Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey "Sammy" Allard &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

(12 August 1912 – 13 March 1941) was a

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 ...

(RAF)

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of the

Second World War 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 ...

. Allard scored 19 victories against enemy aircraft, as well as five shared kills and two probable kills, during the war.

Early life

Allard was born in Strensall, Yorkshire, on 12 August 1912,England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915. Date of Registration: Jul Aug Sept 1912, Registration county: Yorkshire, Volume Number: 9d, Page Number: 127. Retrieved from ancestry.co.uk, 12 November 2010 the son of Sydney Harold Allard and Elizabeth Allard (née Higgins). He joined the RAF in 1929, and served an apprenticeship at

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

, qualifying as a

leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The ra ...

mechanic. He applied for pilot training in 1936 and became a

sergeant pilot A sergeant pilot was a non-commissioned officer who had undergone flight training and was a qualified pilot in the air forces of several Commonwealth countries before, during and after World War II. It was also a term used in the United States Arm ...

with

No. 87 Squadron RAF No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War. World War I 87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flyi ...

in 1937. He married Kathleen Minnie Ross in York in 1937. In June 1938 he joined

No. 85 Squadron RAF ("We hunt by day and night") , colors= , colors_label= Post-1950 aircraft insignia , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Western Front, 1917–1918; France & Low Countrie ...

Second World War

Flying the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

, Allard saw action in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, scoring around 8 kills. He was made a flight sergeant on 17 August 1940 (with seniority from 15 August). Also in August he was commissioned and became an acting flight lieutenant commanding 'A' flight. Eight more kills were scored in the

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 ...

between 24 August 1940 and 1 September 1940. Allard was selected by

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

to have his portrait drawn by

Cuthbert Orde Captain Cuthbert Julian Orde (18 December 1888 – 19 December 1968) was an artist and First World War pilot. He is best known for his war art, especially his portraits of Allied Battle of Britain pilots. Family background Orde was born on 18 D ...

, sitting for it on the same day that he was awarded a second

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...

, 13 September 1940. In October the Squadron was withdrawn to become a night-fighter unit. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) the same month. On 6 December 1940, Allard was promoted from

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

to flying officer. On 13 March 1941, Allard was scheduled to take the newly promoted Pilot Officer Francis "Frank" Walker-Smith to

RAF Ford HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire di ...

to collect a version of the twin-engined

Douglas Boston The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was or ...

(known to the RAF as the Douglas Havoc and used primarily for night-fighting duties). At the last moment

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

ace Pilot Officer William Hodgson (who was reputed to have a girlfriend at RAF Ford) hitched a lift. A loose gun inspection panel became dislodged and flew back jamming the rudder. This caused the aircraft to crash at Tye Green near

Wimbish Wimbish is a village and civil parish within Uttlesford, in Essex, England. The first recorded mention of the village was in 1042, when it was referred to as Winebisc. It was subsequently referred to as Wimbeis in the Domesday Book Domesday ...

, killing all three occupants close to

RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden in North Essex, England History The airfield was opened in April 1937 ...

. Allard and Walker-Smith had seen action together as part of the British Expeditionary Force (based at Lille/Seclin, France) in early 1940 and all three had success as Battle of Britain pilots. Allard is buried alongside Hodgson and Walker-Smith at the

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

Cemetery.

Honours and awards

13 September 1940 – 563859 Sergeant Geoffrey Allard DFM is awarded a bar to the Distinguished Flying Medal. 8 October 1940 – The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to Pilot Officer Geoffrey Allard, DFM, (44551) — ''Between 30 August and 1 September 1940, this officer destroyed seven enemy aircraft; previously he had destroyed ten and shared in the destruction of others. He has displayed outstanding skill and courage in combat against the enemy.'' On 12 March 2011, a 70th anniversary commemorative event was staged at Carver Barracks – the old

near

– which is 85 Squadron's World War II spiritual home. Relatives and friends of the three men who died on 13 March 1941 met at the Officers' Mess. The event included a display by a Supermarine Spitfire from the Historical Aircraft Collection (a last-minute substitute for the planned Hawker Hurricane flypast) and a Memorial Service held in Wimbish Church, the parish church for RAF Debden. On 13 March 2011, there was a ceremonial laying of wreaths on the graves of Allard, Hodgson and Walker-Smith in Radwinter Road Cemetery, Saffron Walden, and the official naming of a road in the town called "Allard Way". Allard Crescent in

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

is named in his honour, one of a number of streets in the area named after Battle of Britain pilots.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Geoffrey 1912 births 1941 deaths Burials in Essex British World War II flying aces Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II English aviators Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal The Few Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England People from York Military personnel from Yorkshire