Gerald John Le Mesurier (1914-1943) was a South African flying ace of World War II, credited with 3 'kills'. After completing his schooling at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

in Cape Town, he studied at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

. He joined the

Special Service Battalion The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of th ...

in 1936 but later in 1936 transferred to the South African Military College, joining the South African Air Force. He joined

1 Squadron SAAF 1 Squadron SAAF was an air force squadron of the South African Air Force and was formed at Air Force Station Swartkop in February 1920, equipped with De Havilland DH.9s part of the Imperial Gift donation to South Africa by Britain. On 31 August 19 ...

in November 1940, in East Africa, as a flight commander. He served as temporary Officer Commanding on his arrived and then again in 1941. He was appointed OC in May 1942. He was shot down in July 1942 and hospitalised and was declared unfit to fly in November 1942 and returned to South Africa. He was awarded a DFC in April 1943. He flew to England to attend a course and receive his medal but was killed in a flying accident.

Record

He was credited with 3 kills, 1 probable and 1 damaged.

References

South African World War II flying aces 1914 births 1943 deaths Burials at Brookwood Cemetery South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town South African military personnel killed in World War II {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub