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 ...

Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum DFC (4 August 1921 – 18 July 2018) was a British

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

and author, best known for his participation in 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 ...

. Born an only child in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated 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 G ...

, Wellum was educated at

Forest School Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri La ...

Snaresbrook Snaresbrook is a district of East London in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located 8 miles east of Charing Cross. The name derives from a corruption of Sayers brook, a tributary of the River Roding that flows through Wanstead to the Ea ...

before serving in the

RAF 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 ...

. After the war he remained in the RAF until 1961, and later ran a

haulage Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk - from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to cloth ...

business. In the mid-1980s he retired and moved to

Mullion, Cornwall Mullion ( kw, Eglosvelyan) is a civil parish and village on the Lizard Peninsula in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The nearest town is Helston approximately to the north. Mullion civil parish encompasses the church town (now known si ...

, where he wrote down his wartime memoirs. In 2002 these were published as ''First Light''.

Early life

Geoffrey Wellum was born on 4 August 1921, an only child, in

, to Percy and Edith Wellum. His father, who had served at Gallipoli during WW1, ran an off-licence. Wellum was educated at

, where he captained the school cricket team.Guardian Obituary
Retrieved 25 September 2019

Career

Second World War

1939-40

Aged eighteen, Wellum signed up on a short-service commission with the

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 ...

in August 1939. The first aircraft he flew was the

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

at Desford airfield in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. Wellum's first solo flight was on 1 September 1939. Two days later Britain declared war on Germany.The Times Obituary
Retrieved 25 September 2019 After successfully completing the course he then went on to fly the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

RAF Little Rissington RAF Little Rissington is an RAF aerodrome and RAF station in Gloucestershire, England. It was once home to the Central Flying School, the Vintage Pair and the Red Arrows. Built during the 1930s, the station was opened in 1938 and closed in ...

with 6FTS. In May 1940, before his flight training was complete, Wellum was posted to 92 Squadron, which was a combat squadron flying

Spitfires 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 ...

. It was at 92 Squadron that he first encountered a Spitfire, and flew the aircraft for the first time. Later, in ''First Light'', he wrote of the experience: "I experienced an exhilaration that I cannot recall ever having felt before. It was like one of those wonderful dreams, a Peter Pan sort of dream". Wellum's first commanding officer was

Roger Bushell Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell (30 August 1910 – 29 March 1944) was a South African-born British military aviator. He masterminded the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III in 1944, but was one of the 50 escapees to be recaptured and sub ...

, (later immortalised in '' The Great Escape''). Bushell was shot down and captured almost immediately after Wellum's arrival, and was later executed by the Gestapo in the aftermath of the "Great Escape". Much later, in an unpublished interview with

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, Wellum recalled: "After I joined the squadron they went to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. Soon after Dunkirk, 92 Squadron was transferred from

RAF Duxford Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Muse ...

in Cambridgeshire to

RAF Pembrey Pembrey Sands Air Weapons Range is a Ministry of Defence air weapons range located near the village of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, northwest of Burry Port and south of Carmarthen, Wales. Adjacent to the weapons range site was a Royal Air Force ...

in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was there that Wellum began his combat career, "chasing isolated German aircraft all over the south-west". Wellum saw extensive action during the

. Although just 18, he was not the youngest pilot to fight in the battle, an honour which is currently held by Martyn Aurel King, born 15 October 1921 - ) despite being nicknamed "Boy" by his colleagues. On 9 September 1940, 92 Squadron was posted to

RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a smal ...

in Kent, in the centre of the fighting. Of the numerous Bf 109 fighters which escorted the German bombers, Wellum wrote "God, is there no end to them? The sun glints on their wings and bellies as they roll like trout in a stream streaking over smooth round pebbles. Trout streams, water meadows, waders, fast-flowing water, the pretty barmaid at the inn. Dear Jesus why this?" Wellum's close colleagues included

Brian Kingcome Group Captain Charles Brian Fabris Kingcome (31 May 1917 – 14 February 1994) was a British flying ace of the Second World War, most notable for serving with No. 92 Squadron in 1940 during the Battle of Britain. He frequently led the squadron on ...

., Curiously, in Wellum's book, Kingcome is spelled all the time as "Kingcombe". Wellum describes Kingcome as "the finest fighter pilot I ever flew with" and recommends his book ''A Willingness to Die'' Wellum claimed 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 ...

shot down on 11 September, and a quarter share in a

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 ...

downed on 27 September 1940. Two (and one shared)

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in partic ...

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 ...

s were claimed "damaged" during November 1940.

1941

In the summer of 1941 Wellum participated in more than 50 "sweeps" over occupied France (also known as

Circus offensive Circus was the codename given to operations by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War where bombers, with a mass escort of fighters, were sent over continental Europe to bring fighters into combat. These were usually formations o ...

s) flying escort for Blenheim and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

bomber formations, taking the war to the enemy. He claimed a Bf 109 shot down on 9 July 1941 over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

,'Those Other Eagles' Shores, 2004, page 635 and in August 1941, Wellum was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. By this time most of Wellum's original colleagues at 92 squadron had been killed or captured; he survived owing to a combination of luck and skill. Later, Wellum recalled: "You make yourself a difficult target. Never stay still, never fly straight and level, chuck it around. Quite often you'd find yourself surrounded by aeroplanes and then the sky would be empty. 'Where's everybody gone?’ It was then that you were in danger. It was the German you didn't see who shot you down." In the summer of 1941 Wellum was taken off active duty, and assigned to a training squadron: No 52 Operational Training Unit at

Aston Down Aston Down is in Gloucestershire, South West England, east of Minchinhampton, southeast of Stroud and west of Cirencester. The nearest settlement is the large village of Chalford, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest. The airfield was used ...

, flying

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. Disappointed to be leaving frontline service, Wellum initially found the experience to be "almost unbearable". Eventually, Wellum relaxed: "I found a new peace and...gradually I seemed to unwind. I even began to enjoy eachingpupils".''First Light'', Chapter 14

1942

In February 1942, he was reassigned to combat duties, being transferred to 65 Squadron based at Debden, where he was appointed a Flight Commander in March 1942. By now, the Luftwaffe was flying a new fighter aircraft, the

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

, superior in all but turn radius to the

Spitfire V Supermarine Spitfire variants powered by early model Rolls-Royce Merlin engines mostly utilised single-speed, single-stage superchargers. The British Supermarine Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft of the Second World War to fi ...

, and the squadron took heavy losses. "Quite simply, the Fw 190 outclasses our Spitfire 5Bs. It is 40mph faster, has very good armament and a very high rate of roll". In air combat over France, Wellum's number two, Freddie Haskett, was killed by a Fw 190, and Wellum himself survived only by "throwing the spit all over the sky without really looking round". At this time he began to develop severe headaches, "a splitting headache pain across my eyes". In July 1942, Wellum was sent to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where he participated in

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...

, a convoy mission to carry supplies for the relief of the besieged garrison at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Wellum led a flight of eight Spitfires to be carried on aircraft carrier , sailing from the Clyde to the Mediterranean, and then land them on the island. On 11 August 1942, Wellum led his flight of eight Spitfires, flying without ammunition to save weight (the .303 cartridges were replaced with cigarettes), and landed at

Luqa Luqa ( mt, Ħal Luqa, , ) is a town located in the Southern Region of Malta, 4.3 km away from the capital Valletta. With a population of 5,945 as of March 2014, it is a small but densely populated settlement which is typical of Malta's old ...

airfield on

, joining 145 Squadron on air defence duties. The convoy was heavily damaged by German and Italian forces, and many ships were sunk. Wellum witnessed the arrival at

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Harbour of the few remaining ships, including, last of all, the desperately-needed oil tanker

SS Ohio SS ''Ohio'' was an oil tanker built for The Texas Company (later Texaco). The ship was launched on 20 April 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. The United Kingdom requisitioned her to re-supply the island for ...

, barely afloat, escorted by two destroyers. ''"As the three ships come through the harbour entrance, just about maintaining steerage way, the cheering of the Maltese who have to welcome her in slowly subsides until there is absolute silence. Some of them men, mostly elderly, take off their hats and the womenfolk in their black hoods and cloaks cross themselves. From the fort a bugle sounds the "Still" and not a soul moves"''. On Malta, Wellum was diagnosed with severe

sinusitis Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is inflammation of the nasal mucosa, mucous membranes that line the paranasal sinuses, sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include thick Mucus#Respiratory system, nasal mucus, a nasal congestion, plugg ...

and battle fatigue, after three years' of intensive frontline flying. After surgery, he returned from Malta to Britain via Gibraltar, and later became a test pilot for new aircraft, such as the new

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 ...

fighter-bomber, based at

Gloster Aircraft The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963. Founded as the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited during the First World War, with the aircraft construction activities of H H Martyn & Co Ltd of Chelt ...

1943

After his return to England, Wellum did not return to combat duties, instead finishing the war as a gunnery instructor. In 1943, he married Grace Neil, his wartime girlfriend, with whom he had three children.Geoffrey Wellum: Prize fighter

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

4-June-2002 Life for Wellum at the end of his career as a fighter pilot was never be quite the same. "I am certain that my time came with my three years as an operational fighter pilot in our nation's finest hour. My only regret is that it had to happen so early in life".''First Light'', Chapter 16

After the war

After the war, Wellum stayed with the RAF, serving first as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in the Second Tactical Air Force in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, where he flew jet aircraft such as the

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

, the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

and the

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

. He was also stationed at

RAF Gaydon Royal Air Force Gaydon or more simply RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. RAF Gaydon opened in 1942 and is known for its role during the ...

, and in East Anglia. This was followed by a four-year tour with 192 Squadron. The family settled in Epping, Essex. Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1960 and took over the family haulage business. Later he became a commodities broker.

Personal life

He and his wife were divorced in 1975.

Retirement

In the mid-1980s, with the family business in

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

and his

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

pending, Wellum retired, as he had promised himself in his youth, to

The Lizard The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

peninsula,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, settling in

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

. He joined the local choir, and became deputy harbourmaster. To prove to himself that he had actually done something with his life, Wellum took his wartime notebooks and wrote a

longhand {{Short pages monitor