Wing Commander Geoffrey Harry Briggs (1918-2005) DFC, also known as Buster Briggs was a Royal Air Force officer and

High Sheriff of West Sussex The High Sheriff of West Sussex is annually appointed as the sovereign's representative in West Sussex county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. History of the office high sheriff The oldest office ...

Education

Briggs was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

Career

In 1938 he was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards, after training at

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry ...

. The following year he was with the 1st Battalion as part of the British Expeditionary Force and was evacuated at Dunkirk. In 1940 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) an ...

after gaining his pilot's licence and previously being a member of the Household Brigade Flying Club as a glider pilot. His unit was re-designated

No. 296 Squadron RAF No. 296 Squadron RAF was an transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. With sister squadrons 295 and 297 it formed 38 Wing, which later expanded to create No. 38 Group RAF. History With the Airborne Forces No. 296 ...

in 1942 before Briggs joined

No. 295 Squadron RAF No 295 Squadron RAF was an airborne forces and transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. It was the first unit to be equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle transport and glider tug aircraft. History With the Ai ...

and converted to the four-engine Halifax. He was made a flight commander on No. 298 Squadron RAF in 1943 and flew a Halifax aircraft that towed one of the six gliders who seized the

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the ce ...

over the River Orne. He also towed gliders to Arnhem for

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

, and following the death of the wing commander assumed command. He was awarded a DFC. He later commanded

No. 190 Squadron RAF No. 190 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron with a relatively short existence, but a very broad career. It served as a trainer squadron during the first World War and as convoy escort, airborne support and transport squadron during World Wa ...

before being invalided out of the service in July 1946 due to polio. He was appointed High Sheriff of West Sussex in 1974 and became a farmer.

Interests

He was a member of sailing clubs for 60 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Buster Royal Air Force officers 1918 births 2005 deaths