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Auction: 15001 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria
Lot: 19

A Fine Second War Fighter Pilot's '1944' D.F.C. Group of Six to Wing Commander P. V. 'Decoy' Ayerst, A Veteran Of The Battle of France, The Battle of Britain, The Western Desert and Operations Over Northwest Europe 1944-45, He Was Accredited With At Least 3 Destroyed, 2 Shared Destroyed, 1 Probable, And 3 Damaged; With Victories In Both Hurricanes and Spitfires, He Achieved The Unusual Distinction Of Sharing In The Destruction Of A German Aircraft During the Battle of Britain, Whilst Serving As An Instructor At No. 7 O.T.U., Hawarden. After Completing Nearly Four Wartime Operational Tours He Went On To Be Employed As A Test Pilot At Vickers, Castle Bromwich and During an Impressive Post War Career Flew in Meteors, Venoms, Vampires and Lightnings
a) Distinguished Flying Cross, reverse officially dated '1944'
b) 1939-1945 Star
c) Air Crew Europe Star, with France and Germany Bar
d) Africa Star, with North Africa 1942-43 Bar
e) Defence and War Medals, polished, therefore nearly very fine, mounted as originally worn, with the following related items:
- The recipient's associated miniature awards; and various commemorative medals
- Six R.A.F. Pilot's Flying Log Books, covering the periods 6.10.1938-28.10.1941; 15.11.1941-2.7.1943; 8.8.1943-25.7.1945; 27.7.1945-31.3.1954; 2.4.1954-29.6.1962 and 5.7.1962-26.4.1973, well annotated
- Letter of congratulation upon the award of the D.F.C. from Air Marshal Sir Roderic Hill, K.C.B., M.C., A.F.C., dated 27.11.1944
- Named Enclosure for D.F.C.
- A fine, and well annotated, photograph album covering recipient's service in the Western Desert
- A copy of Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, by Hugh Thomas, and signed by the recipient; together with newspaper cuttings and other ephemera (lot)

D.F.C. London Gazette 21.11.1944 Flight Lieutenant Peter Vigne Ayerst (41362), R.A.F.O., 124 Squadron
The Recommendation states: 'Flight Lieutenant Ayerst has a long and fine record of operational flying. He served in the Battle of France from August, 1939 to May, 1940 and then took part in the Battle of Britain.
In January, 1942, he participated in operations in the Western Desert theatre of war and more recently he has flown in low level operations, during which he has inflicted much damage on the enemy's mechanical transport.
He has destroyed at least four enemy aircraft in the air and three on the ground. Since the outbreak of war this officer has displayed a fine fighting spirit, gallantry and devotion to duty worth of the highest praise.'

Wing Commander Peter Vigne Ayerst, D.F.C., was born at Westcliff on Sea, Essex, in 1920, and was educated at Chalkwell Hall School, and Westcliff Grammar School, winning school colours at Rugby and Athletics at the latter. Ayerst was particularly keen on rugby, and his first coach (Harry Crabtree) was a regular for Richmond and the Barbarians in addition to representing Essex at Cricket. Crabtree inspired his young charges to an unbeaten season with his cricket bat, 'Crabtree brandishing the cricket bat, especially on Mondays: 'Now boys, who played for the Junior XV on Saturday?' A few hands went up. 'What was the score?'
'Oh Sir, we lost, 15-3.'
'What's three from fifteen?'
'Twelve, Sir.'
'Right! Bend over!'
It had the desired effect... the team never lost a game afterwards.' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

After a brief period of employment in the City, Ayerst applied for a short-service commission in the Royal Air Force. He was accepted, and reported for pilot training at No. 19 Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School, Gatwick, in 1938. Having carried out initial training in Magisters he was posted to No. 12 F.T.S., Grantham, January 1939. Ayerst completed his training in Harvards, and was posted as a pilot to 73 (Fighter) Squadron (Hurricanes), Digby, in August 1939. Three other pilots from his course were posted to the squadron, and five years later Ayerst was the only one left alive.

73 Squadron - France, 1939
Ayerst was only at Digby for four weeks. The squadron was operational by the time the war broke out and moved to France with 1 Squadron as the Hurricane Wing of the Advanced Air Striking Force. Ayerst was part of 'B' Flight under the command of Ian Scoular, with Edgar 'Cobber' Kain (who was to become the first Allied fighter ace of the Second World War) as his section leader.

Ayerst had been inside a Hurricane cockpit only three times, and as he said himself had 'bugger-all experience', before being pitched into operational flying in France.

Moving around France 73 squadron was involved in recconaissance and defensive patrols. It settled at a small airfield near Rouvres in October 1939.

First Contact With the Enemy - 27 versus 1 - Hardly a Fair Fight
On the 6th November 1939 twenty-four Hurricanes from 73 and 1 Squadrons were due to take part in the first Allied fighter offensive patrol of the war. On that day, Ayerst as one of the more inexperienced pilots, was tasked with aerodrome defence.

Similar 'to a state of readiness, it was a role that required observation, reconnaissance and the possibility of a little combat if an enemy aircraft was spotted in the vicinity. He [Ayerst] looked out over the airfield. The sun was warm and there were blue skies everywhere. No one would to attack on a day like this. He looked at his watch. Not quite 2.30. A voice brought him back from his thoughts. 'Sir! Sir! For Christ's sake, get going; the red flag's waving!' He looked to his right, over to the little road and the early warning post. The poilus were waving the flag with enthuisasm.

Then he looked up at the sky... and there it was. A little dot travelling in a westerly direction, high up in the azure blue. This was the enemy aircraft he was supposed to chase. But then the aircraft decided to fly over the airfield, high up at about 20,000ft. The Rolls-Royce Merlin engine roared into life and Peter hurtled over the grass.... The take-off went on and on. Peter increased the throttles, climbing as hard as he could... It took him about ten minutes to match the enemy aircraft in height.

'Hang on, what's he doing? Why has he changed direction? Why's he heading east? Perhaps he's seen me take off.'

Time seemed to drag. The throttle was still on maximum.... As an operationally inexperienced pilot, he was intent on chasing the enemy raider, determined to have a crack at him....

'Good, matching his height. Closing in on him... still over half a mile away... not too long now... Keep going... Christ!... Where the bloody hell am I?... Easterly... I'm too far east!... Jesus!... I'm over Germany!'

What Peter had omitted to do in all the excitement was to keep a weather eye on his compass and make a mental note of where he was. He now realised that by flying in an easterly direction for so long, he was well over Germany.

'Hang on... what's he doing now? Diving, making for cloud cover... Balls, won't get a shot at him... right, lets head back.'

He turned back on a reciprocal heading; at least he was now heading back towards France.... he looked down over his starboard wing. Inside his turn - and below him - there were nine aircraft, in line astern formation, turning in precisely the same direction. Peter hadn't seen any sign of either his squadron or 1 Squadron. Surely he could hardly miss twenty-four Hurricanes in the vicinity?

'Good, there they are. The boys want me to join on formation.'

So Peter tacked on the end of the line astern formation with the other aircraft at 18,000ft. But something didn't seem quite right. They looked unfamiliar. Were they Hurricanes? No. Perhaps they were French? What the hell were they? Whatever they were, they had black crosses on them. Large, ugly, bloody great black crosses painted on either wing.

'Sweet Christ! Bloody Messerschmitts.'

Peter gave a quick squirt from his guns towards the tail-end Charlie, and shoved the stick forward so that the Hurricane flew into a very steep dive towards some broken cloud 3,000-4,000ft below.... Nine Me. 109's peeled off and began to chase him. The Hurricance was fitted with a special booster on the throttle called the tit... Heart pulsating, throat dry, eyes wide, Peter broke the wire and the booster tit. What he didn't know at that time, but was told by witnesses after his ordeal, was that there were another eighteen Me. 109's on patrol, scattered all over the November sky. Having seen nine of their comrades peel off after something, they in turn decided to investigate. So, in effect, there were not just nine on Peter's tail, but twenty-seven.

How was Peter feeling at this point? Does he recall panicking? No, he replies; he was a pilot in the RAF, but he does admit to being more than a little scared. As he says, at the time he was 'shitting his knickers'. He tucked himself into his pilot's seat, ducking in front of the armour plate that protected the back of his head. Darting and nipping in between the broken cloud, he kept an ever-watchful eye on the direction bearing of the compass. It pointed west.... He was back over France but he didn't have the foggiest idea precisely where.

Twenty-seven Me. 109'S were still chasing one under-powered Hurricane flown by one green, scared, very nervous pilot. Peter prefers to think of it as one Hurricane leading twenty-seven Messerschmitts towards a group of French fighter aircraft. Never had Peter been more relieved to see a bunch of Moraine-Saulnier 406's and Curtiss P-40 Hawks. Salvation had arrived. This was to be the first genuine dogfight of the Second World War, with a total of over thirty aircraft fighting over the French border. Nine Me. 109's were shot down by nine French aircraft.'

Ayerst landed just as his fuel ran out. His Log Book records, 'Interception of Enemy Aircraft and Met 27 Messerschmidt 109's In German Territory. Landed at Nancy. 9 E/A Shot Down. Several Bullet Holes in Tailplane.'

He returned to Rouvres the following day, with his exploits preceeding him. In light of his evasive flying Ayerst acquired the nickname 'Decoy' from his mess mates. The dogfight received coverage in the War Illustrated News (22.11.1939), and in the Daily Mail and the Mirror.

Ayerst carried on with flying patrols, and on the 8th November 'Cobber' Kain claimed the squadron's first victory. On the 23rd, Ayerst was in action on a 'Interception Of Three Enemy Aircraft. He.III's. Chased He. III's Back Across The Frontier.' (Ibid)

Recuperation with 'Cobber'
Winter weather limited flying over Christmas and into the New Year. The advent of January brought a measles epidemic to the village of Rouvres, and Ayerst and Kain were the only pilots of 73 Squadron to contract it. They 'were packed off to convalesce in nearby Epernay, recuperating in a château that had been requisitioned by the British Army.... Peter and Cobber were shown into a ward on arrival... They were hospitalised for a couple of weeks until they were given the all-clear by the doctors. The château-hospital was some 90 miles from Rouvres, so Peter rang their unit at about 11am one morning.

'Hello. It's Peter. Got any transport for Cobber and me?'

'Here's the situation. We don't have any spare transport at present. Sorry. The only thing we can possibly send for you is an ambulance, but it won't be with you for another five hours.'

He told Cobber. They looked at each other. What were they going to do for the next five hours?

They ambled out of the château-hospital into the avenue. It was the first time they had noticed there were large, elegant, beautiful châteaux in the rue. One particular château lay directly opposite the hospital and the pair noticed three words engraved on a plaque: Moët et Chandon. The same thought struck each patient... Cobber and Peter were taken into the cellars that went on for miles and miles lying deep underneath. Down one wall were wooden racks bearing millions and millions of bottles, the necks of which sloped downwards... Word had got around that two RAF airmen were in the building. The managing director heard that they were in his cellars and summoned them to his office, where hands were shaken a little stiffly. 'Have some champagne', said the managing director, and he proceeded to pour some of the finest champagne the boys had tasted - and over the past few months they had tasted some! It was certainly the best medicine they had received over the last two weeks. Cobber and Peter chatted with the MD in his office for a couple of hours or so, then they thanked him for his hospitality and walked, a little unsteadily, outside to wait for some transport. Eventually, the ambulance from Rouvres turned up. It was, in fact, the most suitable transport the unit at Rouvres could have sent because, as Peter says, they were both so drunk. They returned to Rouvres laid out on stretchers in the back of this ambulance!' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

RAF Poster Boy
Throughout February and March Ayerst was engaged on defensive patrols, and despite frequently sighting enemy aircraft they would not come out to 'play'. In April the squadron's patrols were now livening up, and as recorded in his Log Book Ayerst was in the thick of it. He undertook three patrols on the 7th, recorded thus, 'Defensive Patrol With 6 A/C At 23,000 On Left Front. Met 6 Me. 109's. Me. 109's Immediately Turned Back For Home When They Sighted Hurricanes. Several Pilots Fired Their Guns But At Long Range. No E/A Confirmed. Self, One Damaged, Since Confirmed' and 'Offensive Patrol Between Thionville - Boulay With 9 A/C At 26,500 Encountered Approx 20 Me. 109's. Shot Down One, It Crashed Near Boulay' and finally 'Defensive Patrol With 6 A/C At 22,000 On Left Front. Chased Two E/A Back To Reims, They Were Shot Down By Moranes.'

He added to his score, 21.4.1940, 'Defensive Patrol At 25,000 On Right And Left Fronts. S/Ldr More Led Nine Aircraft And We Ran Into Me 110's And Me. 109's, About 30 In All, 3 109's And 2 110's Shot Down. F/O Walker Wounded In The Shoulder. Self One 109 Shot Down.'

As the war continued to gather momentum so to did the need for RAF recruits. In light of this and 'to raise awareness of the diverse roles available within the Air Force, the publicity department began producing recruiting pamplets. The front page bore the title: On His Majesty's Service, The Commanding Officer, Royal Air Force Recruiting Office. A photograph of a man from each trade smiled contentedly and the accompanying slogan said that 'The Royal Air Force needs men like these Now!' Inside the pamphlet, a headline stated where recruits should enrol, followed by a column of recruiting centres all over Britain. And in the centre of the pamphlet, flanked by Swansea to Skegness, Glasgow to Gravesend, was a photograph of Peter in his aircraft, looking towards the photographer. He got quite a shock when he first saw it. 'Bugger me! I was smiling at the camera, complete with Irvin jacket, flying helmet, sitting astride the canopy of my Hurricane.' It was one of many taken by the Daily Mirror's Stanley Devon, a classic image of a fighter pilot. Evidently this was the view shared by the RAF publicity department, who saw this photo as a shot of a nineteen year old to whom aspiring pilots could relate. Peter had become the face of the RAF.' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

Ayerst was taken ill at the start of May and taken off flying to recuperate. With the Battle of France now raging, and the squadron under constant retreat Ayerst travelled to Paris. From Paris he managed to hitch a lift on a potato lorry to Cherbourg, where he found that it was every man for himself. He managed to clamber aboard a ship and returned to the UK in June.

Battle of Britain
On the 11th June, Ayerst and three other surviving pilots (including his former flight commander - Ian Scoular) from the squadron arrived at RAF Digby. Upon arrival an immediate meeting was arranged with the AOC 12 Group Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. He 'met them in a small room in the officers' mess at Digby. He told them that things were crucial at present in regard to the invasion and they were going to find themselves in a very accute position in the future. The survivors had been in France for nine months, they had been through hell. Not surprisingly, they thought that leave might be granted and asked him. Acording to Peter his terse reply was: 'You can have fours days. Then I want you to report to some new units which we are forming.' 'They are to be called Fighter Operational Training Units, OTUs. We have two at the moment: one at Sutton Bridge where Hurricanes are being used, and Aston Down where they have both Spitfires and Hurricanes. As far as you chaps are concerned, I want you to got to Sutton Bridge.' (Ibid)

Ayerst was only at Sutton Bridge for three weeks before being posted to the recently formed No. 7 OTU at Hawarden. At the latter he was introduced to the Spitfire. The purpose of the OTU's was to draw on the operational experience of the instructors so that they could impart this to their young charges, however this was somewhat ironic in Ayerst's case as he was still only 19 years of age.

Despite his youth Ayerst instructed a number of students who quickly went on to become legendary pilots, including: Paddy Finucane, Paddy Barthrop and 'Johnnie' Johnson. In the case of Barthrop, 'it may have been his Irish roots, but Peter thinks it is fair to say that he was a bit of a wild one... It was not unusual to see Peter and Barthrop enjoying several beers in the mess: a rare occasion of pupil socialising with instructor.' (Ibid)

Ayerst flew fifty-six flying hours in August, the average flight being just under an hour's duration. In addition to their instructing, instructor pilots still had to carry out patrols on a regular defensive pattern. And despite his posting being a non-operational one, on the 14th August 1940, Ayerst joined a select band of around 6 fighter pilots who were not members of officially designated Battle of Britain squadrons and who achieved confirmed victories against German aircraft during the Battle, without being made eligible for the Battle of Britain clasp. A quite extraordinary anomaly.

On the latter date Ayerst's Log Book rather simplistically gives, 'Chased He. III. Shot Down Near Chester. W/Cdr Hallings-Potts And S/Ldr Maclean Were The Other Two Pilots In The Section.'

Battle Over Britain adds further detail to the background of the action, 'another raid had struck Southampton, where the main railway line was temporarily blocked. Three small formations of KG 27 Heinkels managed to penetrate right through Brand's 10 Group fighter screen undetected and flew on northwards towards the West Midlands. The airfield at Colerne (where the Hurricanes of the Maintenance Unit were understandably mistaken for operational fighters) was bombed but no appreciable damage was caused. Three Heinkels even reached the airfield at Sealand in Cheshire (home of No. 30 Maintenance Unit), where rather more damage was caused - but of a temporary nature.

As the German bombers flew northwards, anti-aircraft gunfire betrayed their presence to the flying instructors at No. 7 Operational Training Unit based at Hawarden, fifteen miles south of Birkenhead. Three staff pilots [see above], belonging to an ad hoc local denfence flight of Spitfires, took off and shot one of the Heinkels down near Chester.'

Time For A Half, And A Heinkel
Spirit Of The Blue gives Ayerst's personal perspective on the action, 'on one notable occasion at about half-past seven during the evening of 14th August, the instructors had packed up flying for the day and sat in the marquee, by the bar, with a beer in hand. It was a pleasant evening and this was a welcome chance to relax. Suddenly, they heard loud bangs, followed by firing which seemed to be getting louder. They looked at each other, then made for the flap of the marquee. Someone said, 'What the hell's that?' Away in the direction of RAF Sealand, they saw an aircraft flying in the distance about 5 miles away. The bangs were bombs dropped by the aircraft over the Training School. Three of the instructors, Wg Cdr Hallings-Pott, Sqn Ldr McLean and Peter started to run towards the Spitfires nearest to them, one of them shouting, 'Get three aircraft started. Get them going! NOW!'

It was an unintentional scramble. The ground crew had just begun to put covers over the Spitfires but whipped them off immediately they heard the call, turning the Merlin engines so that the aircraft burst into life. The three dashed towards the aircraft, pulling on their parachutes as they ran, jumped into the purring Spitfires and tore off over the airfield in pursuit of the lone bomber.

They picked up the Heinkel He III at about 2,000ft over Sealand, just as it began a second bombing run. Hallings-Pott and McLean lined the Heinkel up in their sights, pressing the button on their D-ring. Both instructors scored direct hits but it pressed on. It was Peter's turn. He went in at about 200yds astern of the Heinkel, carefully choosing his moment. He could see some bullet holes in the German's tailplane but nothing more; no fire nor flames. He could also see the rear gunner firing back and missing. Peter pressed the gun button, firing directly into the fuselage. He must have hit the engines as the bomber rapidly lost height in the dusk. The other two Spitfires had broken away and had returned to Hawarden but Peter stayed with the stricken Heinkel, watching it sink lower and lower until it crash-landed.

A sixteen-year-old boy had been playing the cornet in the Alhambra Theatre, Shotton. At about 9pm, he stood at the top of Salisbury Street, chatting to a friend. Suddenly the Heinkel shot across the bottom of the street, 20ft above the ground, closely followed by Peter's Spitfire. It was quite a sight for them. The sixteen-year-old was to become the well-known orchestra leader, Syd Lawrence.

The pilot made a wonderful job of landing the plane, flying under electric pylons (quite a feat for a bomber!), wheels up, stopping 50yds short of a farmhouse. The four crew members had survived the attack and were taken prisoner, but before they left the wrecked Heinkel one of the crew had placed detonators in the fuel tank. As they surrendered, the aircraft exploded, cockpit and wings ablaze. Only the tail unit and half of the fuselage remained. The following day day, Peter, McLean, Hallings-Pott and others travelled the 5 miles from Hawarden to see the wreckage. The Heinkel crew remained in Britain as POWs for two months before being shipped to Canada.

Some forty-eight years later, Peter met them again in less confrontational circumstances. They thanked him for shooting them down because they had been given better food in Canada than in Britain!'

Ayerst, however, did make good use of his 'down-time' in other ways. He often liberated of one the unit's Fairey Battles 'to good effect when he went on a jolly, piling six bodies into the back: one pilot and five in the back, flying down to Hendon airfield for a night out on the town. They frequented the Liaison Club in the Prince's Arcade between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street. It was during the autumn of 1940 when London had to 'take it', suffering under Luftwaffe bombs in what was the beginning of the Blitz. Peter and his colleagues were in the Liaison Club when the first of these bombing raids struck. As the bombs dropped all around them, Peter and the others slept on the sofas, covering themselves with tablecloths.' (Ibid)

A Return To Ops
Ayerst undertook a parachute course at Weeton in October 1940, before 'the decision was taken by Gp Capt Seward, the Commanding Officer at Hawarden, along with the Officer in Charge of Flying, Wg Cdr Hallings-Pott, to post instructors to operational squadrons in order to keep pace with any changes. Peter was attached to 54 Squadron at Catterick.' (Ibid)

At the end of November Ayerst transferred to No. 57 OTU, also at Hawarden. He stayed with the unit in an instructorial capacity until June 1941, upon which date he was posted to 145 Squadron (Spitfires) at Tangmere. Ayerst relished his return to operational flying and throughout June and July carried out numerous forays providing high cover for bombers attacking targets in France. These included, 7.7.1941, 'High Cover Wing For Bombers Attacking Aircraft Factory Near Albert. Shot Up A Flak Ship, On Way Home'; 8.7.1941, 'High Cover Wing For Bombers Attacking Chemical Plant Near Bethune. Flight Attacked 9 Me. 109's. One Seen To Go Down With A Glycol Leak. Accurate A/A Fire' and 11.7.1941 when he added a Probable Me. 109 Destroyed to his score, 'Sweep Over Marshalling Yards At Hazebrouck. Stirlings Attacked. Several Me. 109's Were Seen And Attacked. Shot Up One 109, Believe It Crashed.' (Log Book refers)

A week later Ayerst was involved in a car crash, and as a result of a head-on collision his car was flipped over. He escaped from the crash with concussion, however, he was hospitalised as a consequence. After a month of convalescence Ayerst 'was told the news that he had been dreading. It had firmly been decided that he was not going back to operational duties with a fighter squadron in the light of his recent condition, at least for the moment... the doctors could not be certain that he was totally cured. They did not want to be responsible for the loss of a valuable pilot having a dizzy spell at 20,000ft, blacking out and killing himself in the process.' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

Ayerst was posted on a senior navigation course to No. 2 School of Air Navigation at Cranage. Having qualified as a Senior Instructor, and there being no return of dizzy spells, Ayerst was posted to No. 58 OTU, Grangemouth, in November 1941. He was given a clean bill of health in June 1942, and tasked with jointly establishing a new squadron along with Squadron Leader A.E. Johnson. Ayerst, now with the rank of Flight Lieutenant, was appointed Senior Flight Commander. His time at Ouston was shortlived, as his experience was required elsewhere. At the end of July 1942 he was posted for operational flying overseas and departed for the Middle East.

Western Desert - El Alamein
Ayerst arrived at AHQ in Cairo at the beginning of September 1942. He was to be posted to 243 Wing, and attached to 33 Squadron (Hurricanes) as a supernumary whilst he gained experience in desert flying.

In the month that Ayerst was with the squadron it must have brought back memories of France for him, as the squadron moved twice within that period in order to keep up with the fluid desert fighting.

The squadron were tasked with patrolling over the El Alamein line. Whilst the surroundings were alien to Ayerst it did not take him long to acclimatise. On 9.10.1942 he added two aircraft Destroyed on the ground to his tally, 'Wing Strafe Of The Daba Aerodromes L.G. 104 & L.G. 121. 4 Squadrons Participated 33, 213, 238 & 1 S.A.A.F. Very Intense Light Flak And Some Heavy. 15+ 109's Jumped Us As We Went In At Zero Feet - Bags Of Panic. I Was Hit In The Fuselage Behind The Cockpit. Self 1 109 Destroyed, 1 Fiessler Storch Destroyed And 1 Tent Destroyed. 9 Pilots Missing.' (Log Book refers)

The pace was intense, with the squadron being scrambled several times daily. This culminated in the Second Battle of El Alamein (23rd October-11th November 1942), or as Ayerst records it in his Log Book "The Putsch".

During this period Ayerst Destroyed one Me. 109 and Damaged three others. The 23rd October 'was to mark the beginning of an intense bout of combat fighting for him. He was asked by Jack Finnis, his commanding officer, to carry out a reconnaissance of the northern sector area on this date, reporting back with a suitable landing ground for the entire Wing that was closer to the Axis lines. It was a measure of his maturity and experience - despite the fact that he had flown in the desert for no more than twenty-one days - that he was tasked with finding, and found, an airstrip that he thought might be appropriate. This airstrip became known as LG 172. In the afternoon of that day, 243 Wing moved to LG 172, in anticipation of the intended drive by the Allied Forces. The first British shells were fired at half-past eight in the evening, and thereafter the British artillery unleashed a barrage of incredible intensity... At the crack of dawn on 24th October, 243 Wing patrolled the line, providing aerial cover for the British ground forces from the German dive-bombers. The four squadrons were positioned at different height intervals, the top and middle flights providing cover by engaging fighters, while the bottom flight protected the ground forces by attacking diver-bombers.

On that particular day 33 Squadron had been designated 'bottom squadron', and as such was the closest to the activity on the ground.' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

Ayerst's Log Book offers the following for the battle, 24.10.1942, 'Patrol Of The Line. Intercepted By 15 109's & 202's On Reaching Alamein. Terrific Dog Fight Ensued. Self 1 109 Damaged. Everybody Ok. Bags Of Activity On The Ground'; 3.11.1942, 'Patrol Of The Line. Met 30+ Stukas And 20 109 G's. Very Heavy A.A. Followed By Stuka Party. Had Several Squirts At 109's And Probably Damaged Two'; and 4.11.1942, 'Scramble For Stuka Party. Missed Stukas But Caught Up With The 109 Escort. There Were 12+ 109's In The Area. 1 109 Destroyed And 1 109 Damaged. Got Shot Up Three Times By Heavy A/A And Numerous Times By Light A/A. Forced Landed 5 Miles Inside The "Bomb Line" Near The Australians. Sgt. Blatchford Baled Out Over Enemy Territory.'

A Birthday Let Off
Due to the high number of casualties Ayerst had in fact been posted on the 1st November as Senior Flight Commander of 238 Squadron (also participating in the battle). On the 4th he was 'probably at about 7,000-8,000ft when he got hit by flak, his Hurricane being hit in the tail and in the starboard wing, as well as in the engine. The damage in the wing didn't prevent him from using the ailerons but he had problems controlling the plane fore-and-aft because of the damage to the tail. He wasn't aware that the engine had been hit until he saw plumes of white smoke streaming out of the exhaust manifolds on both sides of the fuselage... The engine coughed and spluttered, time was running out and Peter knew he had to put the aircraft down soon. But where? He was well over the enemy lines at this time and he knew that he was flying in the right direction. He needed to travel eastwards, putting as much distance as possible between him and the Germans, maintaining some height if he was to escape. If he lost height, then he lost distance. All he could do was to fly straight in an easterly direction. It dawned on him that he was not going to make the British lines; the Hurricane was losing too much height and the Germans were firing at him with everything they had. He tried to manoeuvre the aircraft with what little power was left but it proved unresponsive.

A track appeared on the sandy ground ahead of him, part of the great Qattara track. There was nothing for it - he had to land on that track and make a wheels-up crash-landing. He came in, the engine whining as the light sandy track came up to meet him. The landing was a trifle heavy as the Hurricane hit the ground, wheels up, slewing along the sandy track until it came to a dusty halt.

Peter was down; his gamble had paid off. But he couldn't afford to relax. As soon as the aircraft had come to a halt and the engine had died, he was aware of a sharp metallic sound. Bullets and shells were pinging against the body of the Hurricane. Leaping out of the cockpit, he lay flat on the ground, sheltering along the fuselage as the Germans continued to fire in his direction. With his radio broken, there was nothing he could do but remain there.

The bright intensity of day turned into a heady richness of red twilight. The glaring heat of the day cooled to a pleasing temperature... ill prepared for an evening in the desert, he weighed up what he should do - stay by the Hurricane in case his colleagues came looking for him, or walk across the desert...The twilight came and passed into darkness. Peter sighed and stood up. 'There's only one thing for it,' he thought, 'continue to walk in an easterly direction. That's all I can do.' He was just about to set off when he thought he heard the drone of a motor vehicle coming towards him. He thought about the possibilities of escape. Could it be Allied? More likely to be a German lorry, and the chance of him being interned in a prisoner-of-war camp for the rest of the war. He was thus very surprised and pleased to hear a voice in a language he understood. It had a twang to it and it was slightly nasal. At that moment, it was the best slightly nasal twang he could ever wish to hear. 'Anybody there?'

'Yes', he replied.

'Hurry. Jump in!'

Peter jumped in quickly and the engine of the jeep rose to a crescendo, tearing off and away, following the track as best it could in the dark. When they were in a safe area, he discovered that the twang belonged to an Australian major, who told him what had happened. The Australian and his driver had watched Peter's aircraft being hit by flak and followed it down but they had to wait until the cover of darkness before they could rescue him; they hadn't dared come out sooner, otherwise the Germans would have picked them off.

The Australian left him with a final sobering thought.

'Of course, you know that track you landed on was the only place you could have landed.'

'Sorry, what do you mean?'

'That track... the one you landed on. It is the only piece of land that you could have attempted a landing: the surrounding sand on either side is heavily mined for miles!'

Peter recalls this well - it happened on his birthday!' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

It took Ayerst three days via various modes of transport to return to the squadron. He returned to find out that he had been listed as missing in action, and upon his reappearance he was informed that he was now a member of the Late Arrivals Club.

As the Second Battle of El Alamein neared a conclusion the squadron flew to a desert landing ground behind enemy lines, where it strafed the German rear communications for a week. Attacking targets including Aghela Aerodrome the squadron accounted for a large amount of transport vehicles.

On A Wing And A Prayer
The El Alamein line was broken and the Germans were in full retreat. This coincided with 238 Squadron's commanding officer (Squadron Leader R. Marples) being posted to another squadron - an occaison that had to be marked properly. To do so required a supply of alcohol and a means of transporting it in the desert. On the 23rd November Ayerst's Log Book records, 'El Adem To Aboukir. Aboukir To El Adem. Beer Trip For C.O's Farewell "Do".' This laconic entry rather underplays the ingenuity employed, as Marples remarked one morning:

'Come on, Pete. I'm pissed off with drinking tea all the time. I need some alcohol. Let's go and grab some beer.'

'Ah, do I feel a trip to Alexandria coming on?'

'Got it in one! Follow me!'

Peter and Marples and a third pilot knew where they could obtain some supplies. It was a brief easterly flight from LG 172; the trio decided to fly three Hurricanes to a large RAF base at nearby Aboukir where the large brick-built mess played a central part in the lives of the service personnel there and consequently was well stocked. Moreover, Roy and Peter knew that, with a smile and a bit of charm, supplies of American beer would be winging their way back to the boys in 238 Squadron. Supply was therefore not a problem, but how did they transport it back to base? The solution was ingenious: the wings of a Hurricane Mk IIC are thick; they have to be in order to accomodate the twin cannon in each wing. In keeping with these cannon, the drum containers holding the rounds of 20mm ammunition are also large. Roy and Peter would unscrew the ammunition panels from both port and starboard wings before leaving LG 172 and dispose of any ammunition before placing the cases of tinned beer in the ammunition pans. Without any further interruptions, the trio would hurriedly fly back - three operational aircraft in flight loaded with an armanent of beer.' (Ibid)

Ayerst continued flying with the squadron until the end of March 1943. He was then posted as an Instructor (i/c Air Firing Squadron) to No. 73 OTU, Abu Sueir. Subsequent postings that year included to 216 Group at Heliopolis and with No. 1 Air Delivery Unit. Ayerst was posted to South Africa for instructional duties at No. 62 Air School, C.F.S., Bloemfontein, September 1943.

After a restful period, 'he wanted a change; things had become too sedantary and it was all too routine. That restless drive and boundless energy he possessed throughout his life was just as strong and it was time to move on. The wind was blowing in a different direction.

Word had got to South Africa that the whole of southern England was swarming with British and American troops, preparing for something. Something was happening - and when it did, Peter wanted to be on the winning side.' (Ibid)

124 (Baroda) Squadron
Ayerst's request for a posting back to the UK came through, and he left South Africa in February 1944. He was posted for operational flying to 124 (Baroda) Squadron (Spitfires), Bradwell-on-Sea, April 1944.The squadron was mainly tasked with high altitude interceptions, and offensive patrols over the Channel.

124 Squadron 'found that their patrols were getting longer towards early June. And then, on 6 June 1944, came news. D-Day was announced.' (Ibid)

Over the next few days Ayerst was kept busy, albeit mainly on defensive patrols, and added to his score, 12.6.1944 'Patrol Griz Nez-North Foreland. Destroyed Me. 109G With F/Lt Hibbert 20 Miles East Of North Foreland, Pilot Baled Out. Saw Air Sea Rescue Launches For Hun Pilot.' (Log Book refers)

Throughout the remainder of the Summer, and into September 1944, Ayerst was very active on bomber escort missions including on V1 sites. At the end of September the squadron moved to Manston and from here ground strafing missions intensified as the Allies pushed deeper into France and the Low Countries. Ayerst escorted heavy bombers on daylight raids as they penetrated deep into Germany, 'Targets were concentrated in the German industrial area of the Ruhr. Whenever the bombers made a pass over one of these targets, the area was highly defended by the anti-aircraft crews and the flak was very intense. Peter recalls that the flak was so thick that when the stream of bombers passed over, all you saw over the Ruhr area, which was 30 miles long by 10 miles wide, was just one black cloud. He admits that it was a terrifying experience, not least because pilots just didn't know from where or when the flak would arrive. They could at least take action with an enemy aircraft but the flak was quite literally a case of hit or miss.

"I can't remember hearing the shells burst; I was concentrating on height and location of the nearest bomber. We also had our flying helmet which was a tight fit and that, coupled with the roar of the Merlin engine precluded any sound of flak, thank God.... They used tape to demonstrate the routes along which we were to escort the bombers. When we saw the tape, we thought Christ! They're sending us to those highly defended areas? You nearly shit yourself in the briefing room, let alone the mission!" ' (Ibid)

Ayerst also took part in Operation Market Garden, as his Log Book records, 17.9.1944 'Escort Patrol Over Holland To Aircraft Returning From Airborne Landing. Bandits Reported But Not Seen. Plenty Of Parachutes And Gliders Strewn Around', 18.9.1944 'Escort And Anti-Flak Patrol To Liberators Dropping Supplies To Airborne Troops Near Eindhoven, Also Escort To Tugs And Gliders. Plenty Of Light Flak, Several A/C Hit, To Be Expected When Flying at 1,000ft Over Eastern Holland' and 25.9.1944 'Ramrod. Escort To 12 Mitchells Bombing Flak Positions Near Arnhem. W/C Checketts Destroyed An Me. 109.'

Early in October Ayerst was part of the escort for King George VI and other VIPs on a trip to Eindhoven. The remainder of October through to December was occupied with bomber escort duties of great intensity over heavily defended German targets, including 5.12.1944 'Withdrawal Escort To 100 Lancasters Bombing Hamm (Ramrod). Intense Accurate Flak North Of The Ruhr. 200+ 190's And 109's Reported, Saw 20 109's In Combat With 91 Sqdn But Was Unable To Attack. 91 Got 3.'

Test Pilot
The advent of January marked the completion of nearly four tours of operations for Ayerst. He had done his share and it was time for something different, 'the call had come through that he was to visit HQ No. 11 Group based at Uxbridge. Facing a panel of officers in well-fitting tunics, he was asked what he wanted to do.... He replied that he didn't know, in fact he didn't have a clue. What was there? 'Well,' one of the panel began, 'there are a couple of things we think you'd be best suited for. The best one is to test-fly Spitfires at the Vickers factory. You see, we think you possess all the necessary amount of experience required for the role. We've had a word with your CO at Manston... Scott, isn't it? He recommended you straight away. Anyway, think about it.' Peter mulled it over and decided to accept... He agreed... the job allowed him to continue his passion for flying Spitfires in an arena that proved interesting, exciting, challenging and motivating. He was well aware that the testing was going to prove... testing. He knew what he didn't want to do, and that was ferrying planes back and forth.' (Spirit Of The Blue, Peter Ayerst - A Fighter Pilot's Story, H. Thomas refers)

Ayerst arrived at the Vickers Factory at Castle Bromwich, 13.2.1945, 'and by the afternoon he was test-flying on two separate occasions, with the legendary Chief Test Pilot of Vickers, Alex Henshaw.... Peter's first two flights on 13th February were not in a Spitfire but in a Lancaster. Alex Henshaw told him: 'As you haven't flown production aircraft from the factory before, I'll show you the sort of standards we're looking for here, from our pilots as well as our machines.'

Peter had a pad with a pencil in the top of the clip, strapped to his right knee. The pencil was attached to a piece of string, very handy when the pencil dropped out of the clip... Sitting in the cockpit of the Lancaster, Henshaw explained to Peter what they were going to do.

'We'll take off, climb up at normal climbing speed, checking the engine temperatures as we go, pressures and so on. Make notes on your pad at various altitude interval. We'll get to normal operating height with the engines set.'

'Fine, Alex,' Peter responded.

One by one, the four Merlin engines burst alive... They took off and climbed steadily. When they reached 15,000ft, Alex said, 'We'll do a level run.' He increased all four throttles to maximum so that the Lancaster ran at full power, then adjusted the revs, enabling maximum performance. Peter watched the speed build up. Once the speed had been reached, he noted the pressures on his pad. He also kept an eye on the aircraft controls as the aircraft flew at full speed - checking the ailerons, elevators and rudder. Henshaw's voice was calm and level: 'All right. Now we'll put the Lanc into a dive.' Peter noticed the needle of the airspeed indicator creep up to 390mph, incredibly dangerous for a lumbering four-engined bomber. He also noticed that the angle of attack was steep; probably about 45 degrees. 'Let me tell you why we dive. We need to test the controls in any case but we also need to look for up-float on the ailerons. You'll be aware that at high speeds, you get an up-float on each aileron. See that white painted line on the aileron? We have this line on the inner edge of each aileron to act as a guide. If the up-float comes above that line, it needs to be rectified. The only way we can test this is in a dive.' They looked at the lines of ailerons. 'That's fine. The up-float's in the designated mark.'

They were still in a dive. Peter noticed that they were down to 7,000ft. Suddenly Henshaw put the Lancaster into a 45 degree angle of climb. 'Good!' thought Peter, catching his breath, 'he's knocking off the speed.' They continued to climb. In an instant, the Lancaster banked sharply to the right. Henshaw had executed a barrel-roll, while the plane was still climbing.

Peter didn't believe what was happening. It was his first time in a Lancaster in any case, but he never realised that an aircraft as large and unwieldy as this was capable of such maneouvres. Henshaw had a remarkable understanding of what aircraft could and could not do. To execute a barrel-roll in a bomber was incredible enough, but to perform one without any effect from G-force was something else!' (Ibid)

With the standard set Ayerst embarked on his new role, 'the test-flying day normally started at about half-past eight in the morning, ending at about six. Most of the flight team retired to the local in Sutton Coldfield to relax and unwind. The art - or science - of test-flying was dramatically different from operational flying. Most squadron flying involved formation-flying towards a specific, defined objective. Test-flying was in many respects harder and it required more discipline and restraint. Up in the air, the testing and analysing was down to Peter and him alone; the buck stopped with him. In addition, the workload was greater and there were a number of objectives to define, test, respond to and analyse.' (Ibid)

The Vickers Factory closed, 11.7.1946, 'Henshaw had left by this point and Peter was the last test pilot to leave the factory. His final entry in 31 January 1946. For two months, he flitted between HQ Fighter Command and HQ 11 Group at Uxbridge assisting with staff duties.

A deputy station commander vacancy arose at his old base at Manston in late March 1946 and he accepted it for three and a half months. He was now flying a desk in charge of administration. In effect, he says, the role actually took on the task of station commander, as the CO was hardly ever present.' (Ibid)

Ayerst left the RAF at the beginning of July 1946. He became a publican and ran the Three Compasses pub in Canterbury. Despite enjoying this change of direction he missed flying, and in 1948 he joined the R.A.F.V.R. After reacquainting himself with flying at No. 24 R.F.S. Rochester he applied for a second short service commission. He was immediately accepted but had to drop in rank from Squadron Leader to Flight Lieutenant.

Subsequent postings for Ayerst included at No. 61 Group, R.A.F. Kenley, 1950-52; No. 22 F.T.S., Syerston; No. 210 A.F.S. (Meteors), Tarrant Rushton, and No. 229 O.C.U. (Vampires), Chivenor. Upon completion of a course at Chivenor Ayerst returned to operational flying. He was posted as a Flight Commander to 16 Squadron (Vampires), 2nd TAF, Butzweilerhof, Germany, September 1953. In January 1954 he was posted as Squadron Leader, Officer Commanding, 5 Squadron (Venoms), Wunsdorf. He led the squadron until 1956, when he returned to England and served in a variety of appointments, including at the Air Ministry and NATO, until his retirement in 1973. His final posting had been as Deputy Station Commander at RAF Wattisham. Here he was introduced to the Lightning interceptor, Britain's only supersonic fighter. Despite being in charge of the Administrative Wing he managed to rack up nine flights in the Lightning adding to his already impressive tally of aircraft flown throughout his career.

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