Thomas Clifford "Tony" Iveson
DFC AE (11 September 1919 – 5 November 2013) 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 and veteran 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 ...
, and one 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 ...
.
Iveson was born and brought up in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
.
RAF career
Iveson joined 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 ( ...
in September 1938 as an Airman u/t pilot and learned to fly prior to the outbreak of war.
Iveson was trained at No. 5 Flying Training School,
Sealand
The Principality of Sealand () is a micronation on HM Fort Roughs (also known as Roughs Tower), an offshore platform in the North Sea. It is situated on Rough Sands, a sandbar located approximately from the coast of Suffolk and from the coa ...
and then converted to Spitfires at No. 57 Operational Training Unit, Hawarden before serving as a Sergeant Pilot on
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 ...
fighters with
No. 616 Squadron RAF 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 ...
joining the Squadron at Kenley on 2 September 1940.
He survived ditching his Spitfire I (L1036) into the sea on 16 September 1940 after he ran out of fuel chasing a
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...
off
Cromer
Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline.
The local ...
.
He was picked up by a Motor Boat and landed at
Lowestoft
Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
. He was posted to
No. 92 Squadron RAF
Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 (East India) Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.
It was formed as part of the ...
on 11 October 1940.
After a spell on training duties in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
he was commissioned in May 1942.
After a course at No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School,
RAF Syerston
Royal Air Force Syerston, commonly known simply as RAF Syerston , is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during t ...
he went to join No. 617 Squadron RAF the Dam Busters in July 1944 as a Flight Lieutenant. Promoted to Squadron Leader in October 1944, he took part in some 27 operations, including the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Distinguished Flying Cross in March 1945 for keeping his bomber airborne in January 1945 and landing it in Shetland after half the crew had bailed out over Bergen.
Iveson was posted 'tour-expired' from 617 Squadron on 16 February 1945.
Post RAF career
He retired from the RAF on 12 July 1949 then became Chairman of the RAF Bomber Command, Bomber Command Association.
He was employed with Granada Television, and worked in corporate and public relations.
He was involved in a number of privatisations and the launch of Disneyland Paris, EuroDisney.
Iveson was co-author of a book about the Avro Lancaster, Lancaster bomber with the journalist and pioneering Hang-Glider and Microlight pilot Brian Milton.
At the age of 89, he became the oldest man to fly one of the historic planes. He was married twice with three daughters and one son.
See also
*List of RAF aircrew in the Battle of Britain
References
*
External links
Photograph of Tony Iveson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iveson, Tony
The Few
Military personnel from York
1919 births
2013 deaths
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
British World War II fighter pilots
British World War II bomber pilots
Shot-down aviators
Royal Air Force squadron leaders