Flight Lieutenant William James Green (23 April 1917 – 7 November 2014) was a British Battle of Britain

Fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

, who served with the RAF.

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Green flew Hawker Hurricanes for 9 days during the Battle of Britain, between 20 and 29 August 1940. During that time he was shot down twice: the first time on 24 August 1940, crash landing at Hawkinge and the second time on 29 August over Deal in Kent.

Royal Air Force

Green joined the

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

as an engine fitter in December 1936, and later trained as a pilot. On joining

No. 501 Squadron RAF ("Fear nothing") , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = France & Low Countries, 1940 Battle of Britain, 1940 Home Defen ...

on 19 August 1940, Green had flown only about 5 hours on Hurricanes and had only flown one for the first time the day before but was sent into action regardless on 20 August 1940. Green considers himself to have been one of the least trained pilots during the Battle of Britain and lucky to have survived. The first thing Green knew of being shot down on 29 August 1940 was a large hole appearing in his armoured windscreen and he never saw the aircraft that shot him down. He managed to exit his aircraft but his parachute initially failed to open as his drogue parachute lines had been cut about nine inches above where they joined the main parachute. His boots were ripped off his feet during the ensuing high-speed fall and he remembers quite clearly wondering whether his wife of 12 weeks, Bertha,''Battle of Britain's humble WWII pilot Bill Green''
by BBC News Posted: 10 July 2010. Retrieved: 24 January 2011. would wonder whether he had wondered what it would feel like to "hit the deck". Bill had resigned himself that this was the end, but just as he neared the treetops, the parachute eventually opened without the drogue and he landed almost immediately in a farm in

Elham Valley The Elham Valley is a chalk valley carved by the River Nailbourne situated in the North Downs in East Kent. The valley is named after the settlement of Elham. Other settlements in the valley include Etchinghill, Lyminge, Barham, Kingston, Bish ...

near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

only to discover that he couldn't stand as he had been wounded in the leg: He continued to serve in the RAF, rising from the rank of Sergeant Pilot to

Later life

Prior to retirement Bill Green Was Chairman and managing director of Reed International and Crown Paints respectively a high respected Boss, who knew everyone who worked at the Darwen Plant of Crown Paints, Bill was a gentleman - a true hero - never one to blow his own trumpet or seek celebrity status Sadly Missed by all who knew and had the pleasure to work with him. As a Mark of Respect a 2 minutes Silence was held on the day of his Funeral and the Union Flag was at half mast over Crown House in Darwen. A giant of a man highly respected. Bill Green resided for the final years of his life in the Bristol area, and was one of the last remaining members of The Few. He was involved with many ex service charity's - the Royal Air Forces Association - and the Local & County Air Cadets Organization - he was RAF through and through. He died on 7 November 2014, aged 97.

References

External links

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11025959 *http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10553690 *https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224743/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Farewell-heroic-Bristol-pilot/story-24517115-detail/story.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Bill Royal Air Force officers The Few 2014 deaths 1917 births Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Military personnel from Bristol