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John Whitley (RAF Officer)
Air Marshal Sir John Rene Whitley, (7 September 1905 – 26 December 1997) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and also in the post-war years. RAF career Whitley joined the Royal Air Force in 1926. While serving in India, he was awarded the Air Force Cross for relief flights after the 1935 Quetta earthquake. He served in the Second World War as Officer Commanding No. 149 Squadron and then as Station Commander at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. In April 1943, he was shot down in a Halifax bomber over Belgium. Landing by parachute in Northern France, with the help of the French Resistance he escaped through the Basque country to Spain.Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary: Bomber Command
Returning to England, he continued his war service as Station Commander ...
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Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ...
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Handley-Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine ''HP56'' proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax emerged as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which were b ...
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Knights Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire (later Commonwealth) and the Viceroy of India. Nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most Commonwealth countries ceased recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire when they ...
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Companions Of The Distinguished Service Order
Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiver, such as a nurse assistant, paid to give a patient one-on-one attention Historically * A concubine, a long-term sexual partner not accorded the status of marriage * Lady's companion, a historic term for a genteel woman who was paid to live with a woman of rank or wealth * Companion cavalry, the elite cavalry of Alexander the Great * Foot Companion, the primary type of soldier in the army of Alexander the Great * Companions of William the Conqueror, those who took part in the Norman conquest of England * Muhammad's companions, the Sahaba, the friends who surrounded the prophet of Islam Film and television * Companion (''Doctor Who''), a character who travels with the Doctor in the TV series ''Doctor Who'' * Companion (''Firefly''), a t ...
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Companions Of The 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 medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as "Knights of the Bath". George I "erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order". He did not (as is commonly believed) revive the Order of the Bath, since it had never previously existed as an Order, in the sense of a body of knights who were governed by a set of statutes and whose numbers were replenished when vacancies occurred. The Order consists of the Sovereign (currently King Charles III), the Great Master (currently vacant) and three Classes of members: *Knight Grand Cross ( GCB) ''or'' Dame Grand Cross ( GCB) *Knight Commander ( KCB) ''or'' Dame Commander ( DCB) *Companion ( CB) Members belong to either the Civil or the Military Division.''Statutes'' 1925, a ...
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1997 Deaths
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of the most observed comets of the 20th century; Golden Bauhinia Square, where sovereignty of Hong Kong is handed over from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China; the 1997 Central European flood kills 114 people in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany; Korean Air Flight 801 crashes during heavy rain on Guam, killing 229; Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner land on Mars; flowers left outside Kensington Palace following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in Paris., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Titanic (1997 film) rect 200 0 400 200 Harry Potter rect 400 0 600 200 Comet Hale-Bopp rect 0 200 300 400 Death of Diana, Princess of Wales rect 300 200 600 400 Handover of Hong Kong rect 0 400 200 600 Mars Pathfind ...
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1905 Births
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album '' Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. * "Nineteen", a song by Tegan and Sara from the 2007 album '' The Con''. * "XIX" (song), a 2014 song by Slipk ...
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Paterson Fraser
Air Marshal Sir Henry Paterson Fraser, (15 July 1907 – 4 August 2001) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and in the post-war years. RAF career Educated at St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown, South Africa, and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Fraser joined the Royal Air Force in 1927. He became a test pilot in 1934.
Daily Telegraph, 15 August 2001
He served in the as Officer Commanding the Experimental Flying Section at and then as deputy director of War Organis ...
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Gilbert Nicholetts
Air Marshal Sir Gilbert Edward Nicholetts, (9 November 1902 – 7 September 1983) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1950s. RAF career Educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Nicholetts joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1921. He developed a career in flying boat units and with the Fleet Air Arm, then under RAF control. In the late 1920s he was based in the Far East, flying the Short Singapore. In 1933 Nicholetts established a long-distance flight record from Cranwell, England to Walvis Bay, South West Africa as navigator on the Fairey Long-range Monoplane, continuing on to Cape Town. He was awarded the Air Force Cross. Nicholetts was appointed Officer Commanding No. 228 Squadron, just after the outbreak of the Second World War. Based at Alexandria, Egypt, flying a Short Sunderland, Nicholetts personally commanded the RAF reconnaissance flight preceding the November 1940 Fleet Air Arm Taranto raid. He went on to be Station Commander at RAF Haifa ...
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Hubert Patch
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hubert Leonard Patch, (16 December 1904 – 18 November 1987) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Patch joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet in 1923 and served in the Second World War. After the war he became Director of Armament Requirements and then Air Officer Commanding No. 44 Group in 1946. He went on to be Commandant of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment in 1948, Air Officer for Administration at Headquarters Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force), Far East Air Force in 1951 and Senior Air Staff Officer, Far East Air Force in 1952. After that he was made Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group RAF, No. 11 Group in 1953, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command, Fighter Command in January 1956 and Commander-in-Chief of the Near East Air Force (Royal Air Force), RAF Middle East Air Force in September 1956. His final appointments were as Air Member for Personnel in April 1959 and as Commander, British Fo ...
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Francis Fogarty
Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis Joseph Fogarty, (16 January 1899 – 12 January 1973) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War and also in the post-war years. During the First World War he served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. He was transferred to the RAF on its creation in 1918 and remained in the service during the inter-war years. Early life and career Francis Fogarty was born in Cork, Ireland, on 16 January 1899 and educated at Farranferris College. In 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps as an air mechanic. However, he was soon selected for training as a pilot and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. In 1918, Fogarty served as a pilot on No. 98 Squadron, participating in the Battle of Amiens but having to land with engine trouble before he could bomb German airfields or rail lines. Remaining in the RAF after the war, Fogarty was soon to see active service again, this time in Iraq. He was posted to No. 84 Squadron, where h ...
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Second Tactical Air Force
The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and exiles from German-occupied Europe. Renamed as British Air Forces of Occupation in 1945, 2TAF was recreated in 1951 and became Royal Air Force Germany in 1959. Formation 2TAF was formed on 1 June 1943 as HQ Tactical Air Force from Army Co-operation Command, in connection with preparations then in train to invade Europe a year later. It took units from both Fighter Command and Bomber Command in order to form a force capable of supporting the Army in the field. Bomber Command provided No. 2 Group with light bombers; Fighter Command was split into the Air Defence of Great Britain, retaining fighter units for home defence, and No. 83 Group and No. 84 Group operating aircraft, and No. 85 Group controlling ground-based units, for the S ...
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