The wife of Douglas Bader has died

[MarkOttawa]

Story--he commanded RAF 242 (Canadian) Squadron during the Battle of Britain:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/widow-legendary-ww2-pilot-sir-7090416

Widow of legendary WW2 pilot Sir Douglas Bader dies aged 97

Lady Joan Bader, who was living in a care home in Mid Wales, passed away 33 years after the Battle of Britain hero who lost his legs before the war

The widow of Britain’s most famous wartime flying ace Sir Douglas Bader has died aged 97.

Steel tycoon’s daughter Lady Joan Bader had been living in a care home in Mid Wales.

Sir Douglas lost both his legs in an RAF plane crash while performing acrobatic stunts in 1931.

But he became a Battle of Britain hero before being captured in German-occupied France in 1941 and sent to Colditz Castle as a prisoner of war.

His bravery was immortalised in the film Reach for the Sky...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049665/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bader+%22reach+for+the+sky%22

242 Squadron--Bader in front middle:

http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/document-40.html

More on the Canadian aspect (Stan Turner):
http://www.constable.ca/caah/turner.html

During the mid-50s Group Captain Turner was the RCAF air attaché in Moscow.  My parents were with External Affairs at the embassy and I was a young boy in love with aircraft; the attaché noticed and gave me two "Jane's All the World's Aircraft" his office had from the latter1940s.  I have them still and remain forever grateful for the very kind act (he also gave me two "Jane's Fighting Ships"--don't know if he told the naval attaché ).

Edit: In fact Group Captain Turner may well have been the only attaché at the time:
http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol12/no4/doc/Kilford-pages4451.pdf

Happy New Year!

Mark
Ottawa

 

[jollyjacktar]

97 years.  A goodly long sum and long life.  If there is an afterlife, I do hope they're together, if they wanted it that way...