| Signatures for : Swordfish | | A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | | Name | Info |
Lt Cmdr George R Blackburn
Click the name above to see prints signed by Lt Cmdr George R Blackburn | Lt Cmdr George R Blackburn
Learned to fly as a civilian pilot before WW2 at Marshall's Flying School, Cambridge, where he obtained a Private Pilots Licence. The RAF turned him down for flying at the outbreak of WW2 owing to defective eyesight. The Royal Navy accepted him with corrected vision. He served in the Army as a Private from 1940-1941 and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) from 1941-1946. Whilst in the FAA he was in the following squadrons: 813 & 836 TBR/TSR/AIL Swordfish A/C (Operational Squadrons) and 752, 780, 793 and 785 Training and Non-Operational Squadrons. George flew throughout the war in the UK, Trinidad, Canada, Gibratar/Mediterrcan, North Africa and Atlantic convoys. He finished as Commanding Officer Aircraft Ferry Squadron. He continued flying after the war in the RAFVR. from 19491952 and the RNYWRNR from 1952-1958. After this George continued flying as a civilian pilot.
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Eric Bond
Click the name above to see prints signed by Eric Bond | Eric Bond
Joined the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in August 1940. He served on the aircraft carriers HMS Furious, Ark Royal and Illustrious in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. In February 1942 he was drafted to Gibraltar to fly in Skua, Fulmar and Swordfish aircraft for exercise attacks on the Fleet and Gibraltar fortress. He was then transferred to North Africa (Oran) for four months, then back operationally to Gibraltar with 833 Squadron. Eric's next move was back to the UK with the carrier HMS Stalker and then he qualified at the School of Air Combat. He left the Royal Navy in October 1945. In 1950 Eric joined the RNVR and served as CPO (A) aircrew and joined 1840 & 1842 Channel Air Division, flying in Firefly, Gannet and helicopter aircraft. On the disbandonment of R~ squadrons, Eric served as Chief Radio Supervisor involving duties at Whitehall and Faslane. He left the R~ in 1971, having served 26 1/2years.
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Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR | Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR
Although in a reserved occupation volunteered on his 18th birthday to train as pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. He flew open cockpit biplane Swordfish aircraft from Merchant Aircraft Carriers called Macships. These were 8000 ton grain ships or oil tankers fitted with a flight deck, carrying their usual cargo and manned by a Merchant Navy Master and crew. They sailed in convoy back and forth across the North Atlantic in all the extreme weather conditions experiened on that ocean. The oil tankers lacked a hangar, so maintenance was carried out on open deck exposing the aircraft, ground crew and aircrew to the fury of the sea, ice and gales. By keeping U-boats submerged instead of allowing them free range on the surface, in 24 months only two merchant ships were sunk by the enemy in convoys protected by Macships. This was in spite of there being greater numbers and more efficient U-boats at sea in this period than at the time of our greatest losses in the Battle of the Atlantic.
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CPO Donald Bunce CGM
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by CPO Donald Bunce CGM | CPO Donald Bunce CGM
Joined FAA in January 1940 and trained as a Telegraphist Air Gunner (TAG). Don was drafted to 825 Squadron and then transferred to HMS Victorious at Scapa Flow, joining HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales. Torpedo attack on Bismarck same day as HMS Hood was sunk. His Squadron later transferred to HMS Ark Royal for Malta Convoys etc until she was torpedoed and sunk. The Squadron reformed at Lee-on-Solent and sent to Manston, Kent where they prepared for the night attack on Scharnhorst, Gneisehau and Prinz Eugen. This turned into a daylight raid on 12th February 1942 and all the aircraft were shot down, with only five survivors " four officers and CPO Bunce himself. From then on Don transferred to training squadrons. He was demobbed in January 1946.
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Lieut (A) N C Gillis RNVR.
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Lieut (A) N C Gillis RNVR. | Lieut (A) N C Gillis RNVR.
Volunteered for training as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm in 1940. After training he was posted to join HMS Indomitable and sent to the Far East. The posting did not materialise and after some months in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and Nairobi, Kenya, joined 810 Squadron in HMS Illustrious. 810 was a Swordfish squadron and remained so until HMS Illustrious returned to UK. The squadron then reformed with Barracuda aircraft and rejoined the Illustrious. After a short spell with the Home Fleet the Illustrious was despatched to serve with the Mediterranean Fleet, subsequently returning to the Home Fleet. 810 Squadron served in the ship during this time and was retained in the ship when she retuned to the Eastern Fleet and was actively engaged in the Burma campaign. During joint operations with the US carrier Saratoga, Lt Gillis was mentioned in Despatches during the operation at Sabang in Malaysia. Having overspent his time in an operational squadron he was returned to UK where he served as Dive-Bombing Instructor at RNAS Crail, then converted onto twin-engine aircraft and flew in a Mosquito squadron until demobilised in 1946.
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Commander Patrick Bernard Pat Jackson RN
Click the name above to see prints signed by Commander Patrick Bernard Pat Jackson RN
 | Died : 2 / 10 / 2004 |
| Commander Patrick Bernard Pat Jackson RN
HMS Victorious - 825 Squadron FAA. Pilot H. Born 25th May 1917, Pat Jackson became a Fleet Air Arm Pilot and on the 6th of August 1940 joined 825 Squadron onbaord HMS Furious until February 1941. He transferred to HMS Victorious where on the 24th of May 1941, Jackson along with his crew A/S-Lt. David Anthony Berrill, RN and LA F. G. Sparkes participated in the attack on the Bismarck in Swordfish 5H:V4337 along with another 8 Swordfish from 825 squadron. On the 5th of July 1941 Jackson transferred to 768 Squadron at HMS Condor (air station at Arbroath) and on the 15th of March 1942, Patrick Bernard Jackson became Commanding Officer of 768 Squadron. He moved to HMS Daedalus (RN air station at Lee-on-Solonet) in February 1943 and again transferred in March 1943 to HMS Saker (as part of the British Admiralty Delegation, Washington, DC) until March 1944. when he became Lieutenant Commander (Flying), HMS Searcher (escort carrier) until July 1945. Sadly Commander Patrick Bernard Jackson passed away on the 2nd of October 2004.
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Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Dick Janvrin KCB CB DSO Royal Navy
Click the name above to see prints signed by Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Dick Janvrin KCB CB DSO Royal Navy
| Died : 15 / 1 / 1993 |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Dick Janvrin KCB CB DSO Royal Navy
“Dick” Janvrin joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in 1929, working his way up the service before joining the fleet Air Arm before the war. He became a qualified FAA Observer, flying Swordfish. He was in the front line of some of the most daring Swordfish missions, including the legendary attack at Taranto, where he flew as Observer with 815 Squadron on the lead Pathfinder aircraft. After the war “Dick” Janvrin commanded several warships, including HMS Broadsword, and the aircraft carrier HMS victorious. He died on 15th January 1993.
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Commander Charles Lamb DSO DSC Royal Navy
Click the name above to see prints signed by Commander Charles Lamb DSO DSC Royal Navy
| Died : 28 / 5 / 1981 |
| Commander Charles Lamb DSO DSC Royal Navy
Charles Lamb was born on 11 April 1914 in Bolton, Lancashire. He joined the merchant navy in 1930, and the Royal Naval Reserve in March 1933, serving aboard HMS Rodney, and competing on several occasions as a boxer. Commander Charles Lamb was to become a legend in the Royal Navy during World War II. He was one of the small bands of men who flew the slow cumbersome Swordfish bi-plane nicknamed ‘Stringbags’, all but declared obsolete before the war, but whose heroic actions changed the course of the war. Charles Lamb flew in the thick of the action, from mine-laying and U-boat hunting over northern Europe, harrying E-boats at Dunkirk, to being one of the two Swordfish Pathfinder pilots with 815 Squadron FAA at the Battle of Taranto. He joined 842 Naval Air Squadron then 781 Naval Air Squadron before serving on the carriers HMS Implacable and HMS Indefatigable from 1944 - 1945. Sadly, Charles Lamb died 28th May 1981.
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Lt Cdr Edgar Lee DSO
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| Died : 29 / 10 / 2009 |
| Lt Cdr Edgar Lee DSO
Joined the Royal Navy in May 1940, two days before his nineteenth birthday and after initial training began a flying course in Trinidad in September 1940. He qualified as Observer in April 1941 and was commissioned as Midshipman (A) RNVR. Promoted to Sub-Lieutenant (A) RNVR at the age of 20 in May 1941 and appointed to 825 Squadron in HMS Ark Royal in June 1941, flying operationally with 825 Squadron in Swordfish TBR until the Ark Royal was sunk in November 1941. Edgar returned to England and the squadron reformed at Lee-on-Solent - again in Swordfish in late December 1941, still under the command of Lt Commander E Esmonde DSO, RM. He took part in the Channel attack on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on 12th February 1942. All the aircraft were shot down, with only five survivors; Edgar and his pilot were rescued from a dingy by MTB. He joined the new 825 Squadron in March 1942 and flew in that squadron until July 1942, then sent for re-posting to RNAS St Merryn on Flying Control duties. At the end of February 1943, Edgar was seconded to 106 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, flying in Lancaster, under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, DSO DFC RAF. Six Naval Observers were seconded to 5 Group Bomber Command, three were lost and three returned to naval duties at the end of July 1943. Edgar was promoted to Lieutnant (A) RNVR in November 1943. Instructing in Canada, August 1943 to November 1944 and returned to England to qualify as a Signals Officer in August 1945. From Staff Signals Officer to Rear Admiral reserve Aircraft from September 1945 until demob in July 1947. Edgar rejoined the reserve in 1956 and was promoted to Lt Cdr RNR in November 1961 serving in most NATO and National exercises until 1981 and as Acting Commander RNR in exercises from 1969 until retirement at 60 in 1981. Sadly Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Lee died on October 29th, 2009, aged 88. Edgar Lee was the last surviving member of those gallant aircrew of 825 Squadron Fleet Air Arm that in February 1942 made the attack in Swordfish torpedo bombers on the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.
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Lieutenant Commander Peter Meadway Royal Navy
Click the name above to see prints signed by Lieutenant Commander Peter Meadway Royal Navy
| Died : 2 / 3 / 2006 |
| Lieutenant Commander Peter Meadway Royal Navy
Peter Meadway joined the Royal Navy in 1939, and was posted as Observer to 825 Squadron FAA flying Swordfish from HMS Furious. Transferring to 810 Squadron FAA on HMS Ark Royal he took part in the successful torpedo attacks on the German Battleship Bismarck on the night of 26th/27th May 1941, and was witness to her sinking the following day. Peter Meadway passed away on 2nd March 2006.
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Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN | Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN
John Moffat was born in Kelso in 1919 and at the outbreak of WWII, was sent to Sydenham, Belfast where a training school, set up by Short Brothers, was based. John learnt to fly in a Miles Magister. During 1939, he was sent to No.1 Flying Training School at Netheravon and here he was taught to fly advanced open-cockpit aircraft such as Hawker Hinds and Audaxes. Commissioned into the RNVR as a sub-lieutenant he was moved to Eastlee (now Southampton Airport) to the Naval Fighter School, learning fighter techniques in Blackburn Skuas and Rocs and the well-known Gloster Gladiator. In 1940, John was moved to Sanderling, the Royal Naval air station at Abbotsinch (now known as Glasgow Airport). In 1941, on board HMS Ark Royal stationed at Gibraltar, they were ordered to assist in the hunt for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The aircraft headed first to HMS Sheffield who gave them signals by Aldis Lamp on the position of the Bismarck. John Moffat served on HMS Ark Royal, HMS Argus, HMS Furious and HMS Formidable, and served with 759 Sqn, 818 Sqn, 820 Sqn and 824 Sqn.
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Commander Sidney Hal Jim Suthers DSC DFC RN
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Commander Sidney Hal Jim Suthers DSC DFC RN
| Died : 22 / 2 / 2007 |
| Commander Sidney Hal Jim Suthers DSC DFC RN
Joined the Air Branch of the Royal Navy in January 1939 and gained his pilot’s wings in July 1940. Joined 824 Naval Air Squadron operating Swordfish from HMS Eagle in January 1941. Operations in Red Sea, Indian Ocean, South Atlantic and Mediterranean until September 1942. Instructional duties thereafter until the end of World War II. Post war he converted to helicopters commanding 705 and 848 (Malaya) Naval Air Squadrons. Sadly, Jim Suthers passed away on 22nd February 2007.
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Captain Alan William Frank Sutton CBE DSC* RN
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain Alan William Frank Sutton CBE DSC* RN
| Died : 6 / 11 / 2008 |
| Captain Alan William Frank Sutton CBE DSC* RN
Joined the navy as a Special Entry Cadet in 1930 and trained for one year in HMS Erebus, Devonport and then served in Battle Cruisers, Cruisers and Destroyers, before specialising as Naval Air Observer in 1937. He served in Swordfish Squadrons in Glorious and Illustrious and took part in the raid on Taranto, Italy on 11th November 1940 being in the leading aircraft of the last sub-flight of Torpedo attack aircraft, piloted by Lieut FMA Torrens- Spence. Their target was the fine modern battleship Littorio and Captain Sutton was awarded the DSC for this action. On 10th January 1941, Illustrious was badly damaged by German dive-bombers and went to the United States for repairs. Her aircrew remained ashore in Egypt and after a time Captain Sutton became the Senior Observer of 815 Squadron, operating from Greece against Italian shipping in the Adriatic in March and April 1941. The Germans invaded Greece in April 1941 and Alan was moved to Crete and served at the airfield at Maleme, Crete was in turn invaded by the Germans and Maleme was captured by airborne forces on 20th and 21st May when Alan found himself the Senior surviving officer from the airfield and formed a unit of Naval and RAF personnel who fought on the left flank of the New Zealand Brigade which was trying to retake the airfield. They were defeated and Alan escaped with a group of British, New Zealand and Australian personnel over the White Mountains to the south coast. Alan reached Sphakia where the defeated allied forces were being evacuated by the navy and became the beachmaster for the evacuation. He was awarded a Bar to the DSC he had received for Taranto for his actions in Crete. He was also twice mentioned in dispatches for operations in the Mediterranean in 1940/41. Subsequent to these operations in the Med, Alan was Staff Officer (Air) to the Admiral commanding the Eastern task force (Algiers) in operation Torch, the taking of Algeria and Morocco from the Vichy French in 1942. Then he was Air Staff Officer of the Escort Carrier Ravager in the Battle of the Atlantic, and finished the war in 1944/45 as an Acting Commander, being the operations officer of the Fleet Carrier, Implacable, operating against the Germans in Norway and against the Japanese in the Pacific. He was awarded nine months additional seniority for Meritorious War Service. Captain Sutton’s post war career was as Deputy Director of the joint Anti-submarine School (RN and RAF) Londonderry, 1947-49; Commanding Officer of the Frigate Bigbury Bay 1951-53, including a spell in the Antarctic and as guard ship in the Falkland Islands; Officer in Charge, Observer and Air Signal School, RNAS Culdrose 1954-56. He was promoted to Captain and became the Chief Staff Officer of the Aircraft Carrier Squadron 1956-58, including operation Musketeer, the action to retake the Suez Canal. He was Captain (Air) Mediterranean and Commanding Officer RNAS Halfar, Malta 1960-62 and finished his Naval career as Director of the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich 1962-65. He was Naval ADC to the Queen 1964. On retirement from the Navy Alan was awarded the CBE (Military) for Distinguished Service. He was a graduate of the Naval Staff College, Joint Services Staff College and Imperial Defence College. Sadly passed away November 6th 2008.
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Sub Lieut Bruce Vibert
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Sub Lieut Bruce Vibert | Sub Lieut Bruce Vibert
Volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm in May 1941 and helped to form 842 Squadron, the Royal Navy’s last to be formed with the Fairey Swordfish in March 1943. Working mainly from the escort carrier HMS Fencer during the squadron’s two-year existence, the role was anti-submarine, ranging from the occupation of the Azores to North Russia. Protection to the Home Fleet was also given during two operations against “Tirpitz”, sheltering in Northern Norway. The Squadron finally came under Coastal Command to work the Western Approaches and English Channel. It achieved several successes against the U-Boats. He later served in the Pacific as a deck landing control officer before, post war, joining the RCN and there becoming a helicopter pilot. Today he supports the RNHF as a speaker about the Swordfish.
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