144 Facts About Douglas Bader

Douglas Bader was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.

Douglas Bader scored his first victories over Dunkirk during the Battle of France in 1940.

Douglas Bader then took part in the Battle of Britain and became a friend and supporter of Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory and his "Big Wing" experiments.

Douglas Bader remained there until April 1945 when the camp was liberated by the First United States Army.

Douglas Bader left the RAF permanently in February 1946 and resumed his career in the oil industry.

Douglas Bader campaigned for disabled people and in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1976 was appointed a Knight Bachelor "for services to disabled people".

Douglas Bader continued to fly until ill health forced him to stop in 1979.

Douglas Bader died, aged 72, on 5 September 1982, after a heart attack.

Douglas Bader was born on 21 February 1910 in St John's Wood, London, the second son of Major Frederick Roberts Douglas Bader, a civil engineer, and his wife Jessie Scott MacKenzie.

At the age of two, Douglas Bader joined his parents in India for a year.

Douglas Bader's father saw action in the First World War in the Royal Engineers, and was wounded in action in 1917.

Douglas Bader remained in France after the war, where, having attained the rank of major, he died in 1922 of complications from those wounds in a hospital in Saint-Omer, the same area where Bader baled out and was captured in 1941.

Douglas Bader's mother was remarried shortly thereafter to the Reverend Ernest William Hobbs.

Douglas Bader was brought up in the rectory of the village of Sprotbrough, near Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Douglas Bader's mild-mannered stepfather did not become the father figure he needed.

Douglas Bader's mother showed little interest in Bader and sent him to his grandparents on occasion.

Douglas Bader was selected for the Royal Air Force cricket team, to play a first-class match against the Army at The Oval in July 1931.

Douglas Bader played cricket in a German prisoner-of-war camp after his capture in 1941, despite his later disability.

However, Douglas Bader received guidance from Warden Kendall and, with Kendall's encouragement, he excelled at his studies and was later accepted as a cadet at RAF Cranwell.

Douglas Bader's mother refused to allow Bader to attend Cambridge in December 1927, claiming she could not afford the fees.

Douglas Bader left St Edward's in early 1928, aged 18.

In 1928, Douglas Bader joined the RAF as an officer cadet at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in rural Lincolnshire.

Douglas Bader continued to excel at sports, and added hockey and boxing to his repertoire.

Douglas Bader was involved in these activities and was close to expulsion after being caught out too often, in addition to coming in 19th out of 21 in his class examinations; however, his commanding officer, Air vice-marshal Frederick Halahan gave him a private warning about his conduct.

On 13 September 1928, Bader took his first flight with his instructor, Flying Officer W J "Pissy" Pearson, in an Avro 504.

Douglas Bader made his first solo flight on 19 February 1929 after 11 hours and 15 minutes of flight time.

Douglas Bader competed for the "Sword of Honour" award at the end of his two-year course, but lost to Patrick Coote, his nearest rival.

On 26 July 1930, Douglas Bader was commissioned as a pilot officer into No 23 Squadron RAF based at Kenley, Surrey.

Douglas Bader took this as an unnecessary safety rule rather than an order to be obeyed.

In 1931 Douglas Bader, teamed with Harry Day, successfully defended the squadron's title in the spring that year.

In late 1931, Douglas Bader undertook training for the 1932 Hendon Air Show, hoping to win a second consecutive title.

Nevertheless, on 14 December 1931, while visiting Reading Aero Club, Douglas Bader attempted some low-flying aerobatics at Woodley Airfield in a Bulldog Mk.

Douglas Bader's aircraft crashed when the tip of the left wing touched the ground.

Douglas Bader made the following laconic entry in his logbook after the crash:.

In 1932, after a long convalescence, throughout which he needed morphine for pain relief, Douglas Bader was transferred to the hospital at RAF Uxbridge and fought hard to regain his former abilities after he was given a new pair of artificial legs.

Douglas Bader got his chance to prove that he could still fly when, in June 1932, Air Under-Secretary Philip Sassoon arranged for him to take up an Avro 504, which he piloted competently.

In May, Douglas Bader was invalided out of the RAF, took an office job with the Asiatic Petroleum Company and, on 5 October 1933, married Thelma Edwards.

Douglas Bader was disappointed to learn that it was only "ground jobs" that were being offered.

Douglas Bader did not wait; driving down the next morning, Bader undertook refresher courses.

Douglas Bader regained a medical categorisation for operational flying at the end of November 1939 and was posted to the Central Flying School for a refresher course on modern types of aircraft.

Douglas Bader subsequently progressed through the Fairey Battle and Miles Master.

In January 1940, Douglas Bader was posted to No 19 Squadron based at RAF Duxford near Cambridge, where, at 29, he was older than most of his fellow pilots.

Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson, a close friend from his Cranwell days, was the commanding officer, and it was here that Douglas Bader got his first glimpse of a Spitfire.

Between February and May 1940 Douglas Bader practised formation flying and air tactics, as well as undertaking patrols over convoys out at sea.

Douglas Bader favoured using the sun and altitude to ambush the enemy, but the RAF did not share his opinions.

Douglas Bader soon discovered that his artificial legs had been buckled from having been forced beneath the rudder pedals during the crash.

Douglas Bader realised that if he had not lost his legs previously, he would have definitely lost them this time.

Douglas Bader was promoted from flying officer to flight lieutenant, and appointed as a flight commander of No 222 Squadron RAF.

Douglas Bader had his first taste of combat with No 222 Squadron RAF, which was based at RAF Duxford and commanded by another old friend of his, Squadron Leader "Tubby" Mermagen.

Douglas Bader believed that the German must have been a novice, taking no evasive action even though it took more than one burst of gunfire to shoot him down.

Douglas Bader was credited with a Messerschmitt Bf 110 damaged, despite claiming five victories in that particular dogfight.

Shortly after Douglas Bader joined 222 Squadron, it moved to RAF Kirton in Lindsey, just south of the Humber.

Douglas Bader transformed No 242 Squadron back into an effective fighting unit.

Douglas Bader had three Royal Navy officers in No 242 Squadron, including his wingman Richard "Dickie" Cork.

Douglas Bader was alone on patrol, and was directed toward an enemy aircraft flying north up the Norfolk coast.

Douglas Bader continued his attack and fired two bursts into the bomber before it vanished into cloud.

Later in the month, Douglas Bader scored a further two victories over Messerschmitt Bf 110s.

Douglas Bader flew several missions that day, which involved heavy air combat.

Douglas Bader was an outspoken critic of the careful "husbanding" tactics being used by Air Vice Marshal Keith Park, the commander of 11 Group.

Douglas Bader was all for the Big Wings to counter the German formation[s].

On 12 December 1940, Douglas Bader was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services during the Battle of Britain.

On 18 March 1941, Douglas Bader was promoted to acting wing commander and became one of the first "wing leaders".

Douglas Bader's tactics required a close-in approach in which he felt the lower calibre weapons had a more devastating effect.

On 21 June 1941, Douglas Bader shot down a Bf 109E off the coast near Desvres.

Douglas Bader's victory was witnessed by two other pilots who saw a Bf 109 crash and the German pilot bale out.

Douglas Bader had been pushing for more sorties to fly in late 1941 but his Wing was tired.

Douglas Bader was intent on adding to his score, which, according to the CO of No 616 Squadron.

Between 24 March and 9 August 1941, Douglas Bader flew 62 fighter sweeps over France.

On 9 August 1941, Douglas Bader was flying a Spitfire Mk VA serial W3185 "D-B" on an offensive patrol over the French coast, looking for Messerschmitt Bf 109s from Abbeville or Wissant without his trusted wingman Alan Smith.

Douglas Bader dived on them too fast and too steeply to be able to aim and fire his guns, and barely avoided colliding with one of them.

Douglas Bader levelled out at 24,000 feet to find that he was now alone, separated from his section, and was considering whether to return home when he spotted three pairs of Bf 109s a couple of miles in front of him.

Douglas Bader dropped down below them and closed up before destroying one of them with a short burst of fire from close range.

At this point he decided it would be better to return home; however, making the mistake of banking away from them, Douglas Bader believed he had a mid-air collision with the second of the two Bf 109s on his right that were continuing straight ahead.

Douglas Bader jettisoned the cockpit canopy, released his harness pin, and the air rushing past the open cockpit started to suck him out, but his prosthetic leg was trapped.

Part way out of the cockpit and still attached to his aircraft, Douglas Bader fell for some time before he released his parachute, at which point the leg's retaining strap snapped under the strain and he was pulled free.

Douglas Bader met Max Meyer in Sydney in 1981 during the Schofields Air Show.

Douglas Bader was flying at the rear of the German fighter formation, alone, and his squadron were the opposite side of the Germans.

Douglas Bader thought it had been hit by anti-aircraft fire, but none was active in the area.

Historians have been misled as to the whereabouts of the Spitfire because of a mistake in the book Reach for the Sky, in which Douglas Bader stated his leg had been dug out from the wreckage but was damaged, indicating a definite crash site.

Douglas Bader's leg had actually been found in an open field.

When Douglas Bader was taken prisoner, he was sent to a hospital in Saint-Omer, near the place where his father's grave is located.

Douglas Bader was cordially invited to sit in the cockpit of Galland's personal Bf 109.

Douglas Bader asked Galland if it was possible to test the 109 by "a flight around the airfield".

Douglas Bader had lost a prosthetic leg when escaping his disabled aircraft.

Douglas Bader, according to Rall, personally arranged for Rudel, a fellow amputee, to be fitted with an artificial leg.

Douglas Bader escaped from the hospital where he was recovering by tying together sheets.

Douglas Bader later brought a letter from a peasant couple, who promised to shelter him outside St Omer until he could be passed further down the line.

Douglas Bader completed the long walk to the safe house despite wearing a British uniform.

Douglas Bader hid in the garden when a German staff car arrived at the house, but was found later.

Douglas Bader denied that the couple had known he was there.

Douglas Bader often practised what the RAF personnel called "goon-baiting".

Douglas Bader considered it his duty to cause as much trouble to the enemy as possible, much of which included escape attempts.

Douglas Bader made so many escape attempts that the Germans threatened to take away his legs.

On 15 February 1942, Douglas Bader was a prisoner held at the Warburg POW camp.

Douglas Bader whacked his wooden foot with a rifle butt.

On 17 April 1942, Douglas Bader scolded Hager; he had failed to salute Douglas Bader, his superior in rank.

Twenty years later, Douglas Bader was sent a copy of it by a Belgian civilian prisoner, who had worked in a Gestapo office in Leipzig.

Douglas Bader found this amusing, as he had never used a stick.

Douglas Bader was finally dispatched to the "escape-proof" Colditz Castle Oflag IV-C on 16 August 1942.

Douglas Bader remained at Colditz until 16 April 1945 when it was liberated by the First United States Army after a two-day fight with the defending Germans.

Douglas Bader departed the castle with Carson; he was in Paris the next day, and in Britain on the following day, returning home far earlier than other prisoners.

Douglas Bader was given the post of the Fighter Leader's School commanding officer.

Also, Douglas Bader did not get on with the newer generation of squadron leaders who considered him to be "out of date".

On 21 July 1946, Douglas Bader retired from the RAF with the rank of group captain to take a job at Royal Dutch Shell.

Douglas Bader considered politics, and standing as a Member of Parliament for his home constituency in the House of Commons.

Douglas Bader despised how the three main political parties used war veterans for their own political ends.

Douglas Bader's decision was not motivated by money, but a willingness to repay a debt.

Douglas Bader spent most of his time abroad flying around in a company-owned Percival Proctor and later a Miles Gemini.

On one mission, between 15 August and 16 September 1946, Douglas Bader was sent on a public relations mission for Shell around Europe and North Africa with United States Army Air Forces Lieutenant General James Doolittle, Doolittle having left active duty in January 1946 and returned to the Reserves.

Douglas Bader became managing director of Shell Aircraft until he retired in 1969.

Douglas Bader travelled to every major country outside the Communist world, becoming internationally famous and a popular after-dinner speaker on aviation matters.

Douglas Bader recognised that the producers had deleted all those habits he displayed when on operations, particularly his prolific use of bad language.

Douglas Bader once said, "[they] still think [I'm] the dashing chap Kenneth More was".

Nevertheless, Douglas Bader was received as a legendary figure by the wider public, who closely identified him as a leader of The Few in the Battle of Britain.

Pete Tunstall, on first meeting Douglas Bader, recalled the force of his personality.

Never a person to hide his opinions, Douglas Bader became controversial for his political viewpoints.

Douglas Bader was known, at times, to be head-strong, blunt and unsophisticated when he made his opinion known.

Douglas Bader used the phrase to describe the Trades Union Congress during economic and social unrest in the 1970s.

On 3 January 1973, Douglas Bader married Joan Murray ; the couple were to spend the rest of their lives in the village of Marlston, Berkshire.

Douglas Bader had an interest in riding and was a member of the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association.

Douglas Bader helped associations involved in riding for disabled people.

Douglas Bader campaigned vigorously for people with disabilities and set an example of how one could thrive with a disability.

In June 1976, Douglas Bader was knighted for his services to disabled people.

Douglas Bader maintained his interest in aviation, and in 1977 he was made a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Douglas Bader received a Doctorate of Science from Queen's University Belfast.

Douglas Bader was busy acting as a consultant to Aircraft Equipment International at Ascot, Berkshire.

Douglas Bader's health was in decline in the 1970s, and he soon gave up flying altogether.

On 4 June 1979, Douglas Bader flew his Beech 95 Travelair for the last time, the aircraft having been gifted to him on his retirement from Shell.

Douglas Bader had recorded 5,744 hours and 25 minutes flying time.

Douglas Bader's workload was exhausting for a legless man with a worsening heart condition.

On 5 September 1982, after a dinner honouring Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris at the Guildhall, at which he spoke, Douglas Bader died of a heart attack while being driven through Chiswick, west London, on his way home.

Galland and Douglas Bader had shared a friendship that spanned more than 40 years since their first meeting in France.

Certainly Douglas Bader, had he been present, would have instantly recognised the stranger in the dark raincoat.

Douglas Bader was so bitter, he refused to attend the premiere, and only saw the film eleven years later, on television.

Douglas Bader never spoke to Brickhill again, and never answered his letters.

Douglas Bader was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1982 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews during a reception on the Martini Terrace of New Zealand House in London's Haymarket.

Woodley Airfield, now redeveloped but housing the Museum of Berkshire Aviation, is where Douglas Bader lost his legs in a flying accident in 1931.

Heyford Park Free School Upper Heyford which is located on the former RAF Station Upper Heyford US Air Force airfield has honoured Douglas Bader by using his name for one of the school's houses.

Douglas Bader Drive near Auckland International Airport in Auckland, New Zealand was named in Douglas Bader's honour.

In 2020 a special school, named the Douglas Bader Academy, was opened in the City of Doncaster.

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets "RAFAC Douglas Bader" is the organisations main management system, used by both Staff and Cadets.

Squadron Leader Douglas Bader has continued to lead his squadron and wing with the utmost gallantry on all occasions.

Douglas Bader has now destroyed a total of ten hostile aircraft and damaged several more.

Douglas Bader attributed his success to the belief in the three basic rules, shared by the German ace Erich Hartmann:.