Thomas Clifford "Tony" Iveson DFC AE (11 September 1919 – 5 November 2013) was a

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 ...

pilot and veteran of 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 opposin ...

, and one of

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 ...

. Iveson was born and brought up in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

RAF career

Iveson 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 ...

in September 1938 as an Airman u/t pilot and learned to fly prior to the outbreak of war. Iveson was trained at No. 5 Flying Training School,

Sealand SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...

and then converted to Spitfires at No. 57 Operational Training Unit, Hawarden before serving as a Sergeant Pilot on

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 Griff ...

fighters with

No. 616 Squadron RAF No. 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron is an active Reserve unit of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) assigned to the RAF ISTAR Force at RAF Waddington. It was originally formed as a unit of the British Auxiliary Air Force in 1938, active throu ...

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 ...

joining the Squadron at Kenley on 2 September 1940. He survived ditching his Spitfire I (L1036) into the sea on 16 September 1940 after he ran out of fuel chasing a Junkers Ju 88 off Cromer. He was picked up by a Motor Boat and landed at

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

. He was posted to

No. 92 Squadron RAF Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 (East India) Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Ro ...

on 11 October 1940. After a spell on training duties in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

he was commissioned in May 1942. After a course at No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School,

RAF Syerston Royal Air Force Station Syerston, commonly known as merely RAF Syerston , is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during the ...

he went to join

No. 617 Squadron RAF Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during Operation Chastise ag ...

the Dam Busters in July 1944 as a

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 ...

. Promoted to Squadron Leader in October 1944, he took part in some 27 operations, including the sinking of the

German battleship Tirpitz ''Tirpitz'' was the second of two s built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), the ship ...

and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in March 1945 for keeping his bomber airborne in January 1945 and landing it in Shetland after half the crew had bailed out over Bergen. Iveson was posted 'tour-expired' from 617 Squadron on 16 February 1945.

Post RAF career

He retired from the RAF on 12 July 1949 then became Chairman of the Bomber Command Association. He was employed with

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

, and worked in corporate and public relations. He was involved in a number of privatisations and the launch of EuroDisney. Iveson was co-author of a book about the Lancaster bomber. At the age of 89, he became the oldest man to fly one of the historic planes. He was married twice with three daughters and one son.

References

External links

Photograph of Tony Iveson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iveson, Tony The Few Military personnel from York 1919 births 2013 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II fighter pilots British World War II bomber pilots Shot-down aviators Royal Air Force squadron leaders

RAF career

Post RAF career

See also

References

External links