Tom Gleave(II)
- Additional Crew
Thomas Percy 'Tom' Gleave CBE (6 September 1908 - June 1993) was a Royal Air Force Battle of Britain pilot shot down on 31st August 1940 and badly burned. As a result of his injuries he was put under the care of Sir Archibald McIndoe at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, a hospital that would become world famous for it's treatment of aircrew requiring constructive surgery. Following partial recovery he became the first and only Chief Guinea Pig - a social club and mutual support network made up of McIndoe's patients that would remain active until 2007.
Educated at Westminster High School and Liverpool Collegiate School, Gleave joined the RAF in 1930 and excelled at both instruction and aerobatics. Transferring from Fighter to Bomber Command in 1939 he rejoined Fighter Command in 1940 to lead 253 Squadron flying the Hawker Hurricane. After briefly handing over command of the squadron he was shot down on the very day he resumed command and when asked by his wife what he had been doing he replied simply "I had a row with a German."
Tom Gleave died aged 84 in June 1993.
Educated at Westminster High School and Liverpool Collegiate School, Gleave joined the RAF in 1930 and excelled at both instruction and aerobatics. Transferring from Fighter to Bomber Command in 1939 he rejoined Fighter Command in 1940 to lead 253 Squadron flying the Hawker Hurricane. After briefly handing over command of the squadron he was shot down on the very day he resumed command and when asked by his wife what he had been doing he replied simply "I had a row with a German."
Tom Gleave died aged 84 in June 1993.