First name of P/O Gauze 605 Sqn RAF

[Christer Bergström]

I have been unable to find the first name of P/O Gauze 605 Sqn RAF, who was shot down and killed on 15 November 1940. If anyone could help me with this, I would be most grateful.

This is for the book on the Battle of Britain, which I presently am about to finish. This will be a 200,000-word book, with complete lists of every single aircraft loss during the period 1 July - 31 Oct 1940 (due to the latest research standard, which means more complete than in e.g. "Then & Now" Mk V etc), plus a list of Luftwaffe victories for the same period - which will contain also e.g. all known Zerstörer claims (approximately 450 in total) during the same period.

(No, I have not "abandoned the Eastern Front"; Black Cross/Red Star Vol. 3 will be published any day now, I will soon deliver the manuscript to Vol. 4 to Eagle Editions, and in August I will deliver the manuscript of "Barbarossa: The Air War" to Ian Allan.)

[JohnE]

I have his first name as Czeslaw (source: Poles in Defense of Britain).

/John

[Franek Grabowski]

Czesław actually.

[Christer Bergström]

Thank you so much, John and Franek!

I didn't even know that he was Polish! Since he joined 605 Sqn after 31 October 1940, he never became included among "the Few". I had asked Bob Foster (who, like Gauze, flew in No 605 Sqn), but he said that he couldn't remember Gauze - which probably was because he stayed such a brief while in the squadron.

Now that I know that he was a Pole, I see that his first name is mentioned in Gretzyngier's excellent book "Poles in the Defence of Britain" (which I can recommend to anyone interested in the subject).

Gauze is now mentioned with his first name in my manuscript - with the correct Polish spelling thanks to Franek!

[Franek Grabowski]

Several pilots joined units in the qualifying period but did no operational sorties, that is why they are not listed as the few. Gauze was a young pilot (b. 1918 Brasil) who was in the last course of PAF academy that finished the training before the war. Only a few airmen of the course saw combat service before 1941, so it is not surprising there is very little on him, as he only joined 56 Sqn in October 1940. I admit it is weird he did no operational sorties but possibly the weather was poor.

[Christer Bergström]

During this period, No. 56 Squadron was stationed at Boscombe Down, in a part of the British isles which was relatively (with few exceptions, mainly on 7 Oct 1940) calm since Luftflotte 3 had shifted mainly to night operations and most Messerschmitt fighter-bombers had been transferred to Luftflotte 2. So maybe that could explain if Gauze was not ordered out on any combat missions with No. 56 Squadron. He was posted to No. 605 Squadron at Croydon, immediately south of London, on 26 October. This Squadron saw heavy action during the next days (losing the ace Archie McKellar on 1 Nov), but maybe the rookie Gauze was spared from flying combat missions until in November? In any case, he couldn't have been flying much, according to Bob Foster (another pilot in No. 605 Squadron whom I asked about Gauze).

Is there anyone here with access to a copy of the ORB of No. 605 Squadron? I can check when I visit the National Archive later this month, but there's so much material I need to go through there, and I only have four or five days.