Alfred Marshall

Alfred Marshall, (1915 – 27 November 1944) was a British flying ace who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with having shot down at least eighteen aircraft, plus one V-1 flying bomb.

Born in Portsmouth, Marshall joined the RAF in 1931 as an aircraft apprentice. Qualifying as a metal worker three years later, he subsequently trained as a sergeant pilot and was posted to No. 73 Squadron several months after the commencement of the Second World War. He claimed some aerial victories while the squadron operated in France and in the subsequent Battle of Britain. In late 1940, the squadron was transferred to the Middle East and subsequently flew in the Western Desert campaign, Marshall achieving many successes, until he was rested in May 1941 and awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. He then served as an instructor and was commissioned as an officer. He returned to operations in the Western Desert with a posting to No. 250 Squadron in April 1942, destroying more aircraft. He returned to the United Kingdom four months later to again take up instructing duties. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in October 1942, he was posted to No. 25 Squadron in July 1944. Later in the year he was killed in a flying accident, when his aircraft broke up in midair during an air test.

Early life Alfred Ernest Marshall was born in 1915 at Portsmouth, the United Kingdom. He attended Worcester Royal Grammar School and once his education was completed, in January 1931, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft apprentice. He qualified as a metal worker three years later.

In 1938, Marshall volunteered to train as a pilot. Initial flight training was at No. 11 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at Scone near Perth before, in November, he went on to No. 10 Flying Training School at Ternhill. By this time he was married to Beatrice Mary Hagel, and the couple later had a son. During his flight instruction at Ternhill, he crashed a Hawker Audax trainer aircraft and had to be hospitalised for an extended period for his injuries. A P-40 Kittyhawk fighter of No. 250 Squadron taxiing on the airfield at Sidi Heneish Marshall was commissioned as a pilot officer in August and then posted as an instructor to No. 71 OTU at Khartoum in the Sudan. He subsequently served in Aden at No. 73 OTU. In April 1942 he returned to operational duties with No. 250 Squadron. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in October.

In July 1944 Marshall, now a flight lieutenant due to being promoted to this rank the previous August, was posted to No. 25 Squadron. This was a night fighter unit, based at Coltishall and operating the De Havilland Mosquito XVII heavy fighter on intruder missions. From mid-June it was also involved in Operation Diver, the RAF's effort to intercept and destroy V-1 flying bombs targeting England. With guidance from his radar operator, Flying Officer C. Allen, Marshall destroyed a He 111 some to the east of Southwold on the night of 6 October. At some point during his service with the squadron, Marshall also claimed a V-1 flying bomb as destroyed.

Marshall and Allen were both killed on 27 November in a flying accident, when their Mosquito broke up after taking off Castle Camps to perform an air test. Marshall, who was survived by his wife and son, is buried at Hitchin Cemetery in Hertfordshire. He is credited with having shot down sixteen Axis aircraft, with a share in two more destroyed. He also is believed to have probably destroyed two aircraft and damaged one. One V-1 flying bomb was claimed as destroyed and Marshall also shared in the destruction of eight aircraft on the ground.