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Ian Gleed
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Ian Gleed
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. He served in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain before being shot down and killed over Tunisia. Gleed published a fictionalized memoir, Arise to Conquer, in 1942.
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]
Gleed was born in Finchley, north London on 3 July 1916 to Seymour Richard and Florence Hair Gleed. His father, a doctor, had served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, and his sister Daphne was also involved in medicine.
He studied at Epsom College and was an avid sailor. Gleed told friends that after the war, he planned to buy a sailboat and sail to the South Seas.
After learning to fly as a civilian, Gleed was granted a RAF commission in 1936. He completed training on Christmas Day 1936 and was posted to 46 Squadron, flying the Gloster Gauntlet II, a biplane fighter. Gleed was promoted to flying officer on 9 October 1938.
His RAF nickname, "Widge," is said to be short for "Wizard Midget" for Gleed's short stature and his habit of using "wizard" as an adjective.
At the onset of war in September 1939, he was transferred to 266 Squadron as a flight commander. The squadron took deliveries of Spitfires in January.
In February 1940, a Spitfire he was flying broke up in the air. Gleed was injured while falling out of the plane but regained consciousness soon enough to pull his parachute.
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Ian Gleed
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. He served in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain before being shot down and killed over Tunisia. Gleed published a fictionalized memoir, Arise to Conquer, in 1942.
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]
Gleed was born in Finchley, north London on 3 July 1916 to Seymour Richard and Florence Hair Gleed. His father, a doctor, had served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, and his sister Daphne was also involved in medicine.
He studied at Epsom College and was an avid sailor. Gleed told friends that after the war, he planned to buy a sailboat and sail to the South Seas.
After learning to fly as a civilian, Gleed was granted a RAF commission in 1936. He completed training on Christmas Day 1936 and was posted to 46 Squadron, flying the Gloster Gauntlet II, a biplane fighter. Gleed was promoted to flying officer on 9 October 1938.
His RAF nickname, "Widge," is said to be short for "Wizard Midget" for Gleed's short stature and his habit of using "wizard" as an adjective.
At the onset of war in September 1939, he was transferred to 266 Squadron as a flight commander. The squadron took deliveries of Spitfires in January.
In February 1940, a Spitfire he was flying broke up in the air. Gleed was injured while falling out of the plane but regained consciousness soon enough to pull his parachute.
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