HOME
 

Hugh Tamblyn

RAF   F/L

DFC

Hugh Norman Donald Tamblyn was born in Watrous, Saskatchewan in 1917.
Son of Norman & Ethel Mary Tamblyn of North Battleford.
Home in Yorkton, Sask.
Educated at Yorkton and Calgary.
Father living in North Battleford.
Originally enlisted in the RAFVR.
Appointed Acting Pilot Officer on Probation, 4 June 1938.
Promoted to Flying Officer, September 1940.
With 141 squadron flying Defiants & managed to survive.
With 242 sq. (Toujours Pret) flying Hurricanes during the BoB.
Killed In Action, 3 April 1941 - shot down into the sea by return fire from a DO-17 while on convoy duty east of Felixtowe, England. He radioed that his Hurricane aircraft was on fire. A search found his body unwounded. He had died of exposure. Hugh Tamblyn is buried in the Ipswich Cemetery, Suffolk, England. Grave Reference: Section. X.H. Grave 421 & he is commemorated on Page 605 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance which is held in the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
Hugh Tamblyn
 

_________________________________________________

A Rare Defiant Victory

On July 12, 1940, F/O Hugh Tamblyn flew from West Mailing, England with nine Defiant aircraft, of 141 Squadron. They flew a patrol twenty miles from Folkestone, England. During the patrol they were attacked by German ME-109 fighter aircraft. Tamblyn was one of two pilots to get back to his base. His air gunner claimed a 109 destroyed.

_________________________________________________

TAMBLYN, F/O Hugh Norman (40862) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.242 Sq.
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 7 January 1941.

Specifically listed in AFRO 1292/41 dated 7 November 1941 as a Canadian in the RAF who had been decorated as of that date. Air Ministry Bulletin 2582 refers:

Flying Officer Tamblyn has shown the greatest keenness to engage the enemy and has destroyed at least five of their aircraft. He has set a splendid example to other members of his section.

NOTE: Public Record Office Air 2/10175 has the original recommendation dated 10 December 1940, signed by the Wing Commander in charge of Duxford:

This officer during operations from Duxford has destroyed five enemy aircraft, and probably destroyed another two. He has, on all occasions, shown the greatest coolness combined with keenness to engage the enemy, and has set a fine example to his section.

This was minuted by Air Vice-Marshal T. Leigh-Mallory (Air Officer Commanding, No.12 Group) on 11 December 1940, "Strongly recommended for Distinguished Flying Cross", and noted as "Approved" by Air Marshal W.S. Douglas (Air Officer Commanding, Fighter Command) on 12 December 1940.

_________________________________________________

Members of 242 Squadron Clowning around
242 pilots clowning for the cameras (making fun of ze fuhrer - nice boobs Doug ;^) L to R - Douglas Bader, ?(hidden), Rolly Dibnah, Willy McNight (KIA 12 Jan. 1941), Lawrance Cryderman (KIA 8 Feb 1941) & Tamblyn (seated)

Airmen Who Met Huns During Battle of Britain Paved Way For Offensive
Some of Canada's First Aces of This War Still Are in Action
— Pilots Now Seek Out Enemy Over His Own Territory

(Written for the Canadian Press by Flt.Lt. Basil Dean, R.C.A.F.)
Fighter Command, Somewhere in England, Sept. 8, ‘43.— (CP)—There are still some of the few left, some of those hard-fighting combat pilots of Battle of Britain days, but mostly it is a new brood of pilots who fly from the air bases hereabouts in Britain's Fighter Command. Three years ago, when the first few of Canada's aerial aces were fighting their way to fame, the battles were over British soil. Now, with greater numbers of Canadians than ever before in Fighter Command, the pilots are going out to seek the enemy over his own territory. This air fighting of today is offensive, not defensive, as during the Battle of Britain, but it was the fighting then that made the current offensive possible.

Some Still Flying
Some of the Canadians who fought with honour and glory in those grim days three years ago are still flying. Wing-Cmdr. D.B. Russel, D.F.C., of Montreal, who now leads an R.C.A.F. Spitfire wing in Britain, was then P.O. Dal Russel and a member of Canada's No. 1 Fighter Squadron, which arrived in England in June, 1940—just in time to get trained for the fierce tests of August and September of that year.
Russel's old commanding officer, Ernie McNab, now is Group Capt. Ernest McNab, D.F.C., of Regina, commander of an R.C.A.F. fighter station.
In Sicily, Squadron-Ldr. Stanley Turner, D.F.C. and Bar, of Toronto, led the R.C.A.F.'s City of Windsor fighter squadron through the island campaign. In 1940, he was a flight commander in the R.A.F.’s famed "all-Canadian" squadron led by Wing-Cmdr. Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C., which destroyed 63 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain and shared three with other squadrons.
The squadron was composed mainly of Canadians who had joined the R.A.F. before the war, and fought nobly during the Battle of France and over Dunkerque.

Most Efficient
Its achievements during the Battle of Britain, indeed, brought from the air officer commanding of the group in which it was serving at the time a message which said that its efficiency as a squadron was "equal, if not superior, to any squadron in the R.A.F." The British chief of air staff signaled: "You are well on top of the enemy and obviously the fine Canadian traditions of the last war are safe in your hands."
Greatest pilot of the "all-Canadian" squadron—apart from the legless commander, Bader (who was not Canadian)—was P.O. W.L. McKnight, D.F.C. and bar, of Calgary, who was reported missing some months after the Battle of Britain ended. McKnight destroyed 16½ enemy aircraft, and was the first ( -ed) Canadian ace of the war.
The "all-Canadian" squadron's first Battle of Britain engagement was August 30, when Bader, now a prisoner of war, led a formation of 14 Hurricanes against a "vast number" of German aircraft, two swarms of 70 to 100 each. Detaching one section to investigate a third formation of aircraft some distance away, Bader led the rest of his pilots to the attack. As a result, 12 enemy aircraft were destroyed; not one of the Hurricanes had so much a scratch.
Similar engagements followed. On September 7, Bader and his Canadians destroyed 10 enemy aircraft without losing a pilot, although seven of the squadron's Hurricanes were damaged. On September 19, when the wing in which the squadron was flying destroyed a total of 18 enemy aircraft, the "all-Canadians" were credited with 11 of these for the loss of one pilot killed.
And then, in the greatest day's fighting of all on September 15, the squadron destroyed 12 enemy aircraft. This was the day on which Bader described the fighting as "the finest shamble I've ever been in."
"The sky," he added, "was full of Hurricanes and. Spitfires, queuing up and pushing each other out of the way to get at the Dorniers. I was seldom able to hold my sights on a target for long for fear of colliding with other Spitfires and Hurricanes anxious to get in a burst."
Among the Canadians P.O. J.B. Latta, D.F.C., Victoria, B.C., had knocked down five enemy planes; Flt.-Lt. Turner had five; so had P.O. N.K. Stansfeld, D.F.C., Vancouver. P.O. H.N. Tamblyn, D.F.C., North Battleford, Sask., and P.O. N. Hart had four each. Altogether Canadian pilots in the squadron had destroyed 45 of the total of 65 credited to the squadron; Bader had scored 11.
Canada's own No. 1 fighter squadron, which although its personnel have completely changed; is still flying in Britain with fighter command, had scored a total of 31 victories during the battle under McNab's leadership. McNab himself had scored the first victory to be credited to a member of the squadron when, in order to gain combat experience, he flew as a supernumerary officer with an R.A.F. squadron before No. 1 fighter was ready for front-line duties.
In the squadron's first engagement as a unit, on August 24, it destroyed three Dorniers for the loss of one pilot. By the end of its first week in action it had destroyed eight enemy aircraft for the loss of one pilot killed. The score continued to mount until September 27, when the Canadian squadron destroyed seven enemy aircraft out of about 70 engaged during the day; one pilot of the squadron was killed. In the day's first fight, Russell had destroyed an ME 109 and an ME 110 and had shared with a Polish pilot the destruction of a third enemy fighter.
McNab, Flt.Lt. G. R. McGregor and Russel were each awarded the D.F.C., having destroyed between them, 11½ of the squadron's total. McNab and McGregor now are both group captains; Russel is a wing commander.
In other squadrons of the R.A.F., Canadians had also distinguished themselves. One of the flight commanders in the R.A.F. squadron was a Canadian, Flt-Lt. R.A. Barton, Kamloops, B.C., who later became squadron commander of his unit. He was awarded the D.F.C. for his "outstanding leadership" on September 27, a day on which the squadron destroyed 21 enemy aircraft for the loss of two pilots killed. The total bag during September was 48, a total exceeded only by the famous No. 303 Polish squadron, in which another Canadian, Flt.-Lt. (now Wing-Cmdr.) John Kent, Winnipeg, was at that time a flight commander.

To see a photo of 242 Squadron members, click here

_________________________________________________

Victories Include :

19 July 1940
7 Sept 1940

9 Sept 1940
15 Sept 1940
18 Sept 1940
27 Sept 1940

25 Feb 1941
one Me109
one Me109
one Me109
two Me109s
1/2 Do17
one Do17
one Me109

one Do17
destroyed (by Tail Gunner)
destroyed &
probable
destroyed
destroyed
destroyed
damaged

damaged

5.5 / 1 / 2    or   4.5 / 1 / 2

_________________________________________________

Battle Of Britain Service Planned Here For Sunday
Pay Tribute To Heroic Airmen

On Sunday, September 21, (1947) across the whole Dominion of Canada congregations in churches will bow their heads in prayer in tribute to the valiant members of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force who gave their lives for freedom in the Battle of Britain waged over the skies of that island from July to October 1940.
In that epic struggle for supremacy of the air Canada was represented by several hundred officers and airmen who served as air crew and ground crew in Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands. The great majority of these Canadians who fought in the Battle of Britain were young men who had crossed the Atlantic in pre-war days to enroll in the R.A.F. and served in units of that force. There were, however, two fighter squadrons which bore the name Canadian. One was 242 (Canadian) Squadron of the R.A.F., composed of Canadian fighter pilots in the R.A.F.; the other was No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron of the R.C.A.F., (later designated No. 401) which arrived in Britain on the eve of the battle.
Hamilton today mourns the loss of one of her sons who fought in this heroic battle. P/O Norris Hart, son of R.S. Hart, 90 Stinson Street, was shot down in the first week of November 1940 after having served with 242 Squadron under the famous leader S/L Douglas Bader for two months.

Official Record
Speaking of 242 Squadron R.A.F., on September 15, 1940, the official R.A.F. records state "September 15 marked the climax of the battle, the historic day on which 85 enemy aircraft were shot down. When, just before noon on that sunny Sunday morning, the first great waves of raiders began to cross the Channel, No. 242 Squadron took off to engage them. Over Gravesend, east of London, the squadron, accompanied by four other fighter units, found about 30 Dorniers escorted by Messerschmitt fighters flying 6,000 feet below. S/L Bader led his pilots in a diving attack out of the sun and the enemy force was all but annihilated. Bader described the action as "the finest shambles" he had been in. For once the British had the advantage of height, position and numbers; indeed the sky seemed to be full of Spitfires and Hurricanes who queued up and pushed each other out of the way to get a shot at the Nazi bombers. The German fighters judiciously stayed out of the way. Stansfeld and Turner each destroyed a Dornier; FO. Tamblyn shared another with a companion; S/L Bader shot down a fourth and a Fleet Air Arm pilot in the squadron accounted for a fifth. P/O Hart shot down an Me-109 in flames. In addition several Dorniers were damaged. The four squadrons flying with No. 242 claimed 23 destroyed and eight probables in the action.
This is but the account of one squadron in one day of those terrible four months that finally hammered the Hun into submission so far as striving for the conquest of Britain was concerned. It is for the heroism of those pilots who fought those grim battles high above the British Isles that Canadians everywhere will offer a prayer of thanks on Sunday as will the people of Great Britain.

Church Parade
Here in Hamilton the occasion will be marked by a church parade of 424 Fighter Squadron R.C.A.F. (Auxiliary) and the Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadrons of Hamilton to the Church of St. Thomas. At this special service Wing Cmdr. Douglas H. Wigle, commanding officer of 424 Squadron will read the lesson and Rev. Dr. R.C. Blagrave, rector of the church, will deliver a special sermon.
Following the service the squadron and cadets, led by the Air Cadet Trumpet Band, will march west on Main Street East to James Street, north on James to King Street, and east on King Street past a saluting base near the Cenotaph. Here the salute will be taken by Commander Sam Ross R.C.N. (R), commanding officer of H.M.C.S. Star; Lt.Col. A.E. Bliss, E.D., commanding officer of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, and Group Captain Norman S. McGregor, president of the Hamilton Air Cadets.
Following the march past the squadron will return on the north side of King Street and halt in front of the Cenotaph where a wreath will be placed and Last Post and Reveille sounded. The parade will then move off south on Hughson Street to Hunter Street for dismissal.
In the afternoon at approximately 4 o'clock two flights of the squadron, commanded by S/L Douglas Annan, D.F.C., A.F.C., and S/L William A. Olmsted, D.S.O., D.F.C. and Bar, will fly in formation over the city.

_________________________________________________

Back to

--- Canadian Aces ---

flyingforyourlife

Related Sites :

 

_________________________________________________

Thanks go out to

 

On these pages I use Hugh Halliday's extensive research which includes info from numerous sources; newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC); the Google News Archives; the London Gazette Archives and other sources both published and private.

Some content on this site is probably the property of acesofww2.com unless otherwise noted.     Mail