Hugh Verity
Hugh Verity | |
---|---|
Croix de guerre (France) | |
Spouse(s) | Audrey (née Stokes) |
Hugh Verity,
Early life
Verity was born in
Royal Air Force
On 8 May 1940 he was promoted flying officer,[2] and in September 1940 was serving with No. 608 Squadron RAF flying Avro Ansons and Blackburn Bothas primarily in a general reconnaissance role. He joined No. 252 Squadron RAF in February 1941 as it re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighters and served on Malta. In late 1941 returning to England in very poor weather he force-landed in Ireland, at Leopardstown Racecourse.[3] He was interned by the Irish, then escaped with help from British Military Intelligence MI9 about five weeks later.[4] After his return to England, Verity wrote to the officer in charge of the camp from which he escaped, to thank him for "looking after us so fairly . . . I always found the Irish army extremely courteous and considerate and extremely impartial . . . I will be delighted to tell my friends over here how well we were fed and housed."[5]
Promoted flight lieutenant on 6 November 1941 he served with No. 29 Squadron RAF at the end of 1941 flying night fighter operations before becoming Staff Officer (Night Operations) at No. 11 Group RAF and then Staff Officer (Night Operations) at HQ RAF Fighter Command.[6]
Special Operations
Verity was promoted temporary
His first flight for SOE was on 23 December 1942 in a Lysander. The mission was to France, but he had to return empty handed due to heavy fog in the landing area. Verity undertook at least 29 and possibly as many as 36 night flights into France, perhaps the most of any RAF pilot. His role was to drop off and pick up resistance workers, SOE agents and other figures at secret locations inside France.[9][10] Records from the Imperial War Museum indicate Verity flew Westland Lysander Mark IIIA (SD), (serial number "V9673" with squadron fuselage codes 'MA-J') bearing the nose-art of 'Jiminy Cricket' for twenty operations to occupied France while serving with No. 161 Squadron at RAF Tempsford, Bedfordshire.[11][12]
Verity was instrumental in introducing the larger Lockheed Hudson into pick-up operations. With Pickard, he worked out the operating procedures that enabled this twin-engined aircraft to operate from French occupied fields, giving them the ability to carry in and bring out more people in one mission.[13]
On 25 May 1943 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross,[14] and on 31 August 1943 the Distinguished Service Order.[15] His record of successful operations continued to grow. Most of his flights were in Lysanders, but he worked out with Pickard the use of the Hudson for the same purpose.[16] Though larger and heavier, the Hudson could carry more passengers.[17] Among his passengers were Jean Moulin, Nicolas Bodington, Peter Churchill, Henri Frager, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny and future president of France, François Mitterrand. His last special operation was on the night of 16–17 November 1943.[18] On 14 January 1944 he was awarded a Bar the Distinguished Service Order,[19] and promoted Squadron leader on 14 March 1944.[20]
Later in the war he performed the role of SOE air operations manager for western Europe and Scandinavia, coordinating the SOE requirement for air support with the available pilots and aircraft of primarily No. 138 Squadron RAF and No. 161 Squadron. In late 1944 Verity was commanding SOE air operations in South East Asia and following the end of hostilities served with the Recovery of Allied Prisoner-of-War and Internees Organisation.[21][22]
Postwar service
Verity was granted a permanent commission as squadron leader on 25 March 1947.[23] Verity served on Staff at the Army Staff College, Quetta until being invalided home with polio. From 1948 to 1949 he commanded
Awards
- Distinguished Service Order as squadron leader commanding "A-Flight" of No. 161 Squadron.[27]
- Bar to the Distinguished Service Order as squadron leader commanding "A-Flight" of No. 161 Squadron.[28]
- Distinguished Flying Cross as squadron leader commanding "A-Flight" of No. 161 Squadron.[29]
- Officier de la
- Croix de Guerre avec palme (France).[32][33]
Notes
Verity flew a number of his SOE operations from RAF Tangmere where the museum has unveiled a bust of him.[34]
Verity married on 27 August 1940 at All Saints' Church, Bisley, Audrey Geraldine Northcliffe Stokes, who was, as Verity had been, a student at Oxford.[35] They had 3 daughters and 2 sons.[36]
References
- ^ "No. 34568". The London Gazette. 8 November 1938. p. 6994.
- ^ "No. 34870". The London Gazette. 11 June 1940. p. 3522.
- ^ "War Pilot Escapee Dies." The Independent. November 25 2001.
- ^ Telegraph Obituary – Hugh Verity
- ^ T. Ryle Dwyer. Guests of the State: The Story of Allied & Axis Servicemen Interned in Ireland During World War II. Irish Books & Media. Nov. 1 1994. Quoted in "War pilot escapee dies". The Independent. 2001
- ^ Hearns (2011), p. 375
- ^ "No. 35643". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 July 1942. p. 3242.
- ^ Verity (2002), various
- ^ Telegraph Obituary – Hugh Verity
- TracesOfWar
- ^ Imperial War Museum – Hugh Verity's aircraft
- ^ BBC The People's War – Hugh Verity tribute
- ^ Coxon, David (19 May 2016). "Brave Percy was the Wartime Pick of the RAF Bunch". Bognar Regis Observer. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "No. 36027". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 May 1943. p. 2319.
- ^ "No. 36152". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 August 1943. p. 3869.
- ^ Legasee interview – Hugh Verity
- ^ Orchard, Adrian Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO**, DFC 1915 - 1944 February 2006
- ^ YouTube – Hugh Verity – secret missions
- ^ "No. 36329". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1944. p. 285.
- ^ "No. 36530". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1944. p. 2429.
- ^ Hearns (2011), p. 376
- ^ The Times – 3 November 2011 – Hugh Verity
- ^ "No. 37914". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 March 1947. p. 1383.
- ^ "No. 39271". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 1951. p. 3543.
- ^ Telegraph Obituary – Hugh Verity
- ^ Hearns (2011), p. 375-376
- ^ "No. 36152". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 August 1943. p. 3869.
- ^ "No. 36329". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1944. p. 285.
- ^ "No. 36027". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 May 1943. p. 2319.
- ^ Verity (2013), titlepage
- ^ Telegraph Obituary – Hugh Verity
- ^ Verity (2013), titlepage
- ^ TracesOfWar – Hugh Verity
- ^ Tangmere Air Museum – HB Verity
- ^ Imperial War Museum. "What to wear to a wartime wedding: Hugh Verity and Audrey Stokes Married 27 August 1940." https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-to-wear-to-a-wartime-wedding
- ^ England and Wales, Marriages, Registry, September Quarter 1940
Bibliography
- Hunt, Leslie (1992). Twenty-one Squadrons: the history of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. London: Crecy. ISBN 0947554262.
- Verity, Hugh (2013). We Landed by Moonlight. Crecy Publishing. ISBN 9780947554750.
- M. R. D. Foot (2006). SOE in France. Routledge. ISBN 0415408008.
- Hearns, Doug (2011). The Distinguished Service Order 1920–2006. Uckfield: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1781519639.