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Ian Gleed
Royal Air Force officer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wing Commander Ian Richard Gleed DSO, DFC (3 July 1916 – 16 April 1943), nicknamed "Widge," was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace credited with the destruction of 13 enemy aircraft during the Second World War.[5] He served in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain before being shot down and killed over Tunisia.[2][1] Gleed published a fictionalized memoir, Arise to Conquer, in 1942.[6]
Quick Facts Nickname(s), Born ...
Ian Gleed | |
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![]() Wing Commander Gleed in his Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB at an airfield in Tunisia, April 1943, days before he was shot down and killed. | |
Nickname(s) | Widge[1] |
Born | (1916-07-03)3 July 1916 Finchley, London[2] |
Died | 16 April 1943(1943-04-16) (aged 26) Cap Bon, French Tunisia[2] |
Buried | Enfidaville, Tunisia[2] |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1936–1943 |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Service number | 37800[3][4] |
Unit | 87 Squadron (1940) 266 Squadron (1939–1940) 46 Squadron (1936–1939) |
Commands | 244 Wing (1943) Ibsley Wing (1941–1942) 87 Squadron (1940–1941) |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Awards | Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross Croix de Guerre (France) Croix de Guerre (Belgium)[1] |
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Gleed Avenue in Bushey is named in his honour, one of a number of streets in the area named after Battle of Britain pilots.[citation needed]