Flying, Fighting and Reflection

The Life of Battle of Britain Fighter Ace, Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC AE

Peter Jacobs

• Publisher: Greenhill Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781784383909
• eBook ISBN: 9781784383916
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

This is the thrilling account of the last remaining Battle of Britain ace fighter pilot, Tom Ginger Neil. Neil was one of an elite band, nicknamed The Few by Winston Churchill, he flew Hurricanes during 141 combat missions in that battle and went on to command the first Spitfire XII squadron during 1942/43 as the RAF went on the offensive in north-west Europe.In this, the only full account of Neil's life to be published in collaboration with his family, we learn how he became a poster boy for the war effort and how he credits his sixth sense for keeping him alive during the Second World War.There was, however, one terrifyingly close brush with death, when in 1940 he had a mid-air collision with another Hurricane. With the rear section of his aircraft gone, the plane was out of control and hurtling to the ground, yet somehow he managed to bail out and miraculously survived with only a minor leg injury.As well as RAF service during the Siege of Malta, Wing Commander Neil, who is now in his late nineties, also served with the Americans during the D-Day landings.During his career, Neil was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for the destruction of at least fourteen enemy aircraft, and was a successful test pilot after the war before commanding a jet fighter-reconnaissance squadron in Egypt's troubled Canal Zone during the 1950s for which he was awarded the Air Force Cross.With contributions from the man himself, this book also looks at his life after the RAF and his career as a successful author. For military buffs and novices alike, it is a must-read account of a true war hero.

A carefully composed, classic image of the Battle of Britain: the young fighter pilot looks skywards as he is debriefed after a sortie. Tom Neil with 249 Squadron’s Intelligence Officer, Flying Officer ‘Shirley’ Woolmer.

Thomas Gosney Neil and his wife Florence pictured soon after the First World War, before the arrival of the young Tom.

With his father, pictured, he thinks, while on holiday around 1928/29.

On his trusted bicycle, probably in Southport around 1929/30. He would cycle for miles just to watch the de Havilland Fox Moths operate pleasure flights from the beach.

Neil with a Tiger Moth at Barton airfield in April 1939 soon after joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve.

Neil (second left) pictured in late 1939 with course colleagues, all sergeant pilots, of No. 8 Service Flying Training School at Montrose. Cecil Parkinson (far left) and Leslie Pidd (far right) were later killed during the Battle of Britain, while Harry Newton (centre) was shot down and wounded. The fifth member of the group is Ivor Arber who survived the war but died soon after.

A poor quality but important photograph of Neil’s personal Hurricane P3616, in his personal markings GN-F. This aircraft was lost to enemy action on 16 August 1940 while being flown by eighteen-year-old Pilot Officer Martyn King. Sadly, King was killed.

Pilots of 249 Squadron relax at Boscombe Down with ‘pipes various’, August 1940. From left: George Barclay, Percy Burton, Pat Wells, and Bryan Meaker. Only Wells would survive the war.

Neil flanked by his CO, Squadron Leader John Grandy (right) and the Canadian Flight Lieutenant Butch Barton. After Grandy was shot down and wounded in early September 1940, Barton took temporary command of 249 Squadron until his appointment was made official later that year.

Neil’s combat report of his first confirmed success, a Messerschmitt 109 shot down near Maidstone during the afternoon of 7 September 1940, the day the Luftwaffe turned on London. Note that the Heinkel bomber also claimed as damaged was deleted by an over-zealous intelligence officer.

At readiness in Hurricane V7313, Neil’s second personal GN-F, at the height of the Battle of Britain. It was in this aircraft that he shot down his first enemy aircraft on 7 September 1940. Eight days later he was an ace, all achieved while flying V7313.

Neil’s log book showing the period 2–16 September 1940. His combat successes are clearly shown and include the four he shot down on the 15th, later to be remembered as Battle of Britain Day.

As a twice-decorated fighter ace of the Battle of Britain, Neil was suddenly propelled into the public eye. He is shown here during a visit to the Lancashire cotton industry in early 1941. As a local boy who had done exceptionally well, he was required to meet and talk to the workers to boost the war effort.

October 1940, after the award of Neil’s first Distinguished Flying Cross.

With Ossie Crossey (left) and Tich Palliser (centre) in Malta, summer 1941, outside the newly erected pilots’ dispersal at Ta Kali.

Taking a well-earned break from the air fighting. Neil shown relaxing on the beach with Patricia Pullicino, the daughter of a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Foreword by Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon
• Acknowledgements
• Thomas Francis Neil, 1920–2018
• Introduction
• One: Early Days
• Two: Flying Times
• Three: Preparing for War
• Four: 249 Squadron
• Five: Into Battle
• Six: The Hardest Month
• Seven: On the Offensive
• Eight: Malta
• Nine: A Rest from Ops
• Ten: 41 Squadron
• Eleven: The Americans
• Twelve: Victory at Last
• Thirteen: Testing Times
• Fourteen: 208 Squadron
• Fifteen: Moving On
• Sixteen: The Author
• Seventeen: On Reflection
• Select Bibliography
• Plate section