The Airmen's Stories - P/O P V Boot

Peter Victor Boot was born in Walsall on 12th September 1916 and attended Bishops Heath School in Sutton Coldfield. He joined the RAFVR in July 1937 as an Airman u/t Pilot and was called up on 1st September 1939.

He married Joyce Foster Birnie in September 1939 in Sutton Coldfield.

He was posted to 10 FTS Ternhill on the 9th on No. 13 Course. After completing his training Boot joined 235 Squadron at Manston on 6th November 1939.

He arrived at 11 Group Pool St. Athan on 1st February 1940. The unit was redesignated 6 OTU on 6th March. Boot converted to Hurricanes and was posted to No. 1 Squadron on 23rd March. He joined the squadron in France on the 30th.

Boot claimed a Me109 damaged on 12th May, shared a Me110 on the 14th and destroyed a Do17 on the 16th.

On 5th June Boot forced a He111 to land in a field near Rouen. Having expended all his ammunition in combat, he made diving passes on the straggling bomber until it went down. Boot also shot down a Do17 on the same day. He flew back to England with the squadron on 17th June.

On 31st August 1940 Boot damaged a Me110 and on 1st September he destroyed a Me109.

Awarded the DFC (gazetted 1st October 1940), he was posted to 5 OTU on 18th October as an instructor. He was posted to CFS on 22nd February 1941.

On 8th September 1941 Boot joined 4 SFTS in Canada as an instructor. His subsequent service is currently undocumented but there is a possibility that he may have returned to operations towards the end of the war.

Released from the RAF in 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant, Boot joined the family quarry and mining business. When some of it was nationalised by the Labour Government he went into property development and management.

He died in September 1984.