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The Airmen's Stories - F/O N A R Doughty

 

Squadron Leader (Flying Officer during the Battle) Neville Anthony Richard Doughty was born in Raynes Park, London on the 5th April 1919, he lived at The Wick, Burton Road, Bournemouth with his parents until attending Douai Boarding School at Woolhampton, Berks, between 1930 and 1933, and Caterham School, Surrey, between 1934 until 1936 when he gained a place at University College, Gower Street, London.

It was here he became interested in flying and joined the University of London Air Squadron, flying from Northolt Aerodrome under the instruction of a former Royal Flying Corps pilot, W/Cdr. TFW Thompson DFC. Once a year the squadron would hold its annual camp at RAF Duxford where lectures and flying demonstrations would take place.

Doughty left University in 1937 with an intermediate Bsc in Engineering, taking a job as an engineer with the British Thompson Houston Company at Rugby. (the company, initially supplying electricity and light bulbs, went on to help in the development of the jet engine in 1935, and supplied aircraft magnetos and compressors throughout WW2, it is now part of Marconi).

 

 

He kept up his interest in flying throughout this period, and eventually left the company, joining the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 13th September 1938. He attended his flying training at a civil school at Desford between 28th December 1938 and 4th March 1939, gaining his private pilots licence (No 17085) on 24th February 1939.

He was given a short term commission as a Pilot Officer, on probation, with the RAF on 4th March 1939, attending No. 8 Flying Training School between 20th March 1939 and 30th September 1939, (being awarded his ‘wings’ on 24th June). He was posted to operational flying duties with 152 Squadron on 30th September 1939 operating from Acklington, flying Gloster Gladiators and Harts, under the command of W/Cdr. FWC Shute.

On 24th November 1939 Doughty was flying Gladiator N5640 on searchlight co-operation duty when his engine stalled. He abandoned the aircraft while it was in a spin and parachuted safely over Denton Burn, Northumberland. Research shows that he never applied to Irvin GQ Ltd for his Caterpillar badge!

On 28th November 1939, Blue Section of 152 was detached to Sumburgh for Fighter Defence of the Shetland Isles and the anchorages there. In December it was designated The Fighter Flight Shetlands under Coastal Command (18 Group) the strength of the unit being three Gloster Gladiators with another two used as ‘spares’.

Doughty joined them on 5th January 1940, the unit being renamed The Fighter Flight RAF Sumburgh, with a total of seven pilots under the command of F/Lt. HA Chater. On 14th January the Flight became re-attached to 152 Squadron under Fighter Command. During their stay in the Shetlands the flight carried out 498 operational Patrols, consisting of Convoy Patrols, co-operation with the Navy and Army AA Units, RDF trials, and interceptions, with a tally of two unconfirmed, two probables, and two damaged enemy aircraft.

On 14th July 1940 orders were received to move down south to Roborough, Devon (a Fleet Air Arm Station), in order to defend Plymouth on day and night patrols.

On 21st July, the pilots took off in their Gladiators for the long flight stopping overnight at Turnhouse. Doughty did not fly the whole way, as his aircraft became unserviceable and he travelled the journey in ‘luxury’ by train, arriving on the 23rd.

By 1st August the Fighter Flight Sumburgh were installed at Roborough and were reformed as 247 squadron, under 10 Group Fighter Command, (a detachment later operating from St Eval), with a total of 10 pilots still flying 12 of the obsolete fabric covered Gladiator biplanes!). This squadron, along with No 804 Squadron FAA, had the distinction of being the only two squadrons taking part in the Battle of Britain flying this type of aircraft.

On 31st August the squadron was visited by Lord Trenchard, followed by a visit on 2nd September from ACM Sir William Mitchell, the Inspector General both who promised new aircraft and better accommodation (along with the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair during his visit on 2nd November) resulting in two Lysanders being attached on 24th September!

The squadron strength on 30th September was recorded as 10 officers and 108 other ranks.

On 10th October 1940 an epidemic of flu and sore throats swept through the squadron for a fortnight resulting in over a third of the pilots and 15% of aircrew reporting sick. The sickness didn’t appear to affect Doughty as he is shown flying on patrols on 28th and 29th October, when twelve Ju88s from LG1 raided Portsmouth, P/O Winter intercepting one Ju88. (he would also intercept another one on the 7th November).

The question of suitable accommodation and transport for the squadron became acute, so much so that houses close to the aerodrome were requisitioned and drivers allocated from Mount Batten. On 4th December the squadron was paraded for a visit by ACM Dowding, OC Fighter Command, who spoke with all the pilots asking each in turn for suggestions in improving the squadron. All agreed that new aircraft should be top of the list!

Two weeks later a message was received from Fighter Command that Hurricanes were on their way, (by January 1941 all pilots had converted to these aircraft.) On 15th December Doughty was admitted to Torquay Hospital but the reasons are not known.

By the conclusion of the Battle of Britain, 247 Squadron had a strength of 11 officers and 135 other ranks (7 of these pilots) with ninety six hours operational flying, almost half of that with night patrols, Doughty flying many of these in Gladiator N5644.

On 9th February 1941, Doughty was posted to 601 Squadron at Northolt, where he was engaged on offensive sweeps over France (Circus and Rhubarbs), flying Hurricanes, under the command of S/Ldr. JA O’Neill. In April he was instructed to fly his Hurricane to Hendon where, under strict security arrangements, he spent 130 hours practising take-offs before reaching a white line across the runway a couple of hundred yards ahead of him.

His Hurricane was also fitted with 45 gallon long-range tanks, and he was told to use 15 degrees of flap on take-off. No explanation was given to Doughty, but he was eventually informed that he had been selected along with 23 other pilots to deliver Hurricanes to the besieged island of Malta, flying off the aircraft carrier ‘Ark Royal’. They arrived at Malta on 27th April, the whole operation being codenamed ‘Dunlop’.

These fighters were sent to Takali airfield for use by 261 Squadron in the defence of Malta. Doughty, however, only stayed until 6th July when he was posted to 127 squadron at Kasfareet in Syria flying Hurricanes. He was immediately involved in fighter patrols, taking part in a patrol over Deir Ez Zor on 8th July when two Me109s were shot down. The next day, on taking off for another patrol, his undercarriage failed to retract on his Hurricane, so he was forced to return and undertake repairs.

On 12th of July, 127 squadron was absorbed into 261, Doughty rejoining his old unit on the 17th by flying six Hurricanes from Deir Ez Zor to Habbaniya. He became the Flight Commander of A Flight on 18th July, flying as Red 1, and promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 8th August. The squadron moved to Shaibah for Operation ‘Y’ on 2nd August 1941,which involved maintaining standing patrols over the oil ports of Abadan and Khorramshar and attacking any enemy aircraft in the area.

Operations throughout August were intense, sorties numbering anything up to 50 a day, Doughty flying many of these with the commanding officer, and ‘ace’, Squadron Leader EM ‘Imshi’ Mason DFC.

Major General Slim MC, OIC of 10th Indian Division, under whom the squadron operated was quoted to say, ‘our pilots never hesitated to attack against odds of five or six to one. On every occasion on which they made contact, they succeeded in driving off the enemy ‘. On 20th September 1941, Doughty had trouble in getting his undercarriage down on his Hurricane and force landed with his wheels up causing damage to the airscrew. One week later Doughty was leading ‘A’ flight to Mosul when his engine developed trouble causing oil from the airscrew to obscure his windscreen. He managed to land the aircraft safely in a sandstorm at Sharqat!

On 28th October Doughty took over temporary command of the squadron for a month, whilst S/Ldr. Mason was on duty in Cairo. (Mason was posted to 260 Squadron on 8th January 1942, and then 94 Squadron where he was KIA on 15th February).

On 30th January 1942 Doughty was ‘rested’ by being posted to Air HQ Libya for a month as a flying instructor. He was then posted to 94 Squadron as a Flight Commander on 24th February 1942, flying Kittyhawks from Gambut in the Western Desert. They were engaged on mainly escort duties for Boston bomber raids under the command of S/Ldr. Ian Mc Dougall.

On 21st April he was sent to No 71 OTU ME, as a Test Pilot for five months and then to 108-109 Maintenance Unit HQ ADME, until March 1943. On 22nd March he was posted as a Staff Officer Operational Training to Air Officer Commanding No 209 Group. On 6th July 1943 he was posted as Staff Officer to Air officer commanding 212 Group, being promoted to Squadron Leader in November, where he stayed until March 1944, being posted to HQ MAAF Personnel Transit Centre for two months.

On 17th May 1944 he was posted to the second Greek fighter squadron, No 336 (Hellenic), flying Spitfire Vs, engaged on shipping protection and air defence from Mersa Matruh off the Libyan coast, under the command of S/Ldr. Margaritus.

Doughty undertook the duties of Advisory Officer whilst with the squadron flying to meet AOC of 212 Group on 17th June reporting on the position and effectiveness of the squadron.

On 12th October 1944 Neville Doughty married Margaret Labat at St Josephs Church Cairo, taking a month’s leave returning to the UK on 10th November 1944. Two days later he was posted to the Air Ministry, Directorate of Mechanical Transport, where he stayed until the end of the war, being promoted to Wing Commander on 2nd May 1945.

Doughty continued serving with the RAF after the war, and on 2nd March 1946 was appointed head of the Air Ministry branch responsible for the control and operation of Motor Transport for the RAF until the completion of his war service in September of that year.

From 20th September 1946 until 21st December 1947 he was employed with the Foreign Office, as a Control Officer Grade 1 with the Control Commission for Germany. He was employed as a commander of a car unit of 300 vehicles in charge of 50 British and 500 German personnel, comprising of a HQ and two detachments. He was specially commended by the Home Office for his valuable service to the Control Commission. After returning to the UK he lived at Milldown Cottage, Milldown Road, in Seaford, East Sussex.

He rejoined the RAF as a Flight Lieutenant on 19th December 1947, and was appointed Adjutant at RAF Station Guterslch, Germany. In March 1948 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and appointed to the Air Staff (Plans), Air HQ British Forces of Occupation Germany.

From the 14th October 1948 until 30th September1949 he attended a course at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Shemlan, designed to give the student a grounding in Arabic, both written and spoken, and an understanding of the history and culture of the Arabic speaking peoples. In competition with 21 other students he obtained third place with a mark of 84%.

On 27th October 1949 Doughty was posted to HQ MEAF (Ismailia) and in November appointed Senior RAF Intelligence Officer on the staff of the AOC No 205 Group, where he stayed until March 1951.He then attended No 1 Flying Training School on 7th March for a single engine (Jets) course, and then No 127 Flying instructor Course at the Central Flying School in May. By December 1951 he was the OC (Flying) at the No 6 Radio School, Cranwell, and OC a squadron of 300 Radio Apprentices.

From November 1952 until December 1954 he was OC Home Command Communications Squadron at White Waltham. On 2nd November 1954 he attended No 63 RAF Intelligence Course at RAF Uxbridge, until January 1955, when he was appointed Senior RAF and Army Intelligence Officer in Southern Arabia (Aden) on the staff of the Air Officer Commanding British Forces, staying for just over two years.

From 24th June until 27th September 1957 he attended No 60 Joint Air Traffic Control Course at The Central Navigation and Control School at Shawbury, gaining an 81% pass mark.

On 7th October 1957 he was posted to Tangmere, Sussex and granted an RAF Air Traffic Controllers Category (B1) for control of aircraft at a high intensity RAF Master Airfield.

He voluntarily retired from the RAF on 6th January 1958, receiving a letter from the Air Ministry on behalf of HM Queen Elizabeth on 11th December 1957, thanking him for his long and valuable services.

He became the owner of the Hayfield Hotel in County Road, Ormskirk, Lancs, and spent over twenty years as Managing Director of Berkeley Wine Cellar Ltd.

He then went to live in the Channel Islands, running The Old Court House Hotel at Gorey, on the island of Jersey. By this time his wartime wife had died and he remarried Kathleen who had two daughters from a previous marriage. They moved to 9, Place Sauveur in Dinan France, and had a son born to them named Anthony who sadly died in tragic circumstances.

S/Ldr. Doughty became terminally ill with cancer in 2002 and moved back to the UK and into a rest home in Poole in Dorset. He died on 12th November 2002 being cremated at Poole Crematorium on the 20th following a mass and funeral service at Poole Catholic Church, with the local RAFA in attendance.

His ashes were scattered in the New Forest as specified in his will.

 


©Simon Muggleton 2007

 

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