Remembering the RAF’s record-breaking pilot who learned to fly in Hatfield

Born in Finchley on July 3, 1916, Ian Gleed looked set for a career in the military from a young age.

His father, Seymour, served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, while Ian was an avid sailor and flyer, having first taken to the skies with the London Aeroplane Club on a joyride while still at school.

Based in Hatfield, the club would become home for the youngster as he his obsession with flight grew, gaining his licence on July 12, 1935, just over a week after his 19th birthday.

Ian joined the RAF a year later, completing his training on training on Christmas Day 1936 before being posted to 46 Squadron. Flying Gloster Gauntlet fighters, he quickly progressed through the ranks and was promoted to flying officer in 1938.

He became popular with his fellow pilots too, earning the nickname ‘Widge’, said to be short for ‘Wizard Midget’, referring to his short stature of just 5ft 6in tall and his habit of using wizard as an adjective.

Ian nearly lost his life when a Spitfire broke up mid-flight. (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

At the onset of the Second World War in September 1939, Ian transferred to 266 Squadron as a flight commander but nearly lost his life February 1940 when the Supermarine Spitfire he was flying broke up in mid-air. He was injured while falling out of the aircraft, but regained consciousness soon enough to pull his parachute.

After making a full recovery he was posted to 87 Squadron, stationed in France and flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. He quickly made an impression, as pilot Roland Beamont recalled.

“Gleed was one of our replacement pilots and he came out from the UK to tell us exactly how to run the war – all 5ft 6ins of him,” he said.

“He was immediately as good as his word and tore into the enemy on every conceivable occasion with apparent delight and entire lack of concern.

“His spirit was exactly what was needed to bolster up the somewhat stunned survivors of the week following 10 May. That is not to say that 87 Squadron's morale was not extremely high, but The Widge somehow managed to raise it further.”

It was during this time in France that Ian set his RAF record.

On May 18, he claimed his first victories, shooting down two German Bf 110. The following day he destroyed a Bf 109 fighter and two Do 17 bombers, making him the fastest RAF pilot to make ace – a pilot who has shot down five or more enemy aircraft – a record that still stands today.

Having survived the Battle of France he and his squadron were evacuated back to the UK on May 22. Based in Exeter during the Battle of Britain, 87 squadron were tasked with defending Bristol from night raids during the Blitz, with Ian scoring a further two victories.

In November 1941, he earned his status as wing commander, leading 118, 234 and 501 Squadrons on fighter sweeps and bomber escort missions across the English Channel before being posted to Fighter Command HQ at RAF Bentley Priory.

Not content with a desk job and keen to return to action, Ian arranged a posting in operational command in Tunisian, a more active theatre of war following the Operation Torch landings in North Africa.

Two Hawker Hurricanes - similar to the ones Wing Commander Ian Gleed would have flown - take off during the Battle of Britain. (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Arriving in January 1943, he claimed his 13th and final kill on March 17, but he would take his final flight less than a month later.

With Axis forces attempting to evacuate personnel from Tunisia to Sicily as the allies pushed them back, the RAF commenced Operation Flax, a series of fighter sweeps over the Cap Bon area of Tunisia.

On April 16, seven German transport aircraft and a Bf 109 were destroyed, but Ian and his wingman were killed in action. It is believed he was shot down by another ace, experienced Luftwaffe pilot Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert who claimed 174 victories throughout the war.

Buried at the military cemetery in Enfidaville, Tunisia, Ian is still remembered as one of the RAF’s finest pilots while his memory lives through his memoirs, Arise and Conquer.