Bill Foxley
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Squadron Leader William Geoffrey Foxley (17 August 1923 – 5 December 2010) was a trainee
navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
with
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
who suffered severe burns following a crash. He was notable for the support he gave to other burns victims and for a film appearance that gave awareness of the facial burns suffered by World War II aircrew to a wide audience. After the war, in July 1945, he became a squadron leader and retired from the Emergency List with this rank in February 1954.


Early life and World War II

Foxley was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and he joined the
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 ...
in 1942. On 16 March 1944 he was 20 years old and close to completing his training as a navigator with No 28
Operational Training Unit Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ; No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 OTU): The Unit was formed in ...
at
RAF Castle Donington 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 ...
. His
Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...
bomber took off at 23:19 on a training flight, but within a minute the flaps dropped down fully at an altitude of 200 feet (60 Metres) causing the nose to pitch up and the aircraft then stalled and crashed. He escaped from the blazing aircraft without injury but then returned to help the wireless operator. He suffered severe burns to his face and hands exiting the burning aircraft through the
astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
on top of the fuselage and the airman he tried to rescue did not survive. Foxley was put under the care of consultant
plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...
Sir
Archibald McIndoe Sir Archibald Hector McIndoe (4 May 1900 – 11 April 1960) was a New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew. Early life Archi ...
at
Queen Victoria Hospital The Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH), located in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England is the specialist reconstructive surgery centre for the south east of England, and also provides services at clinics across the region. It has become world-fam ...
,
East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...
where he underwent 29 operations to his face and hands. These Included the tubed
pedicle Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...
procedure which involved cutting a flap of skin from a normally hidden part of the body such as a thigh and then sewing its long edges together to form a tube. The other end of the tube was attached closer to the face to which the pedicle was eventually attached directly. On leaving hospital he was blind in his right eye, still suffering pain from his injuries and had impaired vision in his left eye due to a damaged cornea.


Later life

Foxley lived in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and then in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
where he was in close proximity to East Grinstead hospital for further treatment and he worked in facilities management at the
Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...
. In 1969 he appeared in the film ''
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
'' (1969) as a pilot with facial burns in a scene with
Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...
and
Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...
. He was a member of the
Guinea Pig Club The Guinea Pig Club, established in 1941, was a social club and mutual support network for British and allied aircrew injured during World War II. Its membership was made up of patients of Archibald McIndoe in Ward III at Queen Victoria Hospit ...
and gave support to burns victims from subsequent conflicts. He said he often had an empty seat next to him on his train journeys to work as people would move away when they saw his face and hands. He usually then greeted them with "I don't bite, you know". He also set up a charity called Disablement in the City.Daily Telegraph Obituary
Retrieved 24 October 2012


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foxley, Bill 1923 births 2010 deaths Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British navigators Flight navigators Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Military personnel from Liverpool Members of the Guinea Pig Club British people with disabilities