Richard Summers (RAF officer)

Wing Commander Richard Gordon Battensby "Dick" Summers, OBE, AFM (18 October 1921 – 7 May 2017) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as an observer during the Battle of Britain, and was one of the last surviving men known as "The Few".

Richard Gordon Battensby Summers
Nickname(s)Dick
Born(1921-10-18)18 October 1921[1]
Beverley, Yorkshire
Died7 May 2017(2017-05-07) (aged 95)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1939-1968
RankWing Commander
Battles/warsSecond World War Mau Mau Uprising
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire
Air Force Medal

Early life

Summers was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, on 18 October 1921 and was educated at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton.[2]

Royal Air Force career

Upon leaving school aged 18, Summers joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). He flew with No. 219 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. After the battle he joined the Ferry Pool and Defence Flight at Takoradi, West Africa.[3] In July 1941, Summers crash-landed on a beach in Liberia. To avoid being captured he walked 48 miles barefoot before taking to the sea, where he was picked up by a passing British merchantman.

Summers was awarded the Air Force Medal in 1941 for successfully evading capture.[4] He was commissioned in May 1942 and posted back to the UK. On 12 October 1942 he joined No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit as bomber leader, flying the Lockheed Hudson.[5] Summers was posted to No. 48 Squadron RAF at RAF Gibraltar on 22 May 1943, again as Bombing Leader, and on 1 March 1944 he was posted to be bombing leader at No. 1 APC at RAF Aldergrove. He continued to hold a number of armament office positions until the end of the war.

From 1953 to 1956, Summers was deputy station commander at RAF Eastleigh, Kenya, during the Mau Mau Uprising. Summers was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his "gallant and distinguished services" in 1956.[6] He was promoted to wing commander in 1958,[7] and retired from the RAF in 1968.[8]

Death

Summers died on 7 May 2017, aged 95.[9]

References
  1. Kenneth G Wynn (31 August 2015). Men of the Battle of Britain. United Kingdom: Frontline Books. ISBN 1473847672.
  2. "Skipton grammar school unveils memorial plaque". Craven Herald & Pioneer. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. http://www.military-art.com/mall/profiles.php?SigID=1309
  4. Gazetted 1 Jan 1941
  5. http://www.aviationcollectables.co.uk/pub/photographs/spsf.php
  6. Gazetted 6 March 1956
  7. "No. 41266". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1957. p. 7593.
  8. "No. 44699". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 October 1968. p. 11328.
  9. Tate, Lesley. "Former Battle of Britain pilot and Ermysted's 'Old Boy' Wing Commander Richard Summers dies at age of 95". Craven Herald & Pioneer. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
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