The Airmen's Stories - P/O P W Comely

Peter Woodruff Comely, of Bibury, Gloucestershire, was born on 31st March 1921.

His father, Richard Basil Comely (1893-1959), served as an officer in the 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment and was wounded in 1914 and again in January 1915. He ended the war in a London hospital. His mother was Mabel Elizabeth Woodruff (1890-1978).

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PW Comely joined the RAF on a short service commission in January 1939. After completing his training at 11 FTS Shawbury he was posted to 145 Squadron at Croydon on 23rd October 1939, soon after the squadron was reformed with Blenheims.

On 10th February 1940 Comely was aloft in Blenheim K7091 with crew members LAC J Sutton and AC1 A Jarman. West of Gatwick they collided with K7114 flown by P/O RM Hogg with LAC A Tidder, AC1 L Hayes and AC1 C Crew.

LAC Tidder baled out and landed safely at Colegate, Sussex, all the others remained with the damaged aircraft which landed safely at Croydon.

On 21st April 1940 Comely was instructed to take a newly arrived pilot, P/O CD Gordon-Wilson, aloft for an hour's practice dog-fighting, Comely in Hurricane N2602 and his pupil in N2500.

Unseen by Comely, Gordon-Wilson crashed into a wood and was killed instantly.

(There is a full account of this incident at https://www.kenleyrevival.org/content/new-contributions/pilot-officer-cornelius-desmond-gordon-wilson-no-145-squadron-raf-croydon)

On 16th May 1940 Comely, in company with five other pilots, delivered Hurricanes to 87 Squadron at Lille-Seclin. They remained to fly operationally with the squadron and the last two survivors, Comely and F/O DH Ward, went on to the strength of the squadron.

Above images courtesy of Richard Comely (nephew).

On 20th May Comely engaged a Ju88 near Arras but took return fire in his wing and oil tank and had to return for repairs.

87 Squadron was withdrawn from France to Debden on 20th May. On that day Comely claimed two Ju88s destroyed. The squadron left Debden for Church Fenton.

Above: Comely (left) with his colleague F/Lt. IR Gleed (KIA 16th April 1943).

Above L to R: F/O R Watson, F/O KW Tait (NZ), F/lt. IR Gleed, F/O RMS Rayner, P/O PW Comely at the White Swan Inn, Bibury 1940.

Above image courtesy of the collection of F/O R Watson.

At the end of July 'B' Flight of 87 Squadron went south in a night-fighting role. During the night of 7th/8th August Comely shot down a He111 into the sea. Comely claimed a Ju88 destroyed on 11th August.

He shot down a Me110 in combat off Portland on the 15th but was himself shot down, crashing into the sea in Hurricane P2872.

He was 19 and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, panel 7.

Above image courtesy of Dean Sumner.

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His younger brother, Anthony Hugh Basil Comely, died on 24th March 1946 in Bangkok, Thailand aged 24.

He was serving as a F/Sgt. with No. 3 Repair and Salvage Unit (R&SU). This unit was based at RAF Dom Muang where the RAF maintained a staging post in their lines of communication to the Far East.

Unsettled by the end of a relationship with a Thai woman and the prospect of being posted to the occupation forces in Japan, he took his own life with his service pistol.

Comely is buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.