Douglas Bader

Fighter pilot who flew on two artificial legs; commander of No. 242 Squadron and of the Tangmere Wing. Born on 21 February 1910 in London. He passed through the RAF College at Cranwell. On 14 December 1931, performing low-level aerobatics, he crashed; both legs were amputated, the right above the knee and the left below. He learned to walk on artificial legs without a stick, drove a car, played golf and regained his flying category. The RAF nevertheless invalided him out in 1933: there was no regulation for such a case. He returned to the service in 1939, when war came and the requirements eased. In the Battle of Britain he commanded No. 242 Squadron, largely Canadian and badly shaken by its losses in France. He became an advocate of the Big Wing — massing several squadrons for a concentrated attack — and the argument with 11 Group over it ran through the war and is still debated by historians. In August 1941 he was shot down over occupied France and taken prisoner. He escaped repeatedly, and after one attempt too many was sent to Colditz, where he remained until liberation in 1945. His score is usually given as something over twenty victories. After the war he worked on rehabilitation for amputees, a cause in which his own example counted for more than any argument. He died on 5 September 1982.