Geoffrey Phelps Longfield (4 December 1909 – 25 February 1943) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer. Enlisting in the Royal Air Force in 1929, he played first-class cricket for the Royal Air Force cricket team in the early 1930s, before later serving in the Second World War with the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

, during which he was killed on a mission while commanding 105 Squadron.

Life and military career

The son of the Reverend Thomas William Longfield, he was born at

High Halstow High Halstow is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It was, until 1998, administratively part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. The par ...

in Kent, and was educated at Aldenham School. Upon leaving Aldenham, Longfield enlisted in the Royal Air Force as a

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 ...

in February 1929, with confirmation in the rank in March 1930. He was promoted to the rank of flying officer in August 1930. He made his debut in first-class cricket for the Royal Air Force cricket team against the Army at The Oval in 1931; he claimed both of his first-class wickets in this match, dismissing

Alexander Wilkinson Colonel William Alexander Camac Wilkinson, (6 December 1892 – 19 September 1983) was a highly decorated British Army officer and English cricketer. Australian-born, he served with the British Army in both the First and Second World Wars. Aft ...

and

Adrian Gore Adrian Gore is a South African businessman and entrepreneur. He is the founder and group chief executive of Discovery Limited. Biography Gore launched Discovery Limited, a medical insurer, in South Africa in 1992. In 1992, Gore raised seed m ...

. He made a second first-class appearance the following year in a repeat of the 1931 fixture. He was transferred to the class A reserve in February 1934, with a further transfer to the C class in December 1934. He was transferred back to the A class in December 1935, He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in January 1938. Serving during the Second World War, Longfield was promoted to the rank of squadron leader in December 1940. He was promoted to the temporary rank of wing commander in September 1942, with seniority antedated to March 1942, and was placed in command of 105 Squadron, which had the distinction of being the first squadron to fly the Mosquito fighter-bomber. On 26 February 1943, he took off from

RAF Marham RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia. It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...

for an attack on

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

Occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. While engaging the target, Longfield made a navigational error and collided with another Mosquito in the squadron. Longfield and his navigator, Flight Lieutenant Ralph Frederick Mills, were both killed, along with the crew of the Mosquito he collided with, piloted by Flight Officer Spencer Griffith Kimmel of the Royal Canadian Air Force. His replacement as commanding officer of 105 Squadron, Wing Commander John William Deacon, was killed the following day in a training accident in Norfolk. Longfield was buried at Rennes Eastern Communal Cemetery. His brother,

Tom Longfield Thomas Cuthbert Longfield (12 May 1906 – 21 December 1981) was an English cricketer. He played first-class cricket for several teams including Cambridge University, Kent County Cricket Club and Bengal. Longfield was born at High Halstow in ...

, was also a first-class cricketer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Longfield, Geoffrey 1909 births 1943 deaths People from Medway People educated at Aldenham School Royal Air Force wing commanders English cricketers Royal Air Force cricketers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Military personnel from Kent