HAWKER HURRICANE P3234 TP-E FLIGHT LIEUTENANT REGINALD. ERIC. LOVETT. DFC. Eric joined the R.A.F as a regular officer and posted to No 73 Squadron. At the outbreak of the war he went to France with the Squadron and it was there that he gained the nickname "Unlucky Lovett" this was due to a few unfortunate incident's. On May 10th 1940 Eric came very near to death when he was shot down in flames in France, Eric trapped in his blazing Hurricane managed to crash land and had to be rescued from the cockpit, by this time his hands were very badly burned and near to useless. After a short spell in a French Hospital, Eric was flown back to England where after further treatment he was able to re-join 73 Squadron, who at that time were resting at Church Fenton. Thursday September 5th 1940, "73" were posted to Debden Essex, to reinforce the No 11 Group area which had been taking the brunt of the Luftwaffe attacks on the south of England, within four hours of arrival at Debden they were pressed into action with the loss of one pilot, Sgt A.L.McNay, in Hurricane P3224, { some parts in museum} . "73" also lost further four Hurricane's with the pilots safe..... P3110, P2975, P2815, P2984, landed damaged at Debden, with the pilot safe, and P 3204. P3110 was excavated by us in 1976 P3204 was being flown by Eric Lovett and this time he baled out unhurt, Coded TP-H. Two days later on 7th September Eric Lovett was shot down and killed. His Hurricane P3234 Crashed at Fritze Farm, Stock, Essex, England. at 5pm. 37543 Flight Lieutenant REGINALD. ERIC. LOVETT. DFC, 73 Sqdn. Royal Air Force who died on Saturday, 7th September 1940. Age 36. Son of Reginald and Lily Lovett, of Golders Green. Cemetery: HENDON CEMETERY, Middlesex, United Kingdom Grave Reference/Panel Number: Sec. J.9. Grave 39576. cwgc The dig was carried out in 1983, very little of Lovett's aircraft was found as it had crashed on the surface of the field. Among the parts found was the ballast weight made from lead, some wood from the cockpit area and part of the prop blade. Hawker Hurricane P3234 73 squadron Debden crashed 7th September 1940, Stock, Essex,
He was 36? Look who's with Lovett on page 3 of the LG for Sept 27, 1940 for promotion from F/O to F/L: Ian Richard GLEED (37800).
CWGC says he was 36 ! In Memory of Flight Lieutenant REGINALD ERIC LOVETT D F C 37543, 73 Sqdn., Royal Air Force who died age 36 on 07 September 1940 Son of Reginald and Lily Lovett, of Golders Green. Remembered with honour HENDON CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM
Annie, no, just one of the well-known chappies and a very young leader at that. Part of his Hurri, the door in fact with artwork, is preserved by the IWM. He's proving tricky to find a good bio for. Widge Table
I found this .... W/Cdr. Ian R. Gleed, 15 kills. Killed in action 16/Apr/1943. AB910 - Mk.Vb Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. Built a Castle Bromwich in 1941 and delivered to 222 sqn on August 22nd that year at North Weald. It subsequently served with 130 Sqn, 133 (Eagle) Sqn at Biggin Hill, 242 Sqn, 416 Sqn (RCAF), no 3501 Support Unit, 402 Sqn (RCAF), 53 OTU at Hibaldstow (famously took-off with WAAF ground-crew fitter(Margaret) on the tail & landed one circuit later with her still clinging to the tail.), 527 Sqn and the RWE, finally going into store at 29 MU on May 30th 1945. On July 14th 1947 it was bought by Group Captain Allen Wheeler who used it mainly for racing as G-AISU. It was sold to Vickers-Armstrong in 1959 was presented to the BBMF on September 15th 1965 and appeared in 'The Battle of Britain' film in 1968. It still flies with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). AB910 wears the desert camouflage scheme of the Commanding Officer of 244 Wing, Wing Commander Ian Richard Gleed DFC, from the Tunisian campaign of 1943. For the 2007 season, AB910 is now in 303 (Polish) Sqn markings. Airworthy Spitfires The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
He's had some good representation with airworthy aircraft. I think the Hurri that pranged last year (and sadly killed the pilot) was in his colours...or, at least, had been when I saw her at Cranfield in '99. Got good pics of "Figaro" too! Love seeing Spits and Hurris in desert paint.
F/Lt Ian Richard (Widge) Gleed was born in Finchley, London in 1916, the son of a Doctor. The R.A.F. was his career, and he was commissioned in March 1936 and then posted to No 46 Squadron at Kenly. No 46 Squadron was then flying Gloster Gauntlet bi-planes. Gleed was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and on the 17th of May joined No 87 Squadron in France. In the next few days he scored 5 kills plus a share in another and 1 probable. No 87 Squadron returned to England on the 20th of May 1940 to re-form and re-equip. On the 15th of August Gleed was flying as Red 1 and when they found the German formations T. Mitchel said over the R/T "Green 1 to Red 1- there they are straight ahead, there's hundreds of them" Gleed replied " Red leader here, O/K I've got them let's surround the Bastards." In the ensuing fight Gleed destroyed 2 Messerschmitt fighters an possibly a third. He scored 4 more before the end of the battle. In September Gleed was awarded the D.F.C. On the 16th of April 1943 Gleed was killed in a fighter sweep in the Cap Bon area. He was shot down in his Spitfire by Bf 109's from JG 77. His nickname came from his short stature. 'Widge' is an R.A.F. abbreviation of Wizard-Midget Gl-pilots Ian Richard Gleed was posted to France with No: 87 Squadron, on May 14th 1940 and remained with them throughout the Battle of Britain. During combat on May 18th, he claimed his first victories shooting down two Bf110’s. The following day, May 19th, he destroyed a Bf109, two Do17’s, shared a He111 and damaged another Bf109. He shared a Ju88 on May 20th, which was his last victory during the Battle of France before the Squadron was withdrawn back to England and stationed at Debden on May 22nd. When No: 87 Squadron became operational again on June 21st 1940, they were re-equipped with more Hurricanes and Pilots shortly before the move to Exeter, which would be their base for the duration of the Battle of Britain. As the early stages of the Battle unfolded, Gleed was again into action shooting down two Bf110’s and damaged a Bf109 on August 25th during an engagement off the Dorset coast near Weymouth World War 2 - RAF 87 Squadron, May/June 1940 AB910 flies in the desert camouflage scheme of Spitfi re Vb AB502, which was the personal aircraft of Wing Commander Ian Richard Gleed DSO DFC when he became the Wing Leader of No 244 Wing, Goubrine South, Tunisia in 1943. ‘Widge’ Gleed was a Battle of France and Battle of Britain ace with a total of 15 confirmed kills to his credit; he had flown operationally from May 1940 through to May 1942 without a break. He flew AB502 on at least 35 missions before he was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf109s of JG77 during a patrol over the Cap Bon area on 16 April 1943; his aircraft was hit several times and badly damaged. He tried to get back to the safety of Tunisia but did not make it and was posted missing. The remains of his Spitfire were later discovered on sand dunes near the coast but his body was not found until much later. His remains were eventually reburied in the military cemetery at Enfidaville in 1944 his final resting place. ‘Widge’ Gleed’s aircraft carried his initials ‘IR-G’ in place of unit codes and ‘Figaro the Cat’ nose art on the starboard side, now faithfully replicated on AB910 as a tribute to a brave and successful fighter pilot who paid the ultimate price, and to all those who contributed to the ultimately successful desert campaign in North Africa. http://www.raf.mod.uk/downloads/RAFpublications/sota_vol1_no3_pt2.pdf W/Cdr Ian Gleed, C/O of 244 Wing RAF in the Western Desert, flies in formation with a pair of Spitfires of No. 601 Squadron over De Djerba Island, off Gabes, on their way to the Mareth Line area, around April 1943. Note that all three fighters are equipped with low-drag Aboukir filters. W/Cdr Gleed received a posting to the Middle East in January 1943 becoming the Wing Leader of No. 244 Wing. He selected Spitfire Vb AB502 as his personal aircraft, ordering his initials IR-G to be painted on the fuselage introducing this practice, already established in Britain, in the Mediterranean theatre. Gleed's career in Africa came to abrupt end already on 16 April 1943, when he was shot down by fighters of JG 77 over Cap Bon. After receiving several hits, Gleed managed to escape his defeaters and tried to nurse his damaged Spitfire back to the safety of Tunisia, but didn't succeed. His body is buried at the military cemetery in Enfidaville. http://www.spitfiresite.com/photos/historic/2007/09/spitfires-over-gabes.html
Don't know what this will tell you ... but if anybody has these After the Battle books ... heres the index for Gleed !!!! AFTER THE BATTLE ISSUES 1-140 COMPILED BY PETER B. GUNN Note:Issue numbers are in boldnumerals followed by page numbers. Gleed, W/Cdr Ian 49-19, 20, 24, 30 http://www.afterthebattle.com/atb.pdf
