Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

John Francis Durham "Tim" Elkington (23 December 1920 – 1 February 2019) was a British

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) fighter pilot who flew during 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 ...

, and was one of the last surviving aircrew known as "

The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never was so much owed by so ma ...

Early life

Elkington was born in

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

on 23 December 1920, the only child of Alan Durham Elkington and his wife Isabel Frances (née Griffin). He was educated at Hockley Heath and

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

Military career

Elkington joined the Royal Air Force in September 1939 as a

Flight Cadet A flight cadet is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombardie ...

at the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

. Between October 1939 and April 1940 he trained at No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School at

RAF Ansty Royal Air Force Ansty or RAF Ansty is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Coventry city centre, Warwickshire, England, north-west of Rugby, Warwickshire. The airfield was opened in 1936 and after training many pupils closed in 19 ...

. Elkington then undertook further training with No. 17 Service Flight Training School at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

. He was commissioned on 14 July 1940 and joined

No. 1 Squadron RAF Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. Th ...

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

a day later and flew

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 ...

s during the

. His first confirmed "kill" came on 15 August 1940, downing 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 ...

. A day later he was shot down and wounded on 16 August 1940 (research shows that he was shot down by

Helmut Wick Helmut Paul Emil Wick (5 August 1915 – 28 November 1940) was a German flying ace of World War II. He was a wing commander in the Luftwaffe (air force) of Nazi Germany, and the fourth recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak L ...

). After recuperating at the Royal West Sussex Hospital at

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

he rejoined No. 1 Squadron on 1 October 1940 at

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...

. After a spell with No. 55 Operational Training Unit as an instructor, in late May 1941 he joined

No. 601 Squadron RAF Number 601 (County of London) Squadron is a squadron of the RAF Reserves, based in London. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, during which the first Americans to fly in World War II were members of the squadron. Reactivated in 2017 ...

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

. He was promoted to Flying Officer on 14 July 1941. From there he joined

No. 134 Squadron RAF No. 134 Squadron RAF was a part of the Royal Air Force which was formed as a light bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter squadron in World War II. History First World War No. 134 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 1 March 191 ...

RAF Leconfield Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield or D ...

in July 1941. On 12 August 1941 the squadron embarked on and took off from the carrier on 7 September for an airfield near

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

. Until mid-October 1941 Elkington took part in escorting bombers and also trained Russian pilots to fly the Hurricane. On 6 October 1941 Elkington shot down a German bomber

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

over Vayenga. He returned from Russia in January 1942. In April 1942 he joined the

Merchant Ship Fighter Unit The Merchant Ship Fighter Unit (MSFU) was a Royal Air Force operational aircraft unit based at RAF Speke, in south Liverpool, now Liverpool John Lennon Airport during World War II. The role of the MSFU was to provide pilots, crews, support person ...

(MSFU) at RAF Speke until August 1942. After a short period with No. 1 Squadron again, in September 1942, Elkington joined No. 539 Squadron RAF at

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland. The airfield was operational initial ...

flying Hurricanes alongside

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

aircraft on night operations. He was promoted

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 ...

14 October 1942. After 539 Squadron was disbanded in late January 1943, he joined No. 197 Squadron RAF at

RAF Drem 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 ...

flying the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...

. After operations from

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

he was posted to

No. 67 Squadron RAF The name No. 67 Squadron has been used by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force for two quite different units. History World War I During the First World War, No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps – formed at Point Cook in Janua ...

Alipore Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...

, Calcutta in December 1943. When the tour expired, Elkington spent three years commanding AFDU at

RAF Amarda Road Amarda Road Airstrip, also known as Rasgovindpur Airstrip is a former wartime airfield located near Rasgovindpur village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, India. It was used by the Royal Indian Air Force during World War II. History The Amar ...

and he returned home in October 1946.

Post war

Elkington had a long and varied career, including a tour with an

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

Squadron in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was promoted to

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in 1946 and

in 1961. Elkington retired from the Royal Air Force on 23 December 1975.

Later life

After leaving the RAF, Elkington set up an art and picture-framing business.

References

External links

Aces of WW2 page on Tim (with Tim's notes)Tim Elkington's Hurricane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elkington, Tim 1920 births 2019 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force airmen The Few People from Edgbaston People educated at Bedford School Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands