Grice, Douglas Hamilton (Oral history)

British officer served as pilot with 32 Sqdn, No 13 Group, Fighter Command RAF in GB, 8/1938-8/1940 including Battle of Britain, 7/1940-8/1940

REEL 1 Aspects of enlistment and training as pilot with Royal Air Force in GB, 1937-1938: background to enlistment, 11/1937; character of pre-war Royal Air Force service life; short service commission system; flying training with Miles Magister at No 8 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, RAF at RAF Woodley; flying training at No 5 Flying Training School, RAF Sealand. Aspects of period as pilot with 32 Sqdn, No 13 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB, 8/1938-9/1939: re-equipping with Hawker Hurricanes; commanding officers; personnel serving with A Flight and their nicknames; reaction to declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; inadequacy of pre-war fighter tactics; character of RAF Biggin Hill airfield. Recollections of operations as pilot with 32 Sqdn, No 13 Group, Fighter Command, RAF in GB and during Battle of France, 9/1939-6/1940: convoy escort patrols, 9/1940-5/1940; shooting down of German Air Force reconnaissance aircraft by 79 Sqdn, RAF autumn 1939; sight of shooting down of Flight Lieutenant Jimmy Davis over English Channel, 27/6/1940. REEL 2 Continues: operation over The Hague, Netherlands, 5/1940; first encounter with German Air Force over Saint-Omer, France, 5/1940; problems of patrolling over Dunkirk, France; encounter with British troops in Évreux, France after being shot down, 6/1940; his shooting down during attack on German Heinkel He III over France, 8/6/1940; story of attempts to return to GB through Normandy, France, 6/1940. REEL 3 Continues: flight back from Dreux, France to RAF Hendon, GB via Jersey, Channel Islands, 6/1940; aerial engagements and successes over Northern France, 6/1940. Recollections of operations as pilot with 32 Sqdn, RAF, No 13 Group, Fighter Command during Battle of Britain, 7/1940-8/1940: lone encounter with four Messerschmitt Bf 109s during convoy escort duties; activities during early stages of battle; shooting down and crash landing near Sandwich, 4/7/1940; damage to aircraft; aerial combat over Ashford, 12/8/1940; landing at RAF Hawkinge amongst unexploded bombs, 12/8/1940; his shooting down over Harwich, 15/8/1940; bailing out. REEL 4 Continues: parachute descent into sea, 15/8/1940; treatment for burns to face at the Royal Naval Hospital Deal; subsequent treatment by Dr Archibald McIndoe and beneficial effect of sea water on burns; attitude to participating in Battle of Britain; talk given to pilots by air vice marshal, 6/1940; question of aggression during battle and advantages of head on attacks; threat of invasion; relaxation at White Hart Public House, Brasted; relations with civilians; strain of the participating in battle; casualty rate in squadron; presence of inexperienced pilots in squadron.