John Gillespie Magee

I am possibly the only living pilot to have flown operationally with John Gillespie Magee, author of World War 11’s most famous sonnet, “High Flight”.

Two Sergeants and one Pilot Officer joined 412 Canadian Spitfire Squadron at Digby, Lincs. During the last days of September 1941. A.P.L.Smith , and I were the sergeants pilots and Magee was the pilot officer Smith and Magee were both killed in flying accidents while I completed two tours of operations , 26 months in 412 squadron.

Smith and I, both from Saskatchewan, received our wings at Yorkton, Sask. in June and operational training at 61 O T U at Heston, where Sailor Malan was the Wing Commander.

Shortly after joining, the squadron moved to a satellite grass airfield at Wellingore. Here the officers were billeted in a rambling old house called the Grange, while the sergeants and airmen occupied a three- story stone building nearing castle-size, previously part of a large estate before being expropriated by the RAF. Our aerodrome was a farmer’s grass field about 800 yards square, fairly close to the southeast corner of Wellingore village.

The squadron had four non-flying officers: an adjutant, a medical officer, and engineering officer and an intelligence officer. Hart Massey, diminutive son of Vincent Massey, Canada’s war-time High Commisioner in Britain and later Canada’s first native born Governor General. While attending Oxford University, just prior to the war, Hart’s diminutive size earned him the coxswain position in their rowing scull when Oxford defeated Cambridge in one of their legendary races.

Squadron operations those days were mainly training flights and long boring convoy patrols off the East coast .However occasionally the squadron would fly south to Mansion or West Malling to join two other squadrons for a sweep over France The squadron received its first real baptism of fire on its fourth sweep on November 8 when tasked to give withdrawal cover to 12 Blenheim medium bombers which were to bomb the locomotive shops at Lille.

Briefing had been by an aging wing commander who when reaching the French coast led the wing through a poorly executed maneuver, causing the 36 aircraft to disintegrated into a loose beehive. Sections, pairs and single aircraft flew around in an endless left hand orbit and were soon attacked by 109 F’s which from time to time would down one of our spitfires. During the melee a voice believed to be that of the wing leader was heard to say “I guess I am too old for this boys”. He did not return.

Kit Bushell, 412 squadron’s recently appointed squadron leader and two other pilots, Owen Pickell and Ken Denkman became the squadron’s first casualties. This was Magee’s first and only operational sweep.

On December 11th the squadron took part in a wing formation exercise above cloud, with an RAF squadron from Kirton in Lindsay , a fighter station located about 18 miles north of Lincoln . When the exercise was completed Squadron Leader Morrison ordered the squadron into line astern and dove through a hole in the clouds. Unfortunately, the hole was right in Cranwell airfield’s circuit and Magee’s spitfire collided with an Airspeed Oxford training aircraft. Magee baled out but was too low for his parachute to fully open and he died in a field near Cranwell. The crew aboard the Oxford also died

In February the squadron flew south to Biggin Hill to join more than 400 RAF fighters providing cover for bombers and torpedo-carrying Swordfish attacking the German battleships Scharhorst and Geisenau when they broke out from Brest and were making their way up the English Channel.

The squadron’s next major operation took place on March 15, 1942. Led by F/L Bill Napier 10 aircraft attacked five German E boats near the Dutch coast. When first sighted one aircraft was delegated to make a low pass to positively make an identification, friend or foe.. When the E boats opened fire Napier ordered everyone to attack. When everyone had expended all their ammunition, one boat had been sunk and the rest were dead in the water, smoking heavily. This action earned the squadron a letter of commendation from the British Admiralty.

May 1 1942 saw 412 squadron begin 17 moves in England before embarking for France on June 19, 1944.

The first moves was to Martlesham Heath, Suffolk where we continued with convoy patrols and the odd sweep. Readiness duty served from dawn to dusk was quite arduous as double daylight saving time made a short night.

In less than a month the squadron was on the move again, to North Weald