Cyril Stanley "Bam" Bamberger, (4 May 1919 – 3 February 2008) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

pilot who fought in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, the defence of Malta and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Early life

Bamberger was born in Hyde,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and educated locally. He left school in 1934, aged 14, and joined

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and su ...

as an electrical apprentice. In 1936, Bamberger volunteered for the Auxiliary Air Force and was posted to the bomber squadron, No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron AuxAF ( Auxiliary Air Force), as a photographer. Bamberger was accepted for pilot training with the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

(RAFVR) in 1938 (Service No. 810024).

Second World War

Bamberger was called to full-time service on the outbreak of war, completed his training and rejoined his former squadron, now with

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

s, at

RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviati ...

on 27 July 1940, as a

sergeant pilot A sergeant pilot was a non-commissioned officer who had undergone flight training and was a qualified pilot in the air forces of several Commonwealth countries before, during and after World War II. It was also a term used in the United States Arm ...

. Bamberger flew with No. 610 Squadron during the early air fighting over the Channel that followed the Dunkirk evacuation. The squadron suffered heavy casualties but Bamberger was credited with a "probable"

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

on 28 August in combat off the Kent coast. When No. 610 Squadron was withdrawn to rest in mid-September 1940, Bamberger was posted to No. 41 Squadron RAF at Hornchurch and was soon back in action in the

. He was credited with his first confirmed combat victory, again a Bf 109, over Canterbury on 5 October. With the Battle of Britain winding down, Bamberger volunteered for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He flew Hurricanes with No. 261 Squadron RAF from Hal Far from late November 1940 and was credited with shooting down two

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

aircraft over the Grand Harbour in January 1941. Bamberger joined No. 93 Squadron RAF in 1942 and was deployed to Tunisia. He was commissioned

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

(No. 116515) on 9 February 1942 and promoted to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

on 1 October 1942. With the same squadron, he returned to Malta in 1943 and was credited with another kill, again a Junkers Ju 87 on 13 July, this time over Sicily. Bamberger was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) which was gazetted on 28 September 1943. Bamberger was promoted to flight lieutenant on 9 February 1944, returned to the UK in July 1944 and in November of the same year was awarded a Bar to his DFC.

Later RAF career

Bamberger was released from RAF service in 1946 and he returned to Lever before joining the management of a

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

subsidiary. When No. 610 Squadron RAF was reformed as a

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces ( Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary re ...

unit, Bamberger rejoined it as a flight commander and was given the rank of flight lieutenant. In 1950 he became the squadron's Commanding Officer, having converted to

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

aircraft. After the outbreak of the

Bamberger accepted a permanent RAF commission, and for most of the duration of that conflict was an

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...

at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1957. Bamberger later converted to flying helicopters and flew the

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore is an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motion. ...

aircraft in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. He retired in 1959, after being awarded the

Air Efficiency Award The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Auxiliary and Royal Air Force ...

with clasp.

Business career and later life

After retiring from the RAF in 1959, Bamberger went into business, founding a packaging materials company. He later ran an antiques business. He remained active in RAF matters and was closely involved with the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust, of which he was vice-chairman.The Daily Telegraph
/ref> Bamberger died on 3 February 2008, aged 88. He was survived by his wife Heather, whom he married in 1954, and by three sons and a daughter. It was Bam's granddaughter who presented the

Duchess of Cornwall The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine, Princess of Wales, Ca ...

with a posy at the unveiling of the Battle of Britain Monument in London on 18 September 2005.

References

External links

Wartime photo of Bamberger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamberger, Cyril Stanley 1919 births 2008 deaths British military personnel of the Aden Emergency Royal Air Force squadron leaders The Few Royal Air Force pilots of World War II People from Hyde, Greater Manchester Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of the Korean War Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Military personnel from Cheshire