Ken Lee

Kenneth Norman Thomson Lee (23 June 191515 January 2008) was a British flying ace who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with having shot down seven aircraft.

From Birmingham, Lee joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in early 1937 and was called up to serve in the RAF in early 1939 for a six-month period, mostly with No. 43 Squadron and then staying on even after his obligations ended. Posted to No. 501 Squadron on the outbreak of the Second World War. It went to France with its Hawker Hurricane fighters on 10 May 1940, Lee claiming his first aerial victory the same day. Several more followed in the next few weeks although he was shot down on 10 June and was injured during the subsequent efforts to be repatriated to England. Rejoining the squadron after recovery from his injury, Lee had further successes during the Battle of Britain until he was shot down on 18 August. Wounded, he did not return to operational flying until October and later in the month was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

At the end of the year he was placed on instructing duties for 12 months, before going to Africa where he was a ferry pilot until mid-1942. He served with a number of squadrons in Egypt before being appointed leader of No. 123 Squadron in March 1943. He was shot down over Crete on 23 July, and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. He left the RAF in late 1945 and worked in East Africa for a trading company for several years before setting a plumbing supplies business in Dublin. He retired in 1977 and eventually settled in Sheffield, England, where he died in 2008, aged 92.

Early life Kenneth Norman Thomson Lee was born on 23 June 1915 in the city of Birmingham, in England. He was educated locally, at King Edward VI High School and after entering the workforce, found employment as a technician in a paint factory. In early 1937, Lee joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) and spent two months at No. 11 Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School (E&RFTS) in Perth. He returned to his employer in April, but would fly weekends at No. 9 E&RFTS at Ansty.

In January 1939 Lee was called up for a six-month period of service in the Royal Air Force and posted to No. 111 Squadron. Like his previous unit, this was equipped with Hurricanes but was based at Tangmere. He remained here for several months, even after his initial service period obligation ended. Later in October it was formally announced that Lee was to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The citation for the DFC was published in The London Gazette and read:

Later war service In late November, Lee was posted to the Special Duties Flight at Stormy Down where he was expected to fly Supermarine Spitfire fighters for Rolls Royce on high altitude tests. However, when it was discovered he had no experience on the type he was sent to No. 52 Operational Training Unit at Crosby-on-Eden as an instructor where he would remain for several months. and later in the year was promoted to flight lieutenant.

In December 1941 Lee was briefly posted to No. 79 Squadron before being subsequently assigned to ferrying duties, flying aircraft from Takoradi, in what is now Ghana, to Cairo. In mid-1942, he was posted to No. 112 Squadron; Returning to civilian life, Lee was employed by the United Africa Company, a trading business based in Tanganyika Territory, in East Africa. Around 1955, he visited Dublin, in Ireland, on a holiday and decided to settle there. He formed a plumbing supplies business which he sold in 1977. Retiring to Spain, he worked as a consultant before returning to the United Kingdom in 1995, settling in Sheffield. He died there on 15 January 2008.