Always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel. Romanian born Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor. 1928 - 2016.
Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. C.S. Lewis, 1898 - 1963.
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#4505511 - 01/30/2010:07 AMRe: Paul Farnes, last Battle of Britain ace, dies aged 101.
[Re: RedToo]
WORLD REMEMBERS — Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies, leaving only two alive from 'The Few' who defended Britain against the Nazis' air attack in 1940.
Mr Farnes, a Hurricane pilot, was one of 3,000 Allied airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain and was the last surviving ace - a pilot who brought down five or more enemy aircraft.
His death means there are now only two surviving members of 'The Few', who repelled Hitler's Luftwaffe during the 1940 battle in the skies over southern England.
Mr Farnes was the only member of the group who was fit enough to attend the annual Memorial Day in July last year, just a week before his 101st birthday.
He was exceptionally proud to have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the highest honour for non-officers.
Mr Farnes joined the RAF volunteer reserve in 1938, and in July 1939 took the opportunity to spend six months with the regular RAF.
He then converted to Hurricanes and joined No 501 Sqaudron, based in Gloucestershire, on September 14.
He moved to Bétheniville in France with the squadron on May 10, 1940, and during the Battle of France he destroyed one aircraft, possibly destroyed a second and shared two more.
But that was simply a curtain raiser to his impressive tally that followed in the Battle of Britain.
His tally of six destroyed, one probably destroyed and six damaged during the battle led him to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal on October 22, 1940.
After being commissioned as an officer, he served as an instructor and fought in Malta with No 229 Squadron as well as serving in North Africa and Iraq.
As the war ended, he was in command of two squadrons in the UK. Remaining in the RAF until 1958, he retired as a squadron leader, retaining the rank of wing commander.
Mr Farnes later ran a hotel in Worthing, West Sussex. He leaves a daughter, Linda, and son, Jonathan. Another son, Nicholas, died in 1954.
Flight Lieutenant William Clark, 100, and Flying Officer John Hemingway, 100, are now the only surviving members of The Few.
#4505523 - 01/30/2011:36 AMRe: Paul Farnes, last Battle of Britain ace, dies aged 101.
[Re: RedToo]
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,384PanzerMeyer
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PanzerMeyer
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,384
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RIP
This man most certainly had an interesting life!
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4505542 - 01/30/2003:30 PMRe: Paul Farnes, last Battle of Britain ace, dies aged 101.
[Re: RedToo]
Apart from his tally, a remarkable achievement in itself to survive. France, BoB and Malta, scenes of the most intensive air battles against superior odds in the WTO!
#4505548 - 01/30/2004:04 PMRe: Paul Farnes, last Battle of Britain ace, dies aged 101.
[Re: RedToo]