George Charles Calder "Tich" Palliser, (11 January 1919 – 24 September 2011) 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 ...

fighter pilot and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Palliser flew during 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 ...

and, at the time of his death, was one of the last survivors of "

The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase " Never, in the field of human c ...

Early life

Born in

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

on 11 January 1919, Palliser was educated at Brougham School and later attended a Technical School.

RAF career

Palliser joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1939 as an airman under training as a pilot. He was called up to full-time service, at the rank of sergeant pilot at the outbreak of war, and was posted to No. 3 ITW Hasting, moved to No. 11 EFTS Perth on 5 Dec 1939 and went to No. 6 Flying Training School at RAF Little Rissington in April 1940. Pallister converted to

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

at No. 6 Operational Training Unit at RAF Sutton Bridge in July 1940 and joined No. 17 Squadron RAF at

RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden, Uttlesford, Debden in north Es ...

on 3 August 1940 during the

. He moved to

No. 43 Squadron RAF Number 43 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Fighting Cocks'', was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron originally formed in April 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It saw distinguished service during two world wars, producing numerous Flying ace, ...

RAF Tangmere Royal Air Force Tangmere or more simply RAF Tangmere is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain. It was one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The Seco ...

on 18 August 1940 and then No. 249 Squadron RAF at RAF North Weald on 14 September 1940. During the Battle of Britain, Palliser claimed eight victories. Pallister was commissioned in April 1941 and embarked with No. 249 Squadron on on 10 May and sailed for

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, and on arrival the squadron transferred to . The squadron flew to

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali is a wide open space in the limits of Attard and Mosta in central and northern Malta respectively, which contains National Stadium, Ta' Qali, the national football stadium, the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali National Park, a ...

on 21 May 1941 to take part in the Siege of Malta. During that battle, he claimed a further five victories. In January 1942 he was posted to No. 605 Squadron RAF as flight commander. Palliser was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was gazetted on 30 January 1942. He left Malta on 26 February 1942 as one of the island's longest serving pilots. He was quoted as saying: Palliser arrived at No. 25 Air School at

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

, South Africa on 28 March 1942 to be an instructor at the school. Palliser was posted to No. 62 CFS,

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

on 17 July, to 2 EFTS

Randfontein Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier Sir Joseph Robinson, 1st Baronet, JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in ...

on 19 October and then to 4 EFTS Benoni on 2 September 1943. He was admitted to Baragwanath Military Hospital in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

on 21 January 1944 and remained there until leaving for Great Britain on 24 May 1944. Palliser instructed at No. 15 EFTS at RAF Kingstown from September 1944. He moved to No. 10 FTS at RAF Woodley on 19 September 1945, where he instructed until 16 March 1946. Palliser was an instructor at the CFS at RAF South Cerney until October 1946, when he was posted as an instructor to No. 23 Flying School at Heany, Southern Rhodesia. In October 1947, Palliser retired from the RAF at the rank of flight lieutenant.

Victories

Post-war

Following his career in the RAF, Palliser moved to South Africa with his family. He settled and recommenced his career as an engineer, including ship and plane building. An illustrious career, including senior positions in the mining industry later took him and his family to the United States, Asia, and finally Australia. Palliser lived with his daughter in Victoria, Australia. He used his profile as a Battle of Britain veteran to raise funds for the new education centre at the

Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne The Battle of Britain Memorial is a monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain. It is sited on the White Cliffs of Dover, White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, on the coast of Kent. History It was initiated by the Battle o ...

. He was a keen follower of modern technology – even having his own

facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

account. He died on 24 September 2011 in Black Rock, Victoria, Australia.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270736590696&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palliser, George Royal Air Force officers British World War II pilots The Few Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) 1919 births 2011 deaths British World War II flying aces People from Hartlepool