Eric Carter (12 February 1920 – 26 July 2021) was a British Royal Air Force pilot.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Eric Carter
Born(1920-02-12)12 February 1920
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Died26 July 2021(2021-07-26) (aged 101)
Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service Royal Air Force
Years of service1939–1946
RankWarrant officer
Close

Early life

Eric Carter was born on 12 February 1920 near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, England.[1]

World War II

Carter joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1939. He said he joined "because the Germans were committing such horrible atrocities".[2] Carter was posted to No. 615 Squadron.[3]

Carter left the RAF in 1946.[4]

Carter was one of only four non-Russians to receive the Order of Lenin, the Soviet Union's highest military honour.[5] In March 2013, Carter was awarded the Arctic Star for his efforts during the war.[6] In September 2014, he was awarded the Medal of Ushakov by the Russian government.[7]

Post-War

In 2012, Carter launched a fundraising campaign to finance the restoration of a Supermarine Spitfire donated to Stoke-on-Trent in 1969.[8]

Carter died at a retirement home in Birmingham, West Midlands, on 26 July 2021.[9]

Personal life

Eric married Phyllis Carter in 1943.[4]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.