Noel Inglis Chalmers Francis Royal Air Force Service 1939-1941
Noel is Tony's sisters first husbands father
WW2 War Medal 1939-45 Star with Battle of Britain Clasp (rosette)
1937 - 1938 Noel Inglis Chalmers Francis in the Royal Artillery
Army Service No: 866039 (Royal Artillery)
1938 - 1941 Noel Inglis Chalmers Francis in the RAF
RAF Service No: 40817
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10th March 1937 - Attestation in Royal Artillery
-
Gunner in 153 Battalion 51st Anti Aircraft Brigade Royal Artillery (TA),
- 51st (London) Anti-Aircraft
Brigade,
Royal Garrison Artillery,
(TA), formed at the
Duke of York's Headquarters,
Chelsea, London with
151st, 152nd and 153rd (London) AA Batteries.
It formed part of
26th (London) Air Defence Brigade.
4th April 1938 - 3rd June 1938 - Civil Flying School, Prestwick ( Tiger Moth )
3rd June 1938 -
Discharged from the Royal Artillery on appointment to a Short Service
Commission in the Royal Air Force (4 years)
4th June 1938 -
Acting Pilot Officer on probation Short Service General Duties Commission for 4
years
Short Service Commission extended to 6 years
4th Jun 1938 - No 1 Depot, RAF Uxbridge, Greater London
18th June 1938 -
13th January 1939 - No 9 Flying Training School, Hullavington ( Training
on
Harts and Anson )
- Link to article on Flight Global web site:
https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1938/1938%20-%202025.html
14th January 1939
- 23rd May 1939 - School of Naval Cooperation , RAF Ford, Sussex, 17 (T) Group
RAF Coastal
Command (Flying Duties)
- Probably flying Blackburn Shark aircraft
4th April 1939 - Graded as Pilot Officer on Probation
24th May 1939 - Fleet Air
Arm was returned from the RAF 17 Group to Admiralty control -
RAF Ford became HMS Peregrine and home for 750,751,752 squadrons of the No 1
Observer School
24th May 1939 -
23rd September 1939 - 752 Naval Air Squadron HMS Peregrine, Royal Naval Air
Station, Ford, Sussex
(on loan to R.N.
(Fleet Air Arm))
4th July 1939 -
confirmed as Pilot Officer 
24th September 1939 - 23rd October 1939 - 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, RAF Doncaster (12 Group)
23rd October 1939 - 27th January 1940 - 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, RAF Leconfield (13 Group) flying Gauntlet and Battles
3rd October 1939 - London Gazette confirmed as Pilot Officer
October - December 1939 - 616 Squadron Converted to Spitfire Mk 1's
26th November 1939 - While at No.616 Squadron he stood Spitfire K9948 on it's nose while taxiing.
27th January - 31st January 1940 - No 1 Receiving Centre, RAF Uxbridge (in transit for AASF France)
1st February 1940 - 17th
May 1940 - HQ Advanced Air Striking Force (Flying Duties) in France
-
Link to AASF Organisation May 10 1940:
http://www.niehorster.org/017_britain/40-05_bef/bef_air_aasf.html
- Link to Air Component Organisation
May 10 1940:
http://www.niehorster.org/017_britain/40-05_bef/bef_air_ac.html
It is extremely
difficult to determine which squadron P/O Francis served in during his
posting to the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF). By the time of his posting on
the 1st February 1940 to France the Air Component
part of the British Expeditionary Force had been amalgamated into the AASF (wef
15/01/1940).
There were 4 fighter squadrons - 2 X Gloster Gladiators (607 and 615)and 2 X
Hurricanes (1 and 73) in the AASF.
Taking into account his follow on posting and the
timings I would 'guess' that he was part of 607 Squadron flying Gloster
Gladiators. As all records for a lot of the squadrons were lost on the German
advance we are never likely to know for sure.
18th May 1940 -
20th July 1940 - Sumburgh Fighter Flight
21st June 1940 - Crash landed Gloster Gladiator
(N5716)
on beach at Haroldswick, Isle of Unst, Shetland
21st July1940 -
22nd March 1941 - No
247 (China-British) Squadron, A Flight, RAF Roborough, Plymouth (10 Group) -
formed
from the Sumburgh Flight - defending Plymouth Dockyards
August 1940 -
Gloster Gladiator Mk II, B/N5585, No.247 Squadron, RAF Roborough, Plymouth
flown by Pilot Officer N. I. C. Francis (decals included in many Model Kits)
Possible
Kill - Gloster
Gladiator Mk.II - Royal Air Force - 247 Sqn.
N5585 / B (P/O N.I.C. Francis)
Shot Down He-111, RAF Roborough | August 1940
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/133324-pavla-models-79059a-gloster-gladiator-mk-i-mk-ii
3rd September 1940 - Promoted to Flying Officer
31st October 1940
- awarded the
Battle of Britain Clasp
to the
1939–45 Star by flying at
least one
authorised operational sortie with an
eligible unit of the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm
during the period from 0001 hours on 10 July to 2359 hours 31 October 1940.
(Francis, Noel Inglis Chalmers - Sgt - British - 247
Squadron - KIA 9th December 1941)
12th November 1940 - Gazette - confirmed as Flying Officer
21st November 1940 -
Gloster Gladiator II N5649 HP-? 247
Squadron crashed on take-off from St Eval.
It hit a dispersal pen. F/O Noel Inglis Chalmers Francis 40817 was uninjured.
10th February 1941 - 17th February 1941- 247 Squadron at St Eval completed re-equipping with Hawker Hurricane 1's
17th February 1941 - 22nd March 1941 - 247 Squadron, at RAF Roborough, Plymouth
23rd March 1941 -
3rd May 1941 - Central Flying School, Upavon, Wiltshire
- Flying Instructors (War) Course No 21
4th May 1941 - Posted to No 5 Service Flying Training School at RAF Ternhill, Shropshire
9th December 1941 - Killed when instructing in
a Miles Master III (8578) which crashed in a field
at
Doornay (Downay) Farm, Soudley, 1 mile south of Cheswardine, Shropshire
-
(F/O Francis
was killed along with pupil pilot, LAC R W Hinde when Master
W8578 crashed 1 miles south of Cheswardine, Shropshire. Struck ground
vertically with engine under power. Spun in, no evidence of defects but
possibly was some aerodynamic or tech defect.
He was an instructor at 5 FTS, Tern Hill)
11th December
1941 - Coroners Court - Died from Compound Fracture of the skull due to
Aeroplane
in which he was flying crashing - Accident
December 1941 - buried in St Peter's churchyard, Stoke upon Tern, Shropshire