John Fraser Drummond
Encyclopedia
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

 John Fraser Drummond DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...

 (19 October 1918 — 10 October 1940) was an RAF fighter pilot, an official ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 who flew in the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

.

Background

The younger of two siblings, he was born to middle class parents, William and Nellie, in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 on 19 October 1918. From the age of eleven he attended private boarding schools (Deytheur Grammar School in Llansantffraid
Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain
Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain is a village and community in Powys, Mid-Wales, close to the border with Shropshire, about south west of Oswestry....

, Powys, then Wellington School, Somerset
Wellington School, Somerset
Wellington School is a British co-educational independent school in Wellington, Somerset, England catering for both day pupils and boarders. There are currently 750 pupils on roll including 200 students in the sixth form. The Headmaster is Martin Reader....

).

A capable student, he passed his school certificates in a wide range of subjects and left with the Senior Prize for divinity.

After a short spell working at a timber merchant with his father, he applied to join the RAF.

RAF career

He passed his medical in November 1937 and began training in April 1938. He was granted a short service commission as an Acting Pilot Officer on probation with effect from 4 June 1938. In January 1939 he was assigned to 46 Squadron
No. 46 Squadron RAF
No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II.- World War I :...

 based at RAF Digby
RAF Digby
RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station which, since March 2005, has been operated by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Intelligence Collection Group. Formerly a training and fighter airfield, it is currently a tri-service military signals installation located...

 in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

. He flew the Gloster Gauntlet
Gloster Gauntlet
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crawford, Alex. Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-04-6....

 briefly before the Squadron was re-equipped with Hurricanes. On 4 April 1939 he was confirmed as a Pilot Officer.

On 21 October 1939 the Squadron attacked a formation of Heinkel 115s - an action which prompted a visit from the King a fortnight later. The squadron spent most of the next six months in training.

Norway

After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April, No. 46 Squadron was part of the British Air forces sent to Norway. They sailed on HMS Glorious and by 27 May 1940 were stationed in Bardufoss
Bardufoss Air Station
Bardufoss Air Station is located in the municipality of Målselv in Troms county in Northern Norway. It is the location for the 139th Air Wing and two helicopter squadrons; the 337 Squadron operating Lynx MK 86 for the Norwegian Coast Guard and the 339 Squadron equipped with Bell 412SPs...

 in the far north of the country.

On 29 May flying Hurricane L1794 Drummond saw four enemy aircraft and attacked a Heinkel 111 of Kampfgeschwader 26
Kampfgeschwader 26
Kampfgeschwader 26 "Löwengeschwader" was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II .Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in September–October 1944. It operated two of the major German bomber types; the Heinkel He 111 and the Junkers Ju 88...

. Although Drummond hit the starboard engine he was hit in turn by return fire, causing his cockpit to fill with smoke. He turned to return to Bardufoss but his engine failed. Bailing out, he landed in the freezing waters of Ofotfjord
Ofotfjord
Ofotfjord or Narvik Fjord, an inlet of the Norwegian sea north of the Arctic circle, is Norway's 12th longest fjord, long, and the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . Along the shores of this fjord is the major town of Narvik...

 and was rescued by HMS Firedrake
HMS Firedrake (H79)
HMS Firedrake was an F-class destroyer of the Royal Navy built in 1934. She took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and was torpedoed in 1942.-Construction:...

.

On 2 June he was patrolling in Hurricane W2543 over Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...

. He saw two Junkers Ju87s attacking a destroyer over Ofotfjord. He shot down one of them, watching it force-land and burst into flames.

On 7 June he was in the air at 04.00 when he saw three He111s. He attacked the two, hitting one that he last saw flying damaged towards towards the Swedish border, claiming this as a victory.

That same afternoon he attacked a formation of four He111s. He claimed one downed and damaged two more, but again was hit by return fire, piercing the windscreen, clipping his goggles and helmet before ricocheting out of the cockpit hood.

The British evacuation of Norway, Operation Alphabet
Operation Alphabet
Operation Alphabet was an evacuation, authorized on May 24, 1940, of Allied troops from the harbour of Narvik in northern Norway marking the success of Nazi Germany's Operation Weserübung of April 9 and the end of the Allied campaign in Norway during World War II...

 began the same day. Unlike the other Squadron pilots, he did not fly his Hurricane to the aircraft carrierHMS Glorious but instead returned with the ground crew component on the SS Arandora Star. This was fortuitous for him, as HMS Glorious was sunk on the return journey, killing eight of Drummond's Hurricane pilot comrades.

For his service in Norway Drummond he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...

 on 26 July 1940 with a citation that mentioned that last day's exploits in detail.

For the next ten weeks he flew convoy and defensive patrols and trained Polish and Czech pilots to fly Spitfires at RAF Hawarden.

92 Squadron and the Battle of Britain

On 5 September he was posted to 92 Squadron
No. 92 Squadron RAF
No. 92 Squadron, also known as No 92 Squadron, of the Royal Air Force was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps at London Colney as a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it...

, serving with several legendary pilots including Bob Stanford Tuck
Robert Stanford Tuck
Wing Commander Roland Robert Stanford Tuck DSO, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was a British fighter pilot and test pilot.Tuck joined the RAF in 1935. Tuck first engaged in combat during the Battle of France, over Dunkirk, claiming his first victories...

, Brian Kingcome
Brian Kingcome
Group Captain Charles Brian Fabris Kingcome DSO DFC & Bar was a British flying ace of the Second World War, most notable for serving with No. 92 Squadron Royal Air Force in 1940 during the Battle of Britain...

, Allan Wright and Geoffrey Wellum.

Drummond first saw action on 9 September, defending an attack on Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill is an area and electoral ward in the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London, United Kingdom.-History:Historically the settlement was known as Aperfield and formed part of the parish of Cudham...

.

On 11 September Drummond attacked an Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

 that was attacking a Hurricane, following it until he ran out of ammunition. He saw two more Bf 109s about to attack him, but managed to half-roll and return to base safely.

Throughout September Drummond and 92 Squadron were involved in sporadic sorties to defend south eastern England. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe began The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

 on major cities. On 21 September a bomb smashed into a Drummond family home in Liverpool, killing John's grandmother and aunt while they slept.

On the morning of 23 September, flying Spitfire QJ-T (X4422), Drummond attacked an Bf 109 attacking another Spitfire. Feldwebel Kuepper of 8./Jagdgeschwader 26
Jagdgeschwader 26
Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated mainly in Western Europe against Great Britain, France the United States but also saw service against Russia. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran and Freikorps member arrested and...

, tried to escape but Drummond pressed home his attack, firing short bursts until Kuepper was forced down in a pond near Grain Fort
Grain Fort
Grain Fort was built in the 1860s on the eastern end of the Hoo peninsulato control the entrance to the Medway, Kent, England.All surface structures were demolished in the 1960s, so all that remains are underground passages....

 on the Isle of Grain
Isle of Grain
The Isle of Grain, in the north of Kent, England, is the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula. No longer an island, the Isle is almost all marshland and the Grain Marshes are an important habitat for birdlife...

 and captured unhurt.

The next day 92 intercepted an incoming raid over the Thames estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...

. Fighting through the Bf 109 fighter escort they attacked the Ju 88 bombers. Having damaged one, Drummond pulled away chased by three Bf 109s. He turned circle, attacking and damaging two of them, arriving safely back at Biggin Hill.

On 5 October he took off a few minutes after the rest of the squadron. Before he could catch up, he saw twelve Bf 109s over Dungeness and launched a solo attack. He fired on the rear fighter, hit it then watched it crash in the sea. He then attacked a Henschel Hs 126
Henschel Hs 126
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....

 of 4 (H)/31 flying low over the water, finally bringing it down two miles from the French coast. Its pilot Leut. Klaeden was taken prisoner.

During the Battle RAF artist Cuthbert Orde
Cuthbert Orde
Captain Cuthbert Julian Orde was an artist and First World War pilot. He is best known for his war art, especially his portraits of Allied Battle of Britain pilots.-Family background:...

 drew his portrait. Out of the 3,000 or so pilots in Fighter Command, less than 200 of the most noteworthy had been selected for a study in Orde's iconic style.

Death

On the morning of 10 October 1940 Drummond was part of a patrol east of Brighton. A Dornier 17 was intercepted and all nine Spitfires of the patrol descended on it. They were hindered by iced-up windscreens that prevented them from using their deflector sights.

Drummond and Pilot Officer Bill Williams both attempted beam attacks from either flank. They missed and continued turning towards each other, and their Spitfires collided. Drummond baled out but was too low for his parachute to open effectively. Still alive after hitting the ground, a priest was able to administer the last rites before Drummond died in his arms.

His Spitfire, R6616 crashed close by, landing on a flintstone wall that bordered Jubilee Field (now Easthill Drive) and St Mary’s Convent in Portslade
Portslade
Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...

.

When his body was examined, Drummond was found to have been wounded in his left arm and leg. Bill Williams, it later transpired, had been shot through the head so was already dead when the planes collided.

During the war Drummond had claimed 8 aircraft destroyed (and 1 shared), 3 'probables' and 4 damaged.

Funeral and Memorials

Drummond's funeral took place at St Michael’s church, Blundellsands, Liverpool, on 15 October 1940, four days before his 22nd birthday. He is buried in Thornton Garden of Rest.

John Drummond is commemorated on the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne
Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne
The Battle of Britain Memorial is a monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain. It is sited on the White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, on the coast of Kent. It was initiated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, and opened by the Queen Mother on July 9 1993...

, and the Battle of Britain Monument in London
Battle of Britain Monument in London
The Battle of Britain Monument in London is a sculpture on the Victoria Embankment overlooking the River Thames in central London, England which pays tribute to those who took part in the Battle of Britain during World War II...

. His name is on two memorials in his home district of Crosby
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...

. One is inside St Michael's church where his funeral was held, the other in Alexandra Park.

He is listed in the Book of Remembrance at St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...

, the RAF church in London. He is also recorded in the Book of Remembrance, the casualties list and on the Roll of Honour in St Georges Chapel at Biggin Hill. There is also a plaque at Wellington School commemorating John Drummond and another old old boy who flew on the Battle of Britain, Edward Graham.

First Light

Geoffrey Wellum's best-selling memoir, First Light, mentions Drummond. In 2010 it was dramatised for TV by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, with Alex Waldmann
Alex Waldmann
Alex Waldmann is a young English actor from London. He is married to director Amelia Sears.-Career:After completing his training at LAMDA, Waldmann began his career in 2004 playing the role of Leto, in Fishbowl, directed by Paul Higgins, at Theatre 503...

 playing John Fraser Drummond.

Combat Record 1940

Date Flying Location Kills Probables Damaged
29 May Hurricane I L1794 Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...

1 * Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

2 June Hurricane I N2543 SE Narvik 1 * Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...

7 June Hurricane I L1793 2m N Narvik 1 * Heinkel He 111
7 June Hurricane I L1805 10m E Narvik 1 * Heinkel He 111 2 * Heinkel He 111
11 Sept Spitfire I N3248 10m NW Dungeness 1 * Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

23 Sept Spitfire I X4422 Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...

 - N Chatham
1 * Messerschmitt Bf 109E
24 Sept Spitfire I X4422 Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...

 area
1 * Messerschmitt Bf 109E 1 * Messerschmitt Bf 109E
1 * Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

27 Sept Spitfire I X4330 Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...

 - S Westerham
Westerham
Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in South East England with 5,000 people. The parish is south of the North Downs, ten miles west of Sevenoaks. It covers 5800 acres . It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a...

0.3 * Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...

27 Sept Spitfire I X4487 1m from High Halden
High Halden
High Halden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located on the A28 road between Ashford town and Tenterden, 3miles north of the latter.-History:...

1 * Junkers Ju 88
30 Sept Spitfire I X4051 Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

1* Messerschmitt Bf 110
5 Oct Spitfire I Dungeness 1 * Messerschmitt Bf 109E
1 * Henschel Hs 126
Henschel Hs 126
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....

TOTAL 8 kills, 1 shared 3 probables 4 damaged


(Sources for all combat record: Aces High - A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII and Aces High Volume 2 and 92 Squadron Operations Record Book)

External links

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