Lt. Col. Maurice Clinton Hilton-Barber, (8 August 1912 – 11 August 1975) was a South African

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Hilton-Barber was born in Craddock, the son of Harry Atherstone Hilton-Barber and Celia Andrews. Barber served during World War II in the Squadron 250 of the RAF on the Western front in 1942. He went on to command Squadron 450 / RAAF November 1942 until March 1943. Although it was considered to have achieved 5 wins, it seems that this total is only 3. He received a DFC in February 1943 and was transferred to the SAAF with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, he became the Federal Director of Civil Aviation in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. His two brothers, Roger and Harry, were also fighter pilots. He had two sons,

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and Geoff, who went blind from a genetic condition but became adventurers.

Awards

* Distinguished Flying Cross on 23 February 1943 as ''Acting Squadron Leader'' of the No. 450 (RAAF) Squadron,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

* Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE),

1962 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1962 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the oc ...

Distinguished Flying Cross citation

Barber's official DFC citation says:

During operations in the Western Desert this officer displayed great skill and unflagging devotion to duty. As flight and squadron commander his steady judgment and high morale proved a tower of strength. In 1 flight during the battle of El Alamein, Squadron Leader Barber destroyed 3 Junkers 87's. His example has been worthy of high praise.

References

External links

TracesOfWar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Maurice C. H. 1912 births 1975 deaths South African military personnel of World War II South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South African people of English descent Officers of the Order of the British Empire