Commander Rupert Arnold Brabner (29 October 1911 – 27 March 1945) was a British

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) who served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

as a pilot in 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 opposi ...

and became an

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

with 5.5 confirmed kills.

Politics

Brabner, from

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, was educated at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. By profession, he was a banker and a director of

Singer & Friedlander Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander was a financial services provider offering corporate and investment banking services to small and medium-sized companies, as well as wealth management services for high-net-worth individuals. Primary areas of act ...

Ltd. Brabner became a member of

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

for West

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

in 1937, and served until his death. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as MP for Hythe in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on 20 July 1939, and was later appointed as a government whip. He was appointed to be Joint Parliamentary

Under-Secretary of State for Air The Under-Secretary of State for Air was a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom Government, supporting the Secretary of State for Air in his role of managing the Royal Air Force. It was established on 10 January 1919, replacing the previou ...

in 1944. He and his sister Jean Gwenneth (also killed in World War II) are commemorated by a blue plaque on the family home at

. His sister was a surgeon at St. Giles Hospital who was killed in a German V-1 rocket attack on London.

War service

Brabner served as an officer of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War as a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

pilot. He served with 806 Squadron (November 1940 and March 1941),

805 __NOTOC__ Year 805 ( DCCCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Siege of Patras: Local Slavic tribes of the Peloponnese lay siege t ...

(early 1941) and

801 __NOTOC__ Year 801 ( DCCCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Emperor Charlemagne formally cedes Nordalbian territory (modern-day Schleswig-H ...

on (aircraft carrier), (RN Air Station, Yeovilton, Somerset), (aircraft carrier), (aircraft carrier), (aircraft carrier) and in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. From 11 August 1941 to September 1942, Brabner was the commanding officer of 801 Squadron serving aboard ''Eagle'', which was sunk on 11 August 1942. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

for his actions during Operation Harpoon. After surviving the loss of the ''Eagle'', he was appointed to the staff of

Clement Moody Admiral Sir Clement Moody, (31 May 1891 – 6 July 1960) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Fleet, from 1945 to 1946 and Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, from 1946 to 1948. Naval career Moody was appoin ...

, Vice-Admiral, Aircraft Carriers, for landings in North Africa. In 1943, Brabner was made naval assistant (technical) to the 5th Sea Lord. For his actions in August 1943 during Operation Pedestal, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

. Brabner was an air ace with five confirmed destroyed enemy aircraft, one shared destroyed, and one probable. Commander Brabner died age 33 when the Liberator aircraft taking him to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with Air Marshal Peter Drummond was lost off the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. He is commemorated on the

Lee-on-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...

Memorial on bay 6, panel 2CWGC entry – Rupert Brabner
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brabner, Rupert 1911 births 1945 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British World War II flying aces British bankers Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Fleet Air Arm aviators Members of London County Council Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 People educated at Felsted School People from Loughton People lost at sea Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II UK MPs 1935–1945 Military personnel from Essex