British officers  |  RAF  |  home

Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve) (RAF(VR)) Officers
1939-1945

 

Looking for details on a RAF(VR) officer not listed here yet?
Just e-mail me, and I might be able to help out.
Of course, any additions, corrections etc. can also be e-mailed.

For detailed biographies of key RAF personnel (Air Commodore and higher) there is already an excellent website: www.rafweb.org
Only RAF officers of ranks below Air Commodore will be shown here.


A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

F    

top

Fahie,
William Cusack
W.C. Fahie
Married (02.06.1945, London) Sen.Cmdr. Pauline Mary de Peauly Gower (22.07.1910-02.03.1947); twin sons.
27.04.1919
Dublin, Ireland
-
06/07.1971
Johannesburg, South Africa
P/O (prob)
29.09.1939 [75521]
P/O
29.09.1940
(WS) F/O
11.03.1940
(T) F/Lt.
01.12.1941
(WS) F/Lt.
30.11.1942
(A) Sq.Ldr.
?
(T) Sq.Ldr.
01.01.1945
(A) W/Cdr.
?
Mention in Despatches MID
01.01.1943
?
Mention in Despatches MID
17.09.1943
?
Mention in Despatches MID
08.06.1944
?
Bronze Star Medal BSM
13.09.1949
?
29.09.1939


first commission, RAFVR (Administrative and Special Duties Branch)
24.04.1940


transferred, Technical Branch
Falconer,
Hugh Mallory
H.M. Falconer
Residence: (1970) Bournemouth.
12.08.1910
Carlisle district, Cumberland
-
 
Army:  
2nd Lt. 28.08.1930 (removed from the Army for absence without leave 25.07.1932)
RAFVR:  
(A) P/O (prob) 06.04.1940 [78696]
P/O (prob) 19.05.1940
P/O 06.04.1941
(WS) F/O 14.05.1941
(WS) F/Lt. 14.05.1942 (reld 21.09.1948; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
(T) Sq.Ldr. ?
Education: Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
28.08.1930 - 25.07.1932 commissioned, Royal Corps of Signals
06.04.1940     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
? - 29.01.1943 served Special Operations Executive (SOE) as signals officer at Gibraltar [captured 29.01.1943 after landing with two other agents in the Gulf of Hammarnet, Tunisia; they had travelled from Malta on MTB 307 and were engaged on SOE mission Operation Felice II]
29.01.1943 - 05.1945 in German captivity (in concentration camps Sachsenhausen & Buchenwald, being liberated at Tyrol)
Cement engineer.
Farquharson,
James Miller
J.M. Farquharson
Married; four sons, one daughter.
10.06.1922
Kingston, Jamaica
-
25.06.2003
Trinidad and Tobago
Ldg.Acm.
? [1388674]
P/O (prob)
07.01.1943 [133249]
(WS) F/O
07.07.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
07.01.1945 (reld 27.03.1947)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
15.05.1945
* [this and other medals donated to the Military and Aviation Museum in Trinidad and Tobago]
* This officer has completed a large number of sorties over various battle areas in Burma. He has displayed the greatest keenness to engage the enemy and has been responsible for the. destruction of mudh enemy equipment. On one occasion he took part in an attack on a force of Japanese tanks, 13 of which were destroyed. In this spirited action, Flight Lieutenant Farquharson pressed home his attacks with
exceptional determination.
07.01.1943


first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
(1945?)


Hurricane pilot, 20 Squadron RAF (Burma)
Fawcett,
James Kenning
J.K. Fawcett
Married ((09?).1948, Dartford district, Kent) Barbara E. Dell.
30.10.1910
Rugby
-
(06?).1972

Newark district, Lincolnshire
F/Sgt. ? [1577735]
P/O (prob) 20.04.1945 [197277]
(WS) F/O 20.10.1945 (emgcy) (reld 30.10.1955)
20.04.1945     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
      bomb aimer/navigator on Lancasters and did his training in Winnipeg, Canada
 
Feilding,
the Hon. Hugh Richard
H.R. Feilding
Son of Rudolph Edmund Aloysius Feilding, Viscount Feilding (1885-1937) and Agnes Imelda Mary Harding (1885-1937).
Brother of Lt. the Hon. David Charles Feilding, Maj. the Earl of Denbigh, Capt. the Hon. Basil Egerton Feilding & Capt. the Hon. Henry Anthony Feilding, MC.
Married (28.03.1944) Sheila Katharine Bolton (died 10.04.2001), daughter of Brig. Charles Arthur Bolton; one son.
15.07.1920
-
03.04.1996
Yorkshire
Sgt.
? [1162486]
P/O (prob)
05.03.1941 [64882]
P/O
05.03.1942
(WS) F/O
05.03.1942
(WS) F/Lt.
05.03.1943
(A) Sq.Ldr.
(1945?)
Mention in Despatches MID
14.06.1945
?
Education: Ampleforth College
05.03.1941


first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA).
Fenwick,
Charles Raymond
C.R. Fenwick C.R. Fenwick
Son of ... Fenwick, and ... Lambord.
03.11.1920
Louth district, Leicestershire / Lincolnshire / Rutland
-
03.1999
York district, Yorkshire
Sgt. ? [748345]
P/O (prob) 07.09.1940 [85648]
(WS) F/O 07.12.1941
(WS) F/Lt. 07.12.1942 (reld 25.08.1946; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
(T) Sq.Ldr. ?
07.09.1940     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
29.09.1940     joined 610 Squadron RAF
Figgins,
David Peter
D.P. Figgins
Son of James Forrester Figgins, Lieutenant of the Coast Guard, located in Ireland.
Brother of R.Adm. James Figgins, RN.
Married; two sons.
06.1889
Drogheda, Co Louth
-
11.1979
Army:

2nd Lt.
12.10.1915
Lt.
1916 ? (reld 30.09.1921)
A/Capt.
17.11.1917-10.05.1919
Hon. Capt.
30.09.1921
RAFVR:

(A) P/O (prob)
28.03.1941
P/O
1942?  (reld 04.07.1944)
Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) MBE
01.01.1955
New Year 55
12.10.1915


commissioned, The London Regiment



survived gassing at the Battle of Paschendale
01.02.1918
-
10.05.1919
Company Commander, 18th Battalion The London Regiment
Principal school teacher, Belfast.
28.03.1941


first commission, RAFVR (Training Branch)
28.03.1941
-
04.07.1944
training instructor
Principal, Antrim Road Primary School, Belfast.
Finucane,
Arthur John
A.J. Finucane (Photo courtesy of Mr Martin Finucane)
Son of Henry Thomas Finucane and Dorothy Davies, of Fulham, London.

medal bar at RAF Museum
05.06.1912
Fulham, London
-
16.11.1977
Radcliff Infirmary, Oxford, Oxfordshire
Sgt.
? [1264072]
P/O (prob)
02.01.1942 [118188]
(WS) F/O
02.01.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
02.01.1944
F/O
11.10.1948, seniority 24.07.1946
F/Lt.
19.06.1952 (retd 12.09.1964; own request)
Member of the Royal Victorian Order MVO
01.01.1972
New Year 72
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
11.02.1944
*
1939-1945 Star 39|45St
?
?
Atlantic Star AtlSt
?
?
Defence Medal Def Med
?
?
British War Medal 1939-1945 BWM
?
?
GenSM
?
& clasp "Cyprus"
* As captain of aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Finucane had taken part in numerous operational sorties, invariably displaying skill and courage of a high order. In November 1943, during an anti-submarine sortie in the Bay of Biscay, this pilot's aircraft was attacked by four Junkers 88s. A combat lasting 45 minutes ensured in which the persistent attacks of the enemy aircraft were beaten off by the skilful airmanship of Flight Lieutenant Finucane and the efficient coordination of his crew. Three of the enemy aircraft were damaged. In addition to the distinguished flying by this officer on that occasion and again a month later when he drove off a Focke Wulf 200 from the vicinity of an aircraft dinghy containing survivors, Flight Lieutenant Finucane displayed exceeptional skill in December 1943 when he flew his aircraft safely back having lost a propeller and the use of the port engine. He made a masterly landing in the dark alongside a boat, with the aid of an Aldis lamp.
02.01.1942

first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1942?)
-
(1944)
flew Sunderlands with 228 Squadron RAF
11.10.1948
-
31.07.1952
short service commission RAF, and transferred to the Secretarial Branch
01.08.1952
-
12.09.1964
permanent commission
 
Fisher,
Basil Mark
B.M. Fisher
Son of Capt. George Kenneth Thompson Fisher, Norfolk Regiment (died from wounds 1917, aged 38), and Janet Katherine Mary Anson (died 1938).
(12?).1916
Kensington district, Greater London
-
15.08.1940
[age 33]
[Eton (St John) Church Cemetery, Buckinghamshire, grave 41]
P/O
26.01.1938 [72382]
F/O
26.01.1940

Photo courtesy of Mr Dave Cotton

26.01.1938

commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
?
-
15.08.1940
pilot, 111 Squadron RAF (Croydon)
[1751 hrs at Selsey Bill, Hurricane P3944 was shot down while on patrol by a Ju-88 and exploded; pilot baled out of burning plane and was killed]
Fisher,
Douglas *
D. Fisher
* uncertain at the moment whether this is his full name or not; even uncertain whether he was RAFVR or RAF
1921 ?
-
18.02.2007
[aged 86]
F/Lt.
?
?

commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)



29 Squadron RAF
Captain of Caledonian Airways.
Fitzgerald,
Arthur Marcus
A.M. Fitzgerald A.M. Fitzgerald
A.M. Fitzgerald A.M. Fitzgerald
Son (with two brothers) of Gerald Fitzgerald, and Harriet McGuire.

13.02.1923
Newport, Monmouthshire
-
28.08.1943
(KIA) [age 20]
[Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany, 9.J.22]
Sgt.
? [1316799]
P/O (prob)
09.06.1943 [148128]
04.04.1941
 
 
joined RAF (Oxford Reserve)
1941
-
1942
training in the UK & North America (Turner Field, Carleston Field, Gunter Field and Craig Field)
09.06.1943

first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
09.06.1943
-
28.08.1943
207 Squadron RAF (Langar, Nottinghamshire)
[flew 13 operations, first one being 12/13.06 bombing Bochum, a memorable one being 17/18.08 bombing the V-weapons site Peenemünde, and the last one bombing Nuremburg; Lancaster MKIII (ED627), EM-N was shot down by a German nightfighter aircraft, piloted by Hauptmann Ludwig Meister near the town of Schwäbisch Hall, Germany before it had reached its target]
Flack,
Leslie John
L.J. Flack
?
-
1983
Sgt.
? [740145]
P/O (prob)
29.08.1940, seniority 15.08.1940 [84705]
P/O
29.08.1941, seniority 15.08.1941
(WS) F/O
29.08.1941, seniority 15.08.1941
(A) F/Lt.
?
(WS) F/Lt.
29.08.1942, seniority 15.08.1942
(T) Sq.Ldr.
?
Air Force Cross AFC
11.06.1942
?
29.08.1940


first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
?
-
09.07.1957
on the Emergency List (relinquished commission, retaining the rank of Sq.Ldr.)
Foskett,
Leslie Bernard
R.J.A. Ford
17.08.1921
-
Ldg.Acm.
? [1152499]
P/O (prob)
01.01.1943 [150047]
(WS) F/O (prob)
01.07.1943
(WS) F/Lt.
01.01.1945
F/O
23.01.1946
F/Lt.
01.07.1946
(A) Sq.Ldr.
(1952)
Sq.Ldr.
01.07.1952
W/Cdr.
01.01.1958
Gp.Capt.
01.01.1965 (retd 17.08.1976)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE
13.06.1964
HM's birthday 64
Air Force Cross AFC
05.06.1952
?
01.01.1943


first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
23.01.1946


extended service, RAF
15.04.1947


permanent commission, RAF (dated 01.07.1946)
Foster,
Joseph Eric Arthur
J.E.A. Foster
Married 1st ((06?).1941, Wigan district, Greater Manchester / Lancashire) Doris Winstanley.
Married 2nd (1950s, London?) Mignonne, a French beautician; no children.

11.11.1903
Hendon district, London
-
26.03.2006
Bishop's Cleeve, Gloucestershire
(A) P/O (prob) 09.03.1940 [77933]
P/O (prob) 20.04.1940
P/O 09.03.1941
(WS) F/O 20.04.1941
(WS) F/Lt. 20.04.1942 (emgcy list) (reld 10.02.1954; retaining rank of Sq.Ldr.)
(T) Sq.Ldr. 1944?
Mention in Despatches MID 01.01.1946 ?
Education: St Paul's school; Loughborough College.
Worked as a trichologist, while learning to fly, building an aeroplane, and mountaineering.
09.03.1940     commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergengy commission]
? - 14.06.1940 navigator, 38 Squadron RAF
[His Wellington IA bomber [N2953 HD-R] had taken off 22:24 hrs 14.06.1940 from Marham for an operation against the Black Forest. They were shot down over Belgium, Foster fell into a tree, broke both his legs and was captured soon afterwards by German soldiers. Three fellow crew members were also captured, two lost their lives.]
14.06.1940 - 1944? POW in German captivity
[Escaped seven times from POW camps, sometimes dressed as a German officer.  He was taken to a German prisoner of war camp at Homark, near the Polish border, and tried to break out by shinning down a fire escape. At Spangenberg Castle, which was surrounded by a moat, he sneaked out disguised as a member of the Hitler Youth. He took a train to Switzerland but was caught during a chase. He was taken to the Polish camp of Schubin, where he spent eight months digging escape tunnels, which guards discovered. He was then taken to Stalag Luft III camp on which The Great Escape was based. He convinced his captors he was insane and was sent home.]
Ran a successful West Country travel agency specialising in Alpine holidays. In retirement the couple moved to Spain (where his wfie died in 1983), returning to Gloucestershire in 1998. Chairman of the parish council of Bishop's Cleeve for many years.
Published
: Life hangs by a silken thread : an autobiography (1992).
Fox,
Sidney Horace
S.H. Fox
Son of James Richard Fox, and Annie Clark, of Woking, Surrey.
Husband of Bessie Gwendoline Fox, of Woking.
(12?).1914
Kingston district, Surrey
-
25.10.1942
(KIA) [age 27]
[Nant-le-Grand Communal Cemetery, France, grave 1]
Sgt.
? [741012]
P/O (prob)
05.03.1941, seniority 26.02.1941 [61467]
P/O
05.03.1942, seniority 26.02.1941
(WS) F/O
05.03.1942, seniority 26.02.1942
(WS) F/Lt.
30.09.1942
(A?) Sq.Ldr.
?
Distinguished Flying Medal DFM
11.02.1941
?
Education: Woking County Grammar School for Boys, Surrey.
05.03.1941


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
(1941)


pilot, 83 Squadron RAF
?
-
25.10.1942
pilot, 103 Squadron RAF
Francis,
Robin Keith
R.K. Francis (Photo courtesy of Mr Ian Scarr)
29.01.1918
Cordoba, La Playosa,
Argentine

-
27.06.1943
(MIA) [age 25]
[Malta Memorial,
panel 7, column 1]
Wt.Offr.
? [964971]
P/O (prob)
01.01.1943 [141729]
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
20.06.1944
with effect from 26.06.1943 [posthumously]
Electrician. Served in the Argentine Navy as a 1st Class Electrician, 01.07.1936-01.07.1939.
26.04.1940
-
31.12.1942
volunteered RAFVR (being a British subject, born in Argentine), serving in the ranks before being commissioned; recommended for training as a pilot; awarded his Flying Badge 05.12.1940
01.01.1943


first commission, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
27.06.1943
14 Squadron RAF
[his aircraft Marauder Mk. IA FK363 (G) went missing from a reconnaissance mission]
French,
John Kenneth Gillman
"Ken" / "Paddy"
J.K.G. French (Photo courtesy of Mr Barry Howard)
?
-
F/Sgt.
? [1390866]
P/O (prob)
12.04.1944 [179034]
P/O
12.10.1944
(WS) F/O
12.10.1944
(WS) F/Lt.
12.04.1946
F/O
07.04.1949
F/Lt.
28.04.1952 (reld 07.04.1959)
12.04.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]



234 Squadron RAF



66 Squadron RAF
07.04.1949
 
 
commissioned, RAFVR (Reconstituted Section) (General Duties Branch)
Fry,
Charles Rawdon Keith
C.R.K. Fry
Son of Charles Rawdon Manders Fry and of Florence Magdalen Fry (née Scudamore), of Seaford, Sussex.
1922 ?
-
04.10.1941
[age 19]
[Horley (St Bartholomew) New Churchyard, Surrey, A.O.3]
Ldg.Acm.
? [1269153]
P/O (prob)
09.07.1941 [101570]
Education: Hailebury College, Hertford
09.07.1941


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
04.10.1941
610 Squadron RAF
Fry,
Patrick John
"Pat"
P.J. Fry
19.12.1922
-
14.10.2007
Hove, Sussex
Wt.Off.
? [1386077]
P/O (prob)
26.11.1944 [189130]
(WS) F/O
26.05.1945
F/O
30.05.1946, seniority 26.11.1945
F/Lt.
26.05.1948
Sq.Ldr.
01.07.1955 (retd 01.02.1961)
Distinguished Flying Cross DFC
06.03.1945
*
Croix de Guerre (France) CdeG
?
**
* Pilot Officer Fry is a keen and competent pilot. He has completed very many operational missions, including numerous attacks on enemy shipping. On a recent occasion he took part in an attack against shipping in the harbour at Den Helder. Opposition was intense. Nevertheless, Pilot Officer Fry pressed home his attack with great courage and determination, setting a very fine example.
** For sinking two German boats on a Bordeaux river, after surprising them by swinging round and flying in over land.
26.11.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch)
(1945)


236 Squadron RAF
30.05.1946


extension of service for 7 years, RAF (General Duties Branch)
01.10.1950


permanent commission, RAF (General Duties Branch)
Futcher,
Stanley Montague
S.M. Futcher
Son of Montague Adolphus Futcher, and Catherine Vilven May Grose, of Horsell, Surrey.
(06?).1923
Axbridge district, Somerset
-
05.07.1944
(KIA) [age 21]
[Runnymede Memorial, panel 211]
F/Sgt.
? [1320403]
P/O (prob)
10.06.1944 [177861]
Education: Woking County Grammar School for Boys, Surrey.
10.06.1944


commissioned, RAFVR (General Duties Branch) [emergency commission]
?
-
05.07.1944
106 Squadron RAF
[Lancaster ME832 ZN-J was airborne 2325 4Jul44 from Metheringham to destroy the flying-bomb storage site at St Leu d'Esserent; crashed 0130 5Jul44 some 2 km SW of the village of St-Germain-la-Poterie (Oise), 8 km WSW from Beauvais.]
       

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z