Late in 1944 he returned to the United Kingdom where he commanded the Banff Strike Wing (Coastal Command Mosquitoes) in Norwegian waters. He reverted back to Squadron Leader in 1946 (Gazetted 13 September 1946). He signed up for 3 more years in the RAF in April 1949 (Gazetted 5 April 1949). Aitken was a Conservative member of Parliament until 1950. He relinquished his commission in 1952 (Gazetted 26 February 1952). He was knighted in 1965. Renounced his father's title of Lord Beaverbrook immediately upon inheriting it. He was an avid and, by most accounts, a good sailor who raced in many international yachting events. He died 1 May 1985 at which time his son revived, and took, the title of Lord Beaverbrook. |
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"…a pretty wild and high-spirited gathering
Life in the pre-war auxiliaries was viewed by most officers as akin to belonging to a uniformed flying club. Although the views and experiences of Carl Davis were never committed to print, one of his squadron mates, The Honourable John William Maxwell Aitken (who became an ace during the Second World War and was subsequently knighted in 1965), succinctly described 'The Millionaires' Mob' in the following quote, published in his official papers in 1982:
'One day in 1934 a friend of mine, Roger Bushell, said to me "Why don't you join the Auxiliary Air farce Max?" Bushell was one of a group of excellent skiers of my acquaintance, an adventurous, hell-raising collection of men who, at the right time of year, would cross the Channel with their cars and drive fast down the highway to St. Anton, where I had a house. Bushell also flew. The idea of flying an aircraft attracted me very much, and when Bushell said: "I'll arrange for you to meet Philip Sassoon at lunch, I at once agreed. Sir Philip Sassoon at the time was Undersecretary of State for Air, with a special interest in the Auxiliary air squadrons. I met him, liked him very much and, in consequence, I found myself posted to No. 601 Fighter Squadron, with its headquarters at Hendon.
My companions there were, as you would expect, a pretty wild and high-spirited gathering, many of whom I already knew from skiing - and after-skiing - parties at St. Anton. They were the sort of young men who had not quite been expelled from their schools, whom mothers warned their daughters against - in vain - who stayed up far too late at parties and then, when everyone was half dead with fatigue, went on to other parries. Does that sort of young man still exist? I do not know. But in those days they were quite common. And they clustered in unusual density at the headquarters of No 601 Sqn.'"Max Aitken quoted from " American Eagles - American Volunteers in the RAF 1937 - 1943 byTony Holmes
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Son of Lord Beaverbrook Has Downed 5 Nazi Planes
Helping Father To Bring About Numerical Equality Between Allied and German Aerial Forces
By A. C. CUMMINGS. From The Evening Citizen's London News Bureau Copyright by the Southam Co., Ltd. LONDON. 5 June 1940 — Lord Beaverbrook’s son and heir, Max Aitken, who gave up the managership of his father’s Sunday newspaper to become a flying officer at the outbreak of the war, has already brought down five German airplanes. He has fought over the Frisian Islands, Calais, Boulogne and Dunkerque in charge of a squadron operating from United Kingdom coasts.
And he has just reported to Lord Beaverbrook, as minister for aircraft production, that only if the Royal Air Force gets more and ever more machines can the Allies be sure of winning the war.
Lord Beaverbrook has appointed T. C. L. Westbrook, one of the former managers of Vickers-Armstrong, to control the purchase of airplanes from Canada and the United States.
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SHOT DOWN EIGHT NAZI PLANES
D.F.C. for Hon. Max Aitken
LORD BEAVERBROOK’S HEIR
5 July 1940 - Squadron-Leader the Hon. Maxwell Aitken, elder son of Lord Beaverbrook, Minister for Aircraft Production, has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in destroying Nazi aircraft. It was reported last month that his official 'bag' of enemy planes was eight, with four more "possibles."
Announcing Squadron-Leader Aitken's award yesterday, the Air Ministry said:- "In May, while leading a section of aircraft on patrol over Brussels, this officer attacked one of 12 Heinkel 111’s, which was finally seen to be losing height with one of it’s wings on fire and black smoke pouring from the other.
The next day when leading his section on another patrol he sighted a large number of Heinkel 111's and Junkers 87 aircraft escorted by Messerschmitt 110's.
Squadron-Leader Aitken attacked and succeeded in destroying one Heinkel and one Junkers. During a night in June, in difficult circumstances, he destroyed yet another enemy aircraft. He has displayed great dash and gallantry.''
PEACE-TIME FLYING
Squadron-Leader Aitken is 30 years of age and has been described as one of the best pilots in Britain. He was an officer in the Auxiliary Air Force at the outbreak of war. He had done many hours of peace-time flying over Europe and the United States of America, and in America he broke several flying records
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AITKIN, S/L The Honourable Max (90128) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.601 Sq.
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 9 July 1940
In May, 1940, whilst leading a section of aircraft on patrol over Brussels, this officer attacked one of twelve Heinkel 111s which was finally seen to be losing height with one of its wings on fire with black smoke pouring from the other. The next day when leading a section on another patrol, a large number of Heinkel 111 and Junkers 87 aircraft, escorted by Messerschmitt 110s, were sighted. Squadron Leader Aitken attacked and succeeded in destroying one Heinkel and one Junkers aircraft. During a night in June 1940, in difficult circumstances, he destroyed yet another enemy aircraft. He has displayed great dash and gallantry.
NOTE: Public Record Office Air 2/4095 has the original recommendation, prepared about 25 June 1940 which, with additional comments, makes interesting comparison with the above and demonstrates how honours were processed and edited.
On 18 May 1940 Flight Lieutenant Aitken whilst leading a section of the Composite Squadron 601 and 145 on patrol over Brussels attacked one of twelve Heinkel 111 aircraft, which was last seen losing height with one plane on fire and the other belching black smoke.
On 19 May 1940, whilst leading a section of the Composite Squadron 601 and 145 on patrol Cambrai-Douai, 50-70 Heinkel 111 and Junkers 87 aircraft escorted by Messerschmitt 110s were sighted. Flight Lieutenant Aitken attacked a Heinkel 111 which was seen to crash. After following the aircraft down he sighted a Junkers 87 flying at 100 feet which he attacked. This officer was recommended for "Mention in Despatches" in connection with the low flying attack on Borkum on 28 November 1939 (Copy attached). This recognition was not approved.
The gallantry and dash displayed by this officer is considered worthy of immediate recognition.
The copy of the Borkum raid document is either missing from the file or was not copied in the course of this research, but the recommendation just quoted is followed by a long comment dated 27 June 1940 by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, Air Officer Commanding, 11 Group:
This officer as a Flight Lieutenant led his section with dash and determination. As such he took part in the Borkum raid in November 1939, when his flight, on a low-flying attack, machine gunned the enemy. He has since personally shot down four enemy aircraft - the last one on the night of 26/27 June 1940, in difficult circumstances as the enemy aircraft was not illuminated. Since taking over command of his squadron he has put new spirit and energy into his pilots.
I have been considering this officer for some time and I now recommend him for the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.
This document was noted as "Approved" by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding on 29 June 1940.
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Beaverbrook Builds R.A.F. Planes While Son Destroys the Germans'
16 August 1940 - Two men, father and son, are busily reducing the disparity between the British and German air forces. They are tackling the jobs from opposite ends; father builds British machines while son destroys the German ones.
They are Lord Beaverbrook who, as Minister of Aircraft Production, is devoting so much skill and energy to making Britain’s air arm as formidable as possible, and his son, the Hon. Max Aitken whose recent creditable performances in the air have won for him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Father knows how to produce the planes; son certainly knows how to fly them.
Although Squadron Leader Aitken has accounted for eight German planes and four more "possibles," the D.F.C. award has been made principally in recognition of one exploit, which is a rare procedure. The Air Ministry announced that, while leading a section of aircraft on patrol over Brussels, he displayed "great dash and gallantry." It was during this patrol that he attacked one of twelve Heinkel 111's which was finally seen with one of its wings on fire and black smoke pouring from the other. While leading his section the following day, a large number of Heinkel 111 and Junkers 87 aircraft, escorted by Messerschmitt 110's were sighted. Squadron Loader Aitken succeeded in destroying one Heinkel and one Junkers.
During a night in June, in difficult circumstances, he destroyed yet another German aircraft.
Now, let us take one typical exploit from this spectacular record.
The attitude of Britain's flying men on defence work is distinctly Micawber-ish. For three uneventful nights young Max had sat in his chair, dressed in his flying clothes and "Mae West"—as they call the yellow rubber life jackets, so colored to make them conspicuous in the water—"waiting for something to turn up." The fourth night was cloudy and moonless. At twelve o'clock the operational phone rang and Max received orders to patrol a certain line; as he ran out to his fighter plane he could hear the sirens wailing in a nearby town.
He was excited. The sudden, dramatic summons had broken the monotony of the previous three nights. He climbed to his ordered height and remained on his patrol line. An hour went by. Then came a wireless message, telling him the location of the Germans who were flying from northwest to southeast, by a lucky chance, he was proceeding in the right direction. Suddenly, all the searchlights which had been sweeping the night sky below him converged at a spot, throwing a brilliant luminous effect against a large cloud. Silhouetted against the cloud were three German aircraft, flying across his starboard beam.
Max turned left and slowed down slightly. With a searchlight dead on it, one of the planes was immediately recognizable as a Heinkel 111. The two others disappeared, so Max fastened on to the remaining machine. He got about a hundred yards behind and below the Nazi and, from this point, could clearly see his exhaust flames.
The German managed to evade the searchlight's beam and go into a shallow dive. This rather threw out Max's calculations, for he was directly behind and above him. Getting back into the approximate position, he opened his hood to see better, then he adjusted his firing button and pressed it. Bullets poured into the German. It was point blank range. Max could see the tracer disappearing inside, but nothing seemed to happen except that the Nazi machine slowed down considerably. He almost overshot his mark, but managed to put his propeller into line and keep his position.
Max let him have four more bursts. A glow appeared inside the machine and as they had been in a shallow dive and getting nearer the sea. Max fired the rest of his ammunition into him. The red glow increased; there could be no doubt that the Nazi was on fire. At five hundred feet Max broke away to the right and tried to follow but overshot, so he did not see the Heinkel strike the water. He climbed and released a parachute flare which, as it fell towards the sea, revealed the Heinkel lying on the water, a column of smoke blowing from its rear section.
Max circled over the scene a couple of times but saw no movement. No one tried to climb out, so he turned and flew for home.
The alert and courageous young hero of these brilliant exploits was born in Montreal thirty years ago. Educated at Westminster and Pembroke College, Cambridge, he is a fine all-round sportsman and an Association Football Blue. A mashie niblick or the wheel of a racing car are maneuvered with as little effort as he appears to require for handling a joystick. His professional career has been equally inspiring. Inheriting something of his father’s drive, he can work seventeen hours a day, in his journalistic and travel enterprises, without losing grip. Even before the war, he was recognized as one of Britain's best pilots. Flying one of Lord Beaverbrook's machines, he broke several transport plane records in America. An officer in the Auxiliary Air Force, he joined up at the outbreak of war and soon became an ace.
He married last year.
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FIVE CANADIANS RECEIVE AWARDS AT INVESTITURE
Congratulated By Ruler For Their Bravery Under Fire
RAID SIRENS WAIL
London, Sept. 3, 1940 —(CP Cable) — The King decorated five Canadians for bravery at a royal investiture held in Buckingham palace during an air raid this morning.
Four of them were naval men and the other a squadron leader of the Royal Air Force. They stood, along with a number of other members of His Majesty's forces, while the King pinned on their breasts awards for valor.
The naval officers, all acting sub lieutenants, distinguished themselves during the historic evacuation of allied troops from the hell pocket of Dunkerque. For their meritorious services each one got the Distinguished Service Cross.
They were: R. W. Timbrell, of Vancouver and the Royal Canadian Navy; James W. Golby, of Victoria; David Killam, of Vancouver, and Leslie R. McLernon, of Montreal, all of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.
The King pinned the Distinguished Flying Cross on the tunic of S/L A. C. Brown, of Winnipeg, a veteran of the R.A.F.
Beaverbrook's Son
Another aviator honored was S/L Maxwell Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, minister of aircraft production. Three Victoria Crosses were among the 330 honors bestowed during the investiture, the first ever held while London was under an air raid warning. When sirens wailed half an hour before the time for the start of the royal ceremony, officers and others to be decorated already were arriving at the palace with their relatives. His Majesty personally ordered that the program was not to be interrupted. One representative of each of the services received the V.C. Lt.-Cmdr. Richard Stannard, of His Majesty's trawler Arab, was awarded the bronze cross for attempting to put out an ammunition dump fire at Namsos, one of the landing points of the British Expeditionary Force to Norway last spring. Second Lieut. Richard Annan, of the Durham Light Infantry, won the cross for valor under fire. Among his exploits, he disregarded his own wounds to trundle his wounded batman to safety in a wheelbarrow. F/L Roderick Learoyd was the air force's V.C. winner. He bombed a vital link in the Dortmund-Ems canal in the face of point blank anti-aircraft fire from German batteries. The King congratulated each one of the Canadians and spoke to them briefly on their stay in this country and inquired about their length of service. In addition to their work at Dunkerque most of the Canadians decorated also participated in the widespread demolition carried out at French ports before the British withdrawal. |
 Max & his wife after he received the DFC at Buckingham Palace |
Lieut. Golby helped wreck the massive dock at Le Havre which cradled the Normandie during her construction. That, he said, was "my outstanding piece of necessary destruction." Two floating dry-docks used in naval construction also were dynamited by the sturdy British Columbian.
"The French didn't like to see us playing hob with their belongings," he explained. "But we couldn't see them fall into enemy hands."
Lieut. Timbrell, who looks even younger than his 20 years, served aboard a British warship during the Norwegian operations before taking over command of a 90-ton royal naval yacht at Dunkerque. His little craft rescued uncounted hundreds of Tommies and poilus [French infantryman] from the bomb-crushed beach at Dunkerque.
Lord Beaverbrook took off half an hour from his demanding duties as minister for aircraft production to see his son decorated.
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1942
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The Man Whose Job It Is to Beat Hitler In the Air War
(In the third of a series of articles on his first-hind observations of Britain at War, J. Reagan McCrary, International News Service special correspondent, reveals that Winston Churchill may be Britain's man of the hour, but the Empire's No. 1 "minuteman" is fiery little Lord Beaverbrook. "The Beaver" with his dynamic administration of aircraft production has already matched Hitler in the air, McCrary says).
By J. REAGAN McCRARY (International News Service Special Correspondent, 26 April 1942) "Pilot—that is the nation’s most honored title today. Not earl or marquis or lord or knight. But pilot. Praise them. Pray for their glorious survival ..."
Lord Beaverbrook, called "The Beaver," the little Canada-born gnome whose work as minister of aircraft production has matched Hitler in the air, has severed all connections with his two papers: the London Daily Express, circulation 2,800,000 and the Evening Standard, afternoon tabloid.
But that stirring tribute to the winged men of the royal air force —“Pilot, that is the nation’s most honored title”—those words are Beaverbrook's, barked into his dictaphone and spread over England.
Lord Beaverbrook’s own title was impishly borrowed from the name of a tiny village in northern Ontario, near the place he was born, a tinier village named Vaugh.
He takes far more pride in his son's title: Wing Commander Max Aitken, DFC, night fighter squadron leader.
No man ever had a sterner check on the fruits of his labor than Minister of Aircraft Production Beaverbrook. He loves his son more than wealth, honor or life itself. And the son flies the planes that the father builds.
I never knew Lord Beaverbrook before I flew to England last January; but today I know him well.
The Beaver is the man who gave me the green light for the bomber trip to Britain. (Editor’s note: McCrary flew to Britain on an American bomber being delivered to the RAF). A dozen big shots put pressure on him to get me the trip, the Beaver told me after I landed:
"I wouldn't raise a finger for you until I got a cable from Damon Runyon. That was too much."
You know a lot about the Beaver when you know that his best friend in America is Damon Runyon.
Churchill and Beaverbrook have bickered like boys for 30 years. In the general strike in 1926 that shut down most newspapers in England, only two kept coming out: Beaverbrook’s Express and Churchill's Special Gazette, published to report government activities.
They had a handful of linotypers between them; they fought as hard over which would get priority for those men as they’ve ever fought over issues of gravest importance to the empire. They’re like that.
As minister of aircraft production today, Beaverbrook's record of performance is on the books. I know the figures; not from him. I can’t give them out without helping Hitler.
But this much can be reported: Under Beaverbrook, production of aircraft in the empire has risen until it is ten times the production of first-line combat aircraft in America. Even from Canada. Beaverbrook has squeezed more than 300 Hurricanes since Jan. 1.
Most of his newspaper colleagues write and talk about what ought to be done; Beaverbrook has performed what he preached about.
"I've preached to the people of Britain for years, charged them a penny per person a sermon. But I never knew the people in the pews until now.
I never knew they had so much backbone and so little fat... I never knew them till now"—he told me that one day.
And the people of Britain could reply: “We never knew the Beaver till now.”
I’ve seen him roaring with laughter at the four Marx brothers in his private movie; seen his eyes water when he talked about the magnificent things his son, Little Max, has done in this war, a son who was a little disappointing until he found himself in a Hurricane; seen him snarl and snap at people he loves.
I’ve heard him singing Marlene Dietrich's “see what the boys in the back room will have”; heard him curse the people who have wasted Britain’s energies; heard him sing as he leaned into the gale from a Yankee Liberator’s propellers the praises of American aircraft—and it’s on that battleground we had our toughest tussle.
I talked a lot to the too few representatives of American aircraft manufacturers in Britain, heard all their complaints, tried to arrange for them to see Lord Beaverbrook—the ministry of aircraft production also bosses the purchase of American aircraft for the Royal air force. They always got stopped below the boss by some buffer.
Finally on the Sunday I left London to catch a Dutch plane to Portugal, I decided to take the bull by the horns. I phoned the Beaver—he’s about the only top man you’ll find working harder on Sunday than any other day.
I told him how the American aircraft builders felt about the run-around they seemed to getting. He listened, grim, angry. And he agreed to call in all the representatives of American aircraft manufacturers, listen to their complaints, and right the wrongs.
American aircraft have a rabid champion now in Lord Beaverbrook.
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Shoot Down 11 Germans
The War Reviewed - By W. R. PLEWMAN (Friday, May 1, 1942) - The British air force did not go hard after German targets last night but took stronger defensive action. Aided by ground forces and splendid radio detector apparatus, the British defensive forces shot down 11 out of 50 German bombers. A squadron led by Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, accounted for three out of eight enemy planes destroyed near the English coast. He and his comrades were using Beaufort night fighters. A force of Hurricane fighters that were stalking German bombers as they took off or as they returned from England, got three of the enemy planes. One Hurricane pilot downed an enemy as it took off from Rennes, a place known to many Canadian soldiers, and then, sweeping northward 40 miles, got another at Dinard on the coast, as it was about to take off.
London states that the British radio locators are superior to anything possessed by Germany. Equipment has been given to British night fighters and gunners that gives them a marked advantage over their opponents. The U.S. has been given the benefit of the British inventions. Today British squadrons again roamed over northern France.
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"NOBLESSE OBLIGE"
2 May 1942 - British social custom lays great emphasis on the obligation of the sons of privileged families to serve the State with distinction. This trait, which may be summed up in the phrase "noblesse oblige," is the sole justification for privilege. If privilege is accepted as something which lays a special obligation upon its possessors, it is not unqualified privilege, but merely the granting of special advantages in the expectation of better results measured in terms of public service.
In wartime Britain the butcher boy and the civil servant, the bank clerk and the scion of an ancient house, each is pulling his weight. For some reason or other it comes as a surprise to people on the North American Continent that the sons of "the idle and pampered rich," or the "decadent aristocracy," should distinguish themselves in the dirtiest jobs. This surprise is due, perhaps, to the lack of a powerful national tradition of public service and the failure of the opportunist rich to instill into their offspring a recognition of the trustee nature of wealth and privilege.
These reflections are prompted by recent reports of the distinguished service rendered by such men as Lord Louis Mountbatten, Lord Lovat and recently by young Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, who is a wing commander in the Royal Air Force. Wing Commander Aitken has already won the Distinguished Flying Cross and on Thursday night led the fighter squadron which, shot down four out of eight German raiders and scored a personal victory over a Dornier "80."
Wing Commander Max Aitken, D.F.C., is not a member of a noble house of ancient lineage, but Lord Beaverbrook has brought up his sons in the British tradition. While it is fashionable now to sneer at the "old school tie" and attribute to it all the weaknesses which are found just as rampant in the other democracies where "old school ties" are not to be found, there is obviously something to be said for a system which produces capable and valiant leaders from wealthy and privileged homes.
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 Max Aitken & his father, Lord Beaverbrook |
Lord Beaverbrook’s Son Is Outstanding British AceBy SHEILAH GRAHAM, 9 May 1942 -
A FEW days ago Wing Commander Max Aitken of the R.A.F. destroyed a twin-engined Dornier bomber and helped down three others, thus bringing his personal grand total of German planes destroyed to a round score. Hero Son Now Gets His Due |
The ex-minister of production was not always so pleased with his son. In fact, prior to this war, they were barely on speaking terms. The father had been disappointed in the nonbusiness qualities displayed by young Max, plus his predilection for having a good time.
Like his famous father, after whom he was named, Aitken, christened John William Max, was born in Canada—In Montreal Feb. 15, 1910. He was brought to England as a child and educated first at Westminster school, where he was considered not over-bright and fairly mischievous. A tutor was required to help him pass the entrance examinations for Pembroke College, Cambridge. At the university he distinguished himself with a blue at soccer.
About 10 years ago, Beaverbrook decided he would like to retire from active management of his three newspapers - The Dally Express, Sunday Express and The Evening Standard. His son, just out of college, was made the owner - in name only - of the newspapers, then put to work to learn the business from the ground up.
Young Max Vanished
Young Max spent six months in each branch of newspaper work. For six months he was a reporter, six months in the circulation department, six months solving the mysteries of linotype machines, and so on, until he was supposed to know everything about how a newspaper is put out.
He was then promoted to general manager of a provincial edition of The Express. From there he jumped to general manager of The Sunday Express. And then he suddenly vanished from the newspaper business, at his father’s request, it was said.
In addition to football and gay life, Aitken was also addicted to golf, tennis and winter sports. He was, and I believe, still is, a director on the boards of Sir Henry Lunn, Ltd. (travel agents), and Alpine Sports, Ltd. He was also a member of the air auxiliary force and with the outbreak of war, joined the R. A. F. In 1919, he married the former Cynthia Monteith.
Trophy From Messerschmitt
When this writer was in England last summer she visited Cherkely, the palatial country home of Lord Beaverbrook, some 30 miles from London. On one occasion there was a large chunk of Messerschmitt with a huge swastika on it, in the drawing room.
"From a plane brought down by my son," said Beaverbrook proudly.
At this period, young Aitken was grounded by Prime Minister Churchill, who considered that Beaverbrook had enough on his mind without staying up half the night for news of his son’s safe arrival from flights over France and Germany. No matter how late the news came through, Beaverbrook was always awake to receive the welcome message.
The flyer was given a job in the air ministry, but found the routine tedious, and it was not long before he was back in active service.
Aitken Is a night flyer, he usually goes up in a sleek, black Beaufighter, the best of the night fighters now manufactured in England. Because of the eye strain of piloting a plane in darkness, the aviators who fly in the night are given frequent periods of rest.
Aitken's Extra Adventure
A few months ago, during one of these rest periods, Aitken decided he was bored, and besides, he had forgotten how wartime France looked from the air in daylight. Against orders, he took a plane into the air and roared away toward France. On the homeward journey, he was engaged by two German fighter planes who attacked him with a type of gun that was new to Aitken and the R.A.F.
He managed to elude the Germans and came down to earth safely in England, with a big problem to worry over. Should he inform the air ministry of the strange German gun, and thereby give away the fact of taking up a plane without authority, for which there might be a serious penalty? I am not sure how he got out of his difficulty. But the important information about the gun was passed on to the proper quarter.
Awarded D.F.C.
In May, 1940, before he became a night flyer, and while leading a section on patrol over Brussels, Commander Aitken attacked one of twelve Heinkels and destroyed the plane. The next day, while leading a section in another patrol, Aitken saw a large number of Heinkels and Junkers escorted by Messerschmitt 110s. Aitken attacked and destroyed one Heinkel and one Junkers. In June of the same year, he destroyed another enemy aircraft under difficult circumstances. For these exploits he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Another distinction earned by Aitken is not found in the reference books. He was responsible for the first air raid alarm over England on the outbreak of war. He was merely flying back from France, but his machine was mistaken for an enemy aircraft.
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Strong Bombing Attacks Made on Ruhr, Rhineland By Canadians and R.A.F
Seven German Bombers Brought Down in Raids on Britain,
Two of Them by the Son of Lord Beaverbrook
London, July 24, 1942 — (CP) — A strong force of Royal Air Force bombers attacked objectives in western Germany's industrial Ruhr and Rhineland, the air ministry announced today. At least three Canadian squadrons participated in this latest smash on the war-bloated industrial plants of the Ruhr. Nazi-occupied aerodromes in the Low Countries also were bombed and railways and other targets in invaded territory were attacked in the night by fighters, the ministry said.
Seven Bombers Missing
It reported that seven British bombers were missing but two enemy aircraft were destroyed during the Continental raids. P/O Arthur George Lawrence, of Brandon, Man., and Sgt. J. F. Wilmer, of Vancouver, formed the crew of the R.C.A.F. Beaufighter that destroyed one of the German bombers.
Taking up where the night crews left off, a steady stream of British planes began speeding across the channel toward northern France at dawn today.
The German raids on Britain were the heaviest in weeks.
The Nazi raiders flew through intense anti-aircraft fire to scatter bombs along the east coast, over the eastern Midlands and some areas further west.
One town in East Anglia was machine-gunned after the attacking planes had dropped high explosives.
Following their usual pattern, the Germans dropped flares to light up the targets before loosing their bombs.
(The Germans said one of their targets was Bedford, industrial town 40 miles north of London.)
A Royal Air Force commentator said that in all about 40 German planes participated in last night's raids on Britain.
Seven Bombers Destroyed
Seven German bombers were destroyed during the night — and five of them fell to the Beaufighter squadron led by Wing Cmdr. Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, the air ministry announced today.
Aitken himself was credited with destroying two of the aircraft - a Ju-88 and a Dornier 217 - giving him a total thus far of 12 night raiders.
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Beaverbrook's Son Is Awarded D.S.O.
London, Aug. 1, 1942 — (CP) — Wing-Cmdr. Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order today. He is credited personally with the destruction of 12 German night raiders and the total bag of his present Czech squadron is 15. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1940 and the Czech War Cross two days ago.
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Air Ministry, 11th August, 1942
AWARDS OF A FOREIGN DECORATION
ROYAL AIR FORCE
The KING has granted unrestricted permission for the wearing of the undermentioned decoration, conferred on the officers indicated, in recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with the war:
CONFERRED BY THE PROVISIONAL CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT.
Czechoslovak Military Cross
Acting Wing Commander The Honourable Maxwell AITKEN, D.S.O., D.F.C. (90128), Auxiliary Air Force
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST, 1942, SECOND SUPPLEMENT TO The London Gazette of FRIDAY, the 7th of AUGUST, 1942
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AITKIN, W/C The Honourable Max (901288) - Distinguished Service Order - No.68 Squadron
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 14 August 1942.
A brilliant pilot and a gallant leader, this officer has set a most inspiring example. By his exceptional skill and unswerving devotion to duty he has contributed largely to the high standard of operational efficiency of his squadron and to the successes it has achieved. One night in July 1942 the squadron destroyed three hostile aircraft, two of which were destroyed by Wing Commander Aitkin himself. His total victories number twelve.
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Hon. Max Aitken Promoted
London, 2 October 1942 - (Friday) — (CP Cable) — Hon. Max Aitken of Montreal, eldest son of Lord Beaverbrook, has been promoted from acting wing commander to wing commander in the R.A.F., it was announced today.
Aitken, credited with shooting down at least 12 Nazi aircraft holds the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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1943
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Max Aitken, a Night Fighter Ace, Predicts Nazi Jolt in Mass Raid
With the R.A.F. Somewhere in England, 10 January 1943 — (CP) — Surprises are in store for the German air force if it attempts resumption of mass raids against this country.
What the new defences are is a secret. But one man in the “know,” Montreal-born Wing Cmdr. Max Aitken, 32-year-old night fighter ace, predicted that if heavy raids are resumed by the Nazis "they will get a nasty crack."
"Development in night fighters technique has been going on on both sides," Ailken said. "There is no doubt that the enemy has been developing his night fighters, too. We started with Blenheims, then went over to Beaufighters."
Aitken, a son of Lord Beaverbrook, has commanded his squadron since it was formed two years ago, and for more than a year it has guarded a part of East Anglia against the enemy’s night bombers. Charts on the wall of Aitken's office show that his squadron has been engaged in 59 combats with German bombers.
More than half resulted in "kills." The Beaufighters have destroyed 31 German bombers, 26 of them in 1942 while another eight are regarded as probables. In addition, many more were damaged.
The wing commander declined to discuss his exploits, and his observer, F/O Jack Higham, 28-year-old D.F.C., was almost as reticent. Aitken was a Hurricane pilot during the Battle of Britain and has destroyed 12 enemy aircraft. Four of them as a night fighter, and has a good many "probables." He holds the D.S.O. and the D.F.C.
Higham did tell of one occasion when Aitken and he encountered four Germans and got two of them. "We had just shot down the second," he said. "When we found we were being chased ourselves, by a Junkers 88.
"Another time, when we got a Dornier 217, we shot one of its wings off. Part of the wing struck our port propeller, but it only dented it."
Pilots and observers of the squadron are fairly evenly divided between British and Czechs. It was for his work in training the Czechs that Aitken was awarded the Czech War Cross by President Benes.
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Max Aitken May Join Father in UK Parliament
LONDON. 6 May 1943 — (C.P.) — There is a possibility that another member of the Beaverbrook family may enter parliament.
The name of Wing Cmdr. Max Aitken, Montreal-born son of Lord Beaverbrook, has been placed on a list of suggested candidates sent to the Conservative Association in the Aston division of Birmingham where a vacancy has been created by the death in action of Lt.-Col. E. O. Kellett. Political circles hear that influential Conservative supporters intend to back Aitken's name when the time comes to select a standard-bearer.
Aitkin, holder of the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross, was a battle of Britain fighting ace. While his father was speeding aircraft production he was busy shooting down Nazi aircraft. Nowadays he leads a night-fighter squadron.
The flier had a chance during the last general election to contest a scat, but at the last minute he decided to continue as a newspaperman in Fleet street where he worked on his father’s Daily Express.
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Victories Include :
| 18 May 1940 19 May 1940 23 May 1940 25/26 June 1940 7 July 1940 25 June 1941 30 Apr/1 May 1942 29/30 May 1942 23/24 July 1943 5/6 Mar 1944 |
two He111s one He111 two Ju87s one Me110 one Me109 one He111 1/5 Do17 one Me109 one Do217 one Do217 one Ju88 one Ju88 one Do217 two Ju52s one Ju52 one Ju52 |
destroyed destroyed, destroyed & destroyed damaged destroyed destroyed destroyed destroyed destroyed & damaged destroyed & destroyed destroyed, probable & damaged |
[a] [b] [c] |
14.2 / 1 / 3
| [a] May have been one confirmed & one probable [b] May have been one confirmed & one probable [c] May have been a probable |
Making his score potentially
9.2 / 4 / 3
Score & score notes from Aces High 2nd Ed.
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AITKIN, G/C The Honourable Max (901288) - Mention in Despatches - Station Banff
Awarded as per London Gazette dated 1 January 1946
Public Record Office Air 2/9121 has recommendation for a CBE which was downgraded to this award:
This officer has been Station Commander at Banff since September 1944. He organised and commanded the Banff Strike Wing which carried out so many devastating attacks against enemy shipping and U-boats on the Norwegian coast and in the Kattegat. On several occasions he accompanied his squadrons on their operations and also carried out reconnaissance flights prior to despatching the wing. He has proved to be a most capable Station Commander with marked powers of leadership.
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Reds Accuse U.S. Of Peace Talks In Middle Of War
Britain Also Charged With Conducting Secret Parleys With Germany In 1941
By EDDY GILMORE, Associated press Correspondent. MOSCOW, 17 Feb. 1948 — Russia has accused the United States and Britain of conducting secret talks for a separate peace with Germany in the middle of World War II.
The Soviet Union made the charge last night in the fourth installment of its reply to U.S. State Department disclosures of documents regarding Russian-German relations.
A statement said Allen W. Dulles, a brother of John Foster Dulles, represented the US in talks with a German spokesman in 1942 which touched on the question of concluding a separate peace with Germany. It also charged that the son of Lord Beaverbrook, British publisher, represented Britain in similar peace talks with a German representative in September, 1941. The statement further accused Britain and France of seeking to start war with the Soviet Union in 1940 instead of fighting Germany.
Officials said this was the final round of statements before publication of captured German documents Russia claims to possess.
"From these documents," the statement said, "it can be seen that in the autumn of 1941 and also in 1942 and 1943 in Lisbon and in Switzerland, negotiations were carried on behind the back of the U.S.S.R. between representatives of Britain and Germany, and later between representatives of the United States and Germany on the subject of peace with Germany."
Conference Charged
The Russian statement declared that Mr. Dulles, with authority from the White House, conferred with the Germans under the pseudonym of "Bull."
It said the German representative was Prince Max Hohenlohe, who acted as Hitler’s representative under the assumed name of "Pauls."
Russia said Germany’s security service possessed documents giving a summary of these negotiations.
They showed, the statement said, that among the subjects discussed was the "question of conclusion of peace with Germany."
The statement said "Dulles more or less agreed to the political and industrial organization of Europe on the basis of large territories on the assumption that a federated greater Germany (similar to the U.S.) with an adjoining Danubian confederation, will constitute the best guarantee of order and rehabilitation in central and eastern Europe."
Aided "Underground"
Allen Welsh Dulles, former chief of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services in Europe, worked with underground forces seeking to overthrow Hitler from 1942 on. He wrote a book called "Germany’s Underground." It was published last April.
Mr. Dulles also arranged for the surrender of the German armies in Italy. Later he helped prepare the case against the Nazis at Nuremberg.
In the charge regarding British negotiations with Germany, the statement said:
"On Sept 13. (1941) there was a meeting between Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, and an officer of the British army and later a member of Parliament, representing Britain, and Gustav von Koeber, a Hungarian who acted with the authority of the German ministry of foreign affairs.
Attack Plot Charged
Russia claimed Aitken asked Von Koeber whether "behind-the-scenes possibilities of peace" could be discussed.
Russia also accused the French high command of working out a plan in 1940 for a combined attack by Britain and France against the U.S.S.R. It added that the plans failed to materialize.
Russia said Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June, 1941, pleased many persons in Britain and the United States. It declared that:
"A prominent member of the United States Senate, now president of the United States, Mr. Truman, stated the day after Germany’s attack on the U.S.S.R.:
'If we see Germany winning we ought to help Russia and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany and that way let them kill as many as possible.'"
Britain Says Russian Contentions Absurd
Britain described as absurd today Russian contentions the British Government attempted to start peace talks with Germany in September, 1941 at Lisbon.
A Foreign Office spokesman told a news conference that "allegations of that kind are calculated to arouse hard feelings in this country."
He said the most interesting comment on the latest Russian statement came from Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook. Mr. Aitken, who was named in the statement as the British intermediary at Lisbon, said he was on flight duty at an RAF base in England during that period.
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Russia Charges America Plotted Separate Peace
Blast Branded Red Nonsense
17 Feb. 1948, MOSCOW—(UP)—Russia accused the United States last night of conducting negotiations for a separate peace with Germany in 1943 with the idea of erecting a diplomatic wall to prevent the westward spread of bolshevism.
Great Britain was accused of conducting similar negotiations with Germany in 1941.
According to Russia, Allen W. Dulles, then attached to the American legation in Bern, Switzerland, conducted the negotiations with German Prince Honenlohe "on direct instructions on the authority of the White House."
Allan Dulles is a brother of John Foster Dulles, Republican adviser on foreign affairs.
IT WAS ALLEGED that the idea was to establish a greater Germany and consolidate the rest of eastern Europe in order to prevent the westward spread of bolshevism and pan-Slavism.
"It’s all nonsense," Dulles said in New York. "The bigger the lie, the more they (the Russians) expect you to become stirred up."
The British negotiations, it was alleged, were conducted in Portugal by the Hon. Max Aitken, son of British Newspaper Magnate Lord Beaverbrook. Beaverbrook negotiated with a Hungarian named Gustav von Koever who was "acting with the authority of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs," it was said.
In London Aitken said that at the time he was in England with a night fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force. He said he never heard of Koever and that any suggestion he was a peace negotiator was laughable.
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Max Aitken To Be Married In Jamaica
LONDON, 14 Dec. 1950 — Max Aitken, son of newspaper publisher Lord Beaverbrook, will be married to Violet de Trafford in Jamaica at Christmas. It was announced here yesterday.
Miss de Trafford, 24, is a daughter of Sir Humphrey de Trafford, a leading racehorse owner.
Aitken, 40, is a former Conservative MP from London. He is a director of The London Express newspapers and general manager of The Sunday Express.
He won the DFC during the battle of Britain and two years later won the DSO for his night-fighting sorties.
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ONLY ONE LORD BEAVERBROOK
12 June 1964 - Mr. Max Aitken, chairman of Beaverbrook Newspapers, has renounced the title of Lord Beaverbrook.
He said last night: "The title was earned and won by my father. He brought on it a unique distinction which belongs to him alone. Certainly in my lifetime there will only be one Lord Beaverbrook."
His father Max Aitken senior, or Lord Beaverbrook, passed away on the 9th.
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YACHT RACE ERROR
LONDON, Tuesday, 12 November 1969 — Crusade, Sir Max Aitken's ocean racing yacht, should have won this year's Fastnet race.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club admitted this yesterday, and said a letter had been sent to Sir Max apologizing for an error made in the rating of Crusade.
Crusade was third to arrive in Plymouth behind the American craft American Eagle, and Kialoa.
At the time there was some stop-watch conflict between race officials and Sir Max, who maintained his yacht was three minutes 42 seconds faster than the official time.
Usually, over the 605- mile course (from Cowes to Plymouth via the Fastnet rock on the southern tip of Ireland), this would not have been so critical, except that on corrected time Red Rooster, the American sloop sailed by Dick Carter, was declared the winner by only one minute 0.8 seconds.
Now, almost three months later, the Royal Ocean Racing Club have discovered that Crusade should have been allowed four or five minutes more on her rating.
What the measurers failed to take into account was a layer of glass fiber put on to protect the plywood of the decking after the hull had been measured.
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Sir Max Aitken of Express dies
SIR MAX AITKEN, president of Express Newspapers and son of the late Lord Beaverbrook, died yesterday at his London home. He was 75.
Sir Max, who renounced the title of Lord Beaverbrook which be inherited when his father died in 1964, had been ill for several years.
He was formerly Tory MP for Holborn and was a distinguished night fighter pilot, winning a DFC and DSO for shooting down 16 enemy aircraft.
He also became one of Britain's best-known ocean racing yachtsmen and was voted Yachtsman of the Year in 1977.
Born in Montreal, Sir Max was educated at Westminster School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he shone at sport, gaining a soccer Blue and becoming a scratch golfer.
His interest in newspapers developed from his early training in all departments of the industry.
At the age of 21, his father gave him the Daily Express and the Sunday Express as a birthday present. However, after an argument with his father, he left the group for a time to become a pilot in the US.
He joined the RAF when the Second World War broke out and was a distinguished fighter pilot flying continuously in what was said to be the happiest period of his life.
After his father's death in 1964, Sir Max renounced the title of Lord Beaverbrook, declaring: "The title was earned and won by my father. He brought to it a unique distinction which belongs to him alone.’’
Sir Max did little to change the policy of the Express. He gave up his father’s hostility to commercial television, buying shares in Associated Television and becoming a director.
He denied ever playing a major part in the editorial policies of his papers, and once said his job was to see that the paper "doesn't go wild on sex or pornography or politics, or go wild in profits."
In 1968, be took on the role of the Government’s emissary in Rhodesia after Mr. Ian Smith had said Sir Max was the only man in Britain he trusted. He joined Lord Goodman on a mission to
Salisbury to persuade Mr. Smith to come to the negotiating table.
In 1977, Sir Max resigned as chairman of Beaverbrook Newspapers and was appointed life president of the group.
In 1950, he married his third wife, Violet de Trafford. They have a son and daughter. He also had two surviving daughters by a previous marriage.
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Obituary
News magnate Sir Max Aitken
LONDON, 1 May 1985 - (AP) - Sir Max Aitken, the Montreal-born president of Express Newspapers and an ace fighter pilot in the Second World War, died yesterday at his London home, his family said.
He was 75.
Aitken's father was the late Lord Beaverbrook, the Canadian newspaper magnate who became Sir Winston Churchill's minister of aircraft production and minister of supply when Britain fought Nazi Germany alone in 1940-41.
Aitken went into his father's newspaper group when he was 21 but left England at age 25 to be a test pilot for Lockheed Aircraft in California.
He returned to Fleet Street, London's newspaper row, three years later and was drafted by the Royal Air Force just before war broke out in 1939.
He was a daytime fighter pilot during the 1940 Battle of Britain, but later switched to night operations and commanded a Mosquito bomber group attacking shipping off Norway.
He shot down 16 German planes and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Czech War Cross.
After the war, Aitken was a Conservative member of Parliament until 1950 and was an outstanding ocean-racing yachtsman.
When Beaverbrook died in 1964, Aitken took over the Express group, which includes The Daily Express, The Sunday Express and London's Evening Standard.
In 1968, Aitken was one of the British negotiators in fruitless peace talks with Rhodesian white- minority Prime Minister Ian Smith, who had served in the Royal Air Force in Egypt with the publisher.
Smith, who had broken with Britain in an attempt to head off black rule in what is now Zimbabwe, said Aitken was the only man in Britain he trusted.
The conservative Daily Express was Britain s largest selling daily at one time and reached a circulation of more than 4 million in 1960.
Circulation battles with brasher rivals led to falling sales and slumping profits, and in an effort to counteract the decline The Daily Express, changed to a tabloid in 1977 after 76 years as a broadsheet newspaper.
Financial difficulties persisted and the group was bought in 1979 by a real estate company, Trafalgar House.
Aitken was married three times and had a son and three daughters. They survive him, as does his third wife, Violet de Trafford.
When his father died, Aitken renounced inheritance of the title Lord Beaverbrook, saying: “In my lifetime there will only be one Lord Beaverbrook.”
Aitken’s son, Maxwell, 35, may revive and take up the title if he wishes.
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A Beaverbrook Back in Lords
13 May 1985 - AFTER an absence of 21 years, a Lord Beaverbrook, is to take his place in the House of Lords. The Hon Maxwell Aitken announced yesterday that, unlike his father, he would not be renouncing the peerage and plans to take the Government Whip in the Lords.
The new Lord Beaverbrook, 33, yesterday scattered the ashes of his father Sir Max Aitken, off Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Sir Max, who died last month, had renounced the title in 1964. The peerage had been granted in 1917 to his father, the Express Newspaper magnate.
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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.
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