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In August 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [18], To mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the BBC commissioned a one-off drama for TV called First Light, based on Wellum's book of the same name. Geoffrey Wellum, who has died aged 96, was the author of one of the most gripping personal accounts of aerial warfare ever written. He is now known world-wide. [11], The convoy was heavily damaged by German and Italian forces, and many ships were sunk. The unmistakable engine tone of a Spitfire could be heard echoing over Mullion yesterday for a flypast in memory of Geoffrey Wellum. With 192 Squadron at RAF Watton in the mid-1950s, he flew more than 50 special operations at high altitude, gathering intelligence about Soviet air defences and Egyptian radar capability in the run-up to the Suez crisis. "It wasn't going to happen to you," he says, looking me firmly in the eye. Died. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. There, Wellum made his first sorties, pursuing a Junkers Ju 88 German bomber as far as Weymouth, Dorset, and losing it in the clouds; attempting night-fighting around Bristol; and chasing isolated German aircraft all over the south-west. Geoffrey Wellum recalls the RAF's 'finest hour'. Geoffrey Harris Augustus Wellum was born at Walthamstow, on August 14 1921. [3] In 1943, he married Grace Neil, his wartime girlfriend, with whom he had three children. His marriage and business collapsed. In 1943 he married Grace Neill and the couple had three children. After a spell as adjutant at RAF Gaydon, a V bomber base, his final posting was to North Luffenham. The dangers were huge. In this film Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC, a veteran of the Battle of Britain, narrates the Airman's Grace. By what name was First Light (2010) officially released in Canada in English? After the Battle of Britain, the squadron continued to fly from Biggin Hill, and during November Wellum damaged at least three enemy bombers. The thought of occupation horrified him: These are the Kings enemies, he wrote. In the mid-1980s he retired and moved to Mullion, Cornwall, where he wrote down his wartime memoirs. ", He's a natural writer, I say, so how about another book? Wellum was a great supporter of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. Two days later Britain declared war on Germany. Approached in 2000 by author JamesHolland who was researching a novel set during the Battle of Britain, Wellum lent him his unpublished memoir (see "First Light", below), Holland showed it to friends in publishing at PenguinBooks and, in 2002, Eleo Gordon, Penguin's editorial director, approached Wellum with a publishing deal[6][14] two decades after he had originally written the memoir. In 1943 Wellum married Dorothy Grace Neil. Try again. "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. Their son and daughter survive him and a second daughter predeceased him. How did he cope? [11], 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. Born in Walthamstow, on the eastern edge of London, Geoffrey was the only child of Percy, who managed an off-licence, and his wife, Edith. They were wooden and you used to buy them as a kit and I had 50 of the damned things. After his final retirement in the 1980's he moved to the village of Mullion in Cornwall. From October 1957 he served at RAF Gaydon, the home of a V-Bomber conversion unit, and before retiring from the RAF in June 1961 he served on Thor ballistic missile squadrons in East Anglia. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. I lived near North Weald and saw the pilots in white overalls. of his instructors, he grew up quickly, although his age and cockiness earned him the nickname Boy. Even at the height of battle, Wellum suspected that their heroism would be forgotten. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Congratulations on this excellent venture what a great idea! In August he was awarded the DFC for his great skill and determination. Soon after his arrival, 92 Squadron moved from Duxford in Cambridgeshire to Pembrey in Carmarthenshire. '", 'First Light' is published by Viking, 16.99, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). I'll never know how I got away with it.". ), For many years he had regarded his wartime service as the pinnacle of his life, with the rest of it as anticlimactic. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend, and they had three children. Trout streams, water meadows, waders, fast-flowing water, the pretty barmaid at the inn. The first aircraft he flew was the Tiger Moth at Desford airfield in Leicestershire . Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. "One time, I had literally to fight my way back to the White Cliffs; on another, there was a German hanging on my tail, who wouldn't let me go. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? [3][10], 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. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. He and his wife Ediths only child was Geoffrey, who attended Forest School, Snaresbrook, where he captained the cricket XI in his last summer. He and his wife were divorced in 1975. He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend, and they had three children. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219366673/geoffrey-harris_augustus-wellum. Try again later. Ellie Cullen. Wellum recovered from his breakdown, married "Grace", his girlfriend in the book, had three children and stayed in the RAF for another 20 years. The average life- expectancy of a Spitfire pilot was four weeks. But Geoff's was different.". We have created a browser extension. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Max Hastings in The Sunday Telegraph rated it one of the best memoirs for years about the experience of flying in war. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. It gave me my first intimation of what war is about, Wellum later wrote. He reached the island by flying off a lethally short aircraft carrier. Reading it, you feel you are in the Spitfire with him, thrown around at 20,000ft, chased round by a German Heinkel, with your ammunition gone. He left the service in 1961, after 22 years, in the rank of squadron leader. [3] 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 airfield on Malta, joining 145Squadron on air defence duties. The youngest Spitfire pilot to fly in the Battle of Britain during World War Two has died, it has been announced. Instead, it is depicted as confused and brutal, never more so than when Wellum finds himself a target: When I saw him, I felt fear, real stark fear. During the recent offensive operations over France he has led his section and flight with great skill and determination. He was a member of the RoyalAirForceClub. 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 - [7]) despite being nicknamed "Boy" by his colleagues. He then became a commodity broker in the City before setting up his own business. Never stay still, never fly straight and level, chuck it around. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. James Holland, now a well-known historian, was struck by their emotional punch rare in first-hand accounts of the Battle of Britain and showed them to colleagues. As Wellum put it, Id shot my bolt. He was evacuated to England: Something inside me gave way and I broke down. In 2002 these were published as First Light. He composed a memoir of his wartime experiences that was finally published in 2002, entitled "First Light: The Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War Torn Skies Above Britain". By now, the Luftwaffe was flying a new fighter aircraft, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, superior in all but turn radius to the Spitfire V, and the squadron took heavy losses. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. The film was first shown by the BBC on 14 September 2010 starring Sam Heughan.[19]. Throughout the summer of 1940, in the skies above southern England, Wellum and his comrades battled the Luftwaffe to prevent invasion. Geoffrey Wellum was still just 18 when the Battle of Britain started in July 1940. People say, 'You've got to forget all this, it was a long time ago'. (One journalist who interviewed him for a national newspaper asked if it was the computer in his Spitfire that told him when his ammunition had run out. It is 40mph faster, has very good armament and a very high rate of roll". Aged eighteen, he signed up on a short-service commission with the Royal Air Force in August 1939. He was also stationed at RAFGaydon, and in East Anglia. Given his youth, and a certain cockiness, he was known as Boy Wellum, a nickname conferred by his friend and mentor, Brian Kingcome. Patrick Tootal, secretary of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, said members of the charity's staff and volunteers had been "much saddened by the news". The book became a best seller and Wellum enjoyed a period of celebrity as its author, as well as for being among the last surviving fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain, known as "The Few". [4], Much later, in an unpublished interview with The Times, Wellum recalled: "After I joined the squadron they went to Dunkirk and by the end of that day we'd lost five people, four of whom I'd met the night before in the officers' mess. During the passage of the vital re-supply convoy to Malta, Operation Pedestal, Wellum flew patrols over the convoy and the island and attacked ground targets in Sicily, but his headaches became severe and he was grounded with sinusitis. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Geoffrey Wellum dead - youngest WWII Spitfire pilot to fly in the Battle of Britain who was just 18 when war broke out dies aged 96 The veteran, who was just 18 when he joined the RAF in August. After the war he remained in the RAF until 1961, and later ran a haulage business. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. A swarm of gnats on a warm summer evening the whole spectacle frightens yet fascinates.. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. The former squadron leader, who was just 18 when he joined the RAF in August 1939 . [5] It was at 92 Squadron that he first encountered a Spitfire, and flew the aircraft for the first time. Geoffrey Wellum was born on 4 August 1921, an only child, in Walthamstow, Essex, to Percy and Edith Wellum. [14] First Light: The Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies Above Britain was published by: Viking Books, 2002 (hardcover, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN0-670-91248-4); Wiley & Sons, 2003 (hardcover, ISBN0-471-42627-X); Penguin Books, 2003 (paperback, ISBN0-14-100814-8); Penguin Books, 2020 (paperback, ISBN978-0-241-98784-1), which contains a new foreword by military historian and novelist Patrick Bishop.