The Airmen's Stories - F/O B W J D'Arcy-Irvine

The parents of Brian William Jesse D'Arcy-Irvine lived in Serdang, Kedah, Malaya, where he was born on 19th April 1918. He was educated at Stowe School and went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Architecture. He was a member of the University Air Squadron in 1938 and was commissioned in the RAFVR in October.

D'Arcy-Irvine is pictured above at Cranwell in November 1939, second from the right in the middle row.

Called up for full-time service at the outbreak of war, D'Arcy-Irvine completed his training and arrived at 5 OTU, Aston Down on 22nd April 1940. After converting to Hurricanes he was posted on 14th May to 257 Squadron, then about to be formed at Hendon.

On 8th August 1940 D'Arcy-lrvine was reported 'Missing' after a combat with Me109’s of III/JG27 off St. Catherine's Point in Hurricane P3058. In 1980 the squadron Intelligence Officer contacted the family and said that one of 257's pilots reported that he had evaded a Me109 on his tail after D'Arcy-Irvine had radioded a warning to him but he was not heard from again.

He was a very able artist, often of birds and aeroplanes, having been taught a lot by his great friend, Peter Scott, the naturalist.

He was 22 and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 5.

Runnymede image courtesy of Dean Sumner

Photographs courtesy of the late Ann Brady/Kasteel (nee D'Arcy-Irvine), sister of Brian D'Arcy-Irvine and via Annabel Caddle.