F/Lt.H.A.R.Prowse 4 Ferry Pilot Pool

[Bruce Lander]

Hi,

F/Lt. Harry Prowse recently passed away, in this months issue of "Britain At War" his obituary notes that in June 1940 he was serving with 4 Ferry Pilot Pool and was shot down by flak near Lille in a Hurricane but managed to escape France by ship via Cherbourg.
No date in June 1940 is given and I can see no published details of this incident in BoF T&N, or FC Casualties, can anyone comment ?

Cheers

Bruce Lander

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Bruce,

Just a thought. Looking at the entries in various books which mention him I wonder if his landing accident on 8 June 1940 at Marseilles-Marignane is the basis of the incident you are seeking information on.
It seems he was left behind along with his damaged Hurricane when the others continued to Tunisia and Malta. If we assume he travelled to Cherbourg direct from Marseilles then it must have taken at least several days under the prevailing conditions and chaos. Could he have been back in the UK and ferrying aircraft again by the 10th ? Even the 12th seems highly unlikely to me.
Perhaps he reached an AASF airfield to fly to Britain, as it seems far more likely the RAF wanted to fly Hurricanes OUT of France rather than into the country. Unfortunately the ORB for No. 4 (C) FPP does not mention him after the accident on June 8th.
No entry for him in any published work clearly separates the two incidents. Due to the incomplete records I feel the shooting down near Lille is an error. Unless I am very much mistaken Lille was far behind the German front line by June 5th. See the maps in BoF, T&N.

Regards,

Martin.

[Brian]

Hi Bruce and Martin

I'm sure you are correct, Martin. There is an account of the disastrous operation in my 'Hurricanes over Malta' book.

Cheers
Brian

[Bruce Lander]

HI Martin & Brian,

thanks for response - I am sure you are both correct.

Cheers
Bruce Lander