RAF wartime hero honoured with blue plaque
3 Jun 09
Wartime RAF hero Sir Douglas Bader has been commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque outside the London home where he lived for more than 25 years. Report by Steve Willmot.
Bader's son-in-law, David Bickers (left), with Sir Richard Branson at Douglas Bader's house
[Picture: English Heritage]
The plaque marks Bader's outstanding wartime achievements - all the more remarkable given that he suffered a double amputation in 1931 following a horrendous aircraft crash.
In response to the accident, Bader committed a typically laconic reflection to his log book, recalling: 'Crashed slow-rolling near ground. Bad show.'
The blue plaque was unveiled at Petersham Mews, Chelsea, where Bader lived from 1955 until his death in 1982.
Joining the celebration was Sir Richard Branson, a friend of the Bader family and an original supporter of the work of the Douglas Bader Foundation.
In later life Bader increasingly turned his attention to charitable activities on behalf of the disabled, always sympathetic to the plight of others who had lost limbs; he offered inspiration and practical advice to those living with disabilities and was awarded the CBE in 1956 and knighted for his services to the disabled in 1976.
Sir Richard Branson said:
"I was very fortunate to have known Douglas Bader when I was a child, since my Aunt Clare was perhaps his best friend. He used to sit on the lawn and tell us stories of how he'd escaped on so many occasions from prisoner-of-war camps in Germany until the Nazis finally confiscated his legs.
"Being a seven-year-old, I used to run off with his legs to hide them only to find out that he could use his arms just as well as his legs and I never got far! His spirit of adventure had an enormous influence in my life as he had on millions of others. He literally reached for the sky."
Douglas Bader was born in 1910 in North London and spent his early years living with relatives on the Isle of Man whilst his parents were in India.
"He used to sit on the lawn and tell us stories of how he'd escaped on so many occasions from prisoner-of-war camps in Germany until the Nazis finally confiscated his legs."
Sir Richard Branson
He won an officer scholarship to the RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire in 1928 and his progression was swift - after flying solo in 1929, he was commissioned as a pilot officer a year later. His natural skill earned him a place in the aerobatics team at Hendon but his showmanship caught up with him when, in December 1931, he crashed whilst attempting an ambitious stunt. Though lucky to survive the crash, Bader sustained horrific injuries that necessitated the amputation of both his legs.
Bader adopted an extraordinarily upbeat approach to his disability, and began walking with a pair of artificial legs within six months of the crash. He soon set his sights on flying again. However, the RAF decided that Bader could not resume his career as a pilot and was given ground duties - but the naturally flamboyant Bader found this hugely frustrating and was discharged from the force in 1933.
He found it difficult to reconcile himself to civilian life and in 1938 extracted a promise that he could return to flying duties if war were declared; after completing a refresher course at Cranwell, he reported for duty at RAF Duxford in February 1940. Seven days later he took to the skies in a Spitfire for the first time, a machine he later described as 'the aeroplane of one's dreams'.
Bader took part in the patrols supporting the British evacuation from Dunkirk, and was swiftly promoted to command No 242 Squadron, made up of battle-weary Canadian pilots bearing the scars of the debacle in northern France. Yet Bader's enthusiasm and skill moulded the unit into a disciplined fighting team and, by August, they joined the battle against the daily German bombing raids.
After the Battle of Britain had been won Bader was promoted to Wing Commander in March 1941 - becoming one of the force's first 'Wing Leaders'. He led raiding missions across northern Europe with a view to distracting and destroying German fighter units.
However, any hope of adding to his tally of enemy aircraft shot down was dashed on 9 August when Bader collided with a German aeroplane over Bethune and bailed out - leaving one of his prosthetic legs in the cockpit!
From left: Keith Delderfield, Chief Operating Officer of the Douglas Bader Foundation, David Bickers and Sir Richard Branson unveil the blue plaque
[Picture: English Heritage]
He was captured by the Germans and, after spending a brief spell in hospital, was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp at Sagan. Bader's reputation preceded him and he initially won respect from his captors who arranged for a replacement leg to be parachuted over. Yet Bader's persistent non-cooperation with the Germans and numerous attempts to escape saw him sent to the prison camp at Colditz. There he remained until liberation by American troops in 1945.
Bader was awarded numerous honours for his wartime service, including the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, and the Légion d'Honneur. Bader's reputation was such that he was chosen to lead the first Battle of Britain flypast in September 1945 - a formation of three hundred aircraft.
From 1958 he increasingly devoted time to charitable activities on behalf of the disabled. Bader offered inspiration and practical advice to those living with disabilities and there is little doubt that he helped change attitudes towards those who had suffered the loss of a limb; this pioneering activity is perpetuated by the Douglas Bader Foundation, which was set up by his friends and family following his death.
Bader flew for the last time in 1980 at the age of seventy, and Petersham Mews remained his London bolt-hole until his death in September 1982.
The blue plaques scheme is driven by public suggestion. In order to be eligible for consideration, a person must have been dead for twenty years or have passed the centenary of their birth, and a building associated with them must survive. The blue plaques scheme has been running for 140 years - English Heritage has managed it since 1986.