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- No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force




If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.



Logbooks



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Those known to have served with

No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

  • Barclay George Stanley. Sgt.
  • Reid DFM John. F/O (d.26th June 1944)

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force from other sources.



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Want to know more about No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force?


There are:1997 items tagged No. 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit, Royal Air Force available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.


Sgt. George Stanley Barclay 166 Squadron

NZ413369 Sergeant Pilot George Barclay on graduation in Canada 27th of March 1942

New Zealander, Sergeant Pilot George Barclay joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 15th June 1941 and began his flying training in Tiger Moths at New Plymouth, New Zealand, on 6th September 1941. He left Auckland, NZ on 17th November 1941 on the SS Monterey and arrived in San Francisco on 5th December 1941. He then travelled by train to RCAF Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where he joined No 44 Pilots course on 5th December 1941 to complete his flying training on Cessna Crane aircraft at No 4 SFTS. He arrived in UK on 13th May 1942 and joined Number 16 Course of 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) at RAF Grantham on 21st July 1942 where he flew Oxford Mk1 aircraft. The AFU course was completed on 15th September 1942 at which time he was posted to No 43 Course of 16 OTU at RAF Upper Heyford to fly the Wellington medium bomber. Having completed his training at 16 OTU on 23rd December 1942, he was posted to the Home Echelon of 150 Squadron to fly Wellingtons operationally from RAF Kirmington, Lincs, on 12th January 1943. In turn, the Home Echelon of 150 Squadron merged with the remains of 142 Squadron to form 166 Squadron on 27th January 1943. George flew with 166 Squadron until he baled out over Mezerolles, NW France, after an 'Op' on Duisburg on the night of 8th/9th of April 1943. He was a POW until escaping on 6th April 1945 and returned to UK on 17th of April 1945. George married a London girl on 16th of June 1945 and returned to New Zealand to raise a family. He turned 93 on 2nd May 2016.

Jim Barclay



F/O John "Jackie" Reid DFM A Flight 605 Sqdn. (d.26th June 1944)

My uncle John (Jackie) Reid, RAFVR, served at 12 AFU between 25th May 1943 and 2nd August 1943. This was where he was posted after 271 Sqdn, and from 12 AFU, he went to 60 OTU to do a conversion on Mosquitos, then from there to 605 Sqdn till 26th October. He and his Observer, Sgt Ray Phillips, were killed on 26th June 1944 while on a NFT over Margate. His aircraft, NS880, exploded and crashed in flames over the main up/down London railway line. He had been promoted to Flt Lt a couple of days before his death, but had yet to receive notice of it.

It transpires that on 5th/6th June 1944, he and two other 605 Mosquitos were over the Caen area, taking out searchlights and AA guns, (obviously before the para landings) at 0011hrs on the 6th, where his aircraft dropped the first bomb on D Day. He was extremely proud of that. This was confirmed in his logbook by his Intelligence Officer.

Norrie Southam







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