffered severe sinusitis and battle fatigue after three years' intensive frontline flying. Although alive to the beauty of flight, there is little of the heroic romanticism about aerial combat that afflicts other memoirs of the period. He fell in love with the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire almost instantly. To install click the Add extension button. Wellum eventually became the deputy harbourmaster. [14] First Light: The Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies Above Britain was published by: Viking Books, 2002 (hardcover, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN0-670-91248-4); Wiley & Sons, 2003 (hardcover, ISBN0-471-42627-X); Penguin Books, 2003 (paperback, ISBN0-14-100814-8); Penguin Books, 2020 (paperback, ISBN978-0-241-98784-1), which contains a new foreword by military historian and novelist Patrick Bishop. Sqn Ldr Wellum was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was later promoted to flight commander with 65 Squadron. Try again. "It doesn't matter," Wellum says, unconvincingly. The Nazis, flushed with a series of astonishing victories, appeared invincible, with a far greater number of planes and pilots. The family settled in Epping, Essex.[3]. Battle of Britain pilot who wrote a dramatic personal account of his wartime experiences. One of the "Few", the. Spitfire flypast for funeral of war pilot Geoffrey Wellum In May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action sign their names on a blackboard. [12], After the war, Wellum stayed with the RAF, serving first as a staff officer in the Second Tactical Air Force in West Germany, where he flew jet aircraft such as the Gloster Meteor, the de Havilland Vampire and the English Electric Canberra. After Wellum left the RAF the family settled in Epping, Essex. . Quite often you'd find yourself surrounded by aeroplanes and then the sky would be empty. With 192 Squadron at RAF Watton in the mid-1950s, he flew more than 50 special operations at high altitude, gathering intelligence about Soviet air defences and Egyptian radar capability in the run-up to the Suez crisis. His business had failed, his marriage was coming to an end and he had recently lost his house. Id gone over the top. Their son and daughter survive him and a second daughter predeceased him. It was not so much that Wellum was a born writer although vivid set- pieces, such as his description of stalking a Ju 88 in the rain over the sea showed that he was as that he had a subject about which he felt compelled to write. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. There is a little bit of artistic licence in it, the BBC wanted a bit of a love scene in it and as I was going to get a bag of gold well, not exactly, something to buy me another beer I went along with it.. Some of them men, mostly elderly, take off their hats and the womenfolk in their black hoods and cloaks cross themselves. The following day, four of the squadrons pilots, including Bushell, failed to return from a combat over Dunkirk. It should have been. The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust said it was "saddened by the news". Wellum also appeared in the documentary "Greatest Events of World War II in colour," being interviewed on his experience at the Battle of Britain. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Geoffrey Wellum (Author of First Light) - Goodreads Geoffrey Wellum - IMDb The unmistakable engine tone of a Spitfire could be heard echoing over Mullion yesterday for a flypast in memory of Geoffrey Wellum. There it all is, the whole arena for bloody battle, and there they are, the enemy. Squadron Leader Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum DFC (4 August 1921 - 18 July 2018) was a British fighter pilot and author, best known for his participation in the Battle of Britain.