Thomas Young Wallace (5 October 1916 – 11 November 1944) was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was credited with at least six aerial victories during the Second World War. From Johannesburg, Wallace joined the RAF in 1939 and once his training was completed in June the following year was posted 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 ...

to No. 610 Squadron. He lost his commission after a court-martial for being absent without leave but promptly joined 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 ...

. He was posted to No. 111 Squadron and flying a Hawker Hurricane fighter achieved a number of aerial victories during the Battle of Britain. He spent the next three years of his war service in non-operational roles until September 1944, when he was given command of No. 609 Squadron. He was killed in action while flying a Hawker Typhoon fighter over

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Johannesburg, South Africa, on 5 October 1916, Thomas Young Wallace was the son of William Francis and Ruth Agnes Wallace. He left South Africa to join the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1939, initially attending No. 7 Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School at Desford that August. Two months later, he was accepted into the RAF as a probationary acting

on a short service commission.

Second World War

In November 1939, Wallace went to No. 6 Flying Training School at

Little Rissington Little Rissington is a village and civil parish about south of Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 280. Parish church The oldest part of the Church of Engl ...

. After he finished his training in June 1940, he was posted to No. 610 Squadron. The squadron was based at Gravesend and operated the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighter. A few days after his arrival at the squadron, he went to Uxbridge for some short course training. During his time at Uxbridge, he was absent without leave for two days. Wallace was court-martialled and his commission in the RAF was terminated with effect from 1 July. Wallace promptly joined the

(RAFVR) with the rank of sergeant before later in July being posted to No. 111 Squadron. Equipped with Hawker Hurricane fighters and flying from Croydon; the squadron was training replacement pilots following a period of service over France.

Battle of Britain

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945

Soon after Wallace's arrival, No. 111 Squadron returned to operations, patrolling south-east England as the Battle of Britain increased in intensity. On 15 August Wallace shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters and damaged two more; the next day he claimed a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighter destroyed and probably shot down a Dornier Do 17 medium bomber. On 18 August, he destroyed a Do 17 and damaged two others. He damaged a Bf 109 on 24 August and then two days later shared in the destruction of a Do 17. On the final day of August, he shot down a Bf 110, damaged a second and claimed a Do 17 as a probable. On 4 September, he shot down a Bf 109 and damaged three others. Three days later, Wallace's Hurricane was damaged over the English Channel but he managed to get back to land before bailing out. His success in the previous three weeks saw him awarded the

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 ...

(DFM) in October. The published citation for his DFM read By the time of his DFM award, No. 111 Squadron had been transferred to Scotland, for a period of light duties following its intensive involvement in the Battle of Britain.

Later war service

Wallace shared in the damage of a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

medium bomber while flying east of Peterhead on 3 November but this was his final aerial victory as he was then moved to a non-operational posting. Promoted to warrant officer, he was again commissioned in March 1943 as a pilot officer and six months later received a further promotion to flying officer. In September 1944, Wallace was given command of No. 609 Squadron. The squadron was flying Hawker Typhoon fighters in France as part of the

Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

, attacking German transports and supporting the Allied ground forces as they advanced into Belgium. Wallace was killed by flak on 11 November 1944 while flying over Dunkirk. Wallace was buried at Pihen-les-Guines War Cemetery in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

, France. He is credited with having shot down six aircraft, with a share in one more destroyed. He also claimed two aircraft as probably destroyed and ten aircraft damaged, one of which was shared with other pilots. Two of the aircraft reported as damaged were identified as probables in his DFM citation.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Thomas South African World War II flying aces 1916 births 1944 deaths Royal Air Force squadron leaders Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal The Few Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Burials in Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in France Royal Air Force personnel who were court-martialled Aviators killed by being shot down Military personnel from Johannesburg Burials in France