"Later on, I left 32 Squadron at the end of August and was posted to 257 squadron. 257 had suffered very heavy casualties, both Flight Commanders had been killed. 

I arrived there with Bob Tuck, Stanford Tuck the same day and we both took over the flights from the Flight Commanders who'd been killed. Of course the morale of rest of the pilots was pretty low. And then the Squadron commander was posted and Bob, who was senior of the two Flight Lieutenants, me and himself, took over command of the squadron. The only way one could whip this squadron into shape was, the sort of thing I would do was, when we got mixed up with some German bombers and I set the chaps port engine on fire and he followed me in and finished it off. 

When we got back to base I said "Oh you shot down your first aircraft you see", he said "No you hit it first" and I said "No I missed it, it was all yours and you can now paint a little swastika or cross or something on your aircraft if you like." Of course he was highly delighted and his confidence zoomed up, he'd shot down his first enemy aircraft. What did it matter, I mean you gave away bits of your own score but it built up the morale of the chaps you were leading."

<<back