Philip Ensor

Philip Stephen Baddesley Ensor, (1920 – 8 September 1941) 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 five aircraft.

From Beckenham, Ensor joined the RAF in June 1938 and after his training was completed was posted to No. 23 Squadron. He flew Bristol Blenheim heavy fighters during the early weeks of the Second World War. He briefly served with two other squadrons from December 1939 to May 1940 before returning to his original unit. Flying the Blenheim as a night fighter in defensive operations, he claimed his first aerial victories in October. The squadron switched to offensive intruder missions to France in early 1941 and Ensor achieved further successes. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in February and now flying the Douglas A-20 Havoc heavy fighter, he and his crew was killed in action during a sortie to an airfield at Morlaix on 8 September 1941.

Early life Philip Stephen Baddesley Ensor was born in 1920 at Beckenham in Kent, England, to a British Army artilleryman and his wife. After completing his schooling at Bradfield College, he joined the RAF on a short service commission in June 1938. Initially granted his commission as an acting pilot officer, he was confirmed in his rank the following June. At this time, he was posted to No. 23 Squadron, which operated Bristol Blenheim heavy fighters from Wittering.

Ensor shot down a He 111 over Merville on the night of 3 March and on a sortie to Beauvais airfield on the night of 11 March, caught and destroyed another He 111 on the ground. On the night of 3 May Ensor, flying a Douglas A-20 Havoc heavy fighter which now equipped the squadron, shot down a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber and probably destroyed a He 111 at Le Bourget airfield. The next night, at an airfield at Caen, he attacked several aircraft; he probably destroyed one He 111 and damaged a second, as well as damaging another aircraft of a type that was unable to be identified. He destroyed a He 111 at Vitry-Le Culot, near Arras, on the night of 7 May. Three nights later, on a return trip to Beauvais airfield, he shot down a Ju 88.

In the early morning of 8 September, Ensor, now a flight lieutenant, and his crew, Flight Sergeants Peter Roberts and George Oliver, were killed on a sortie targeting airfields on Brittany's north coast. After attacking the airfield at Morlaix, Ensor's aircraft was damaged by either anti-aircraft fire or by a Luftwaffe night fighter. The Havoc crashed at nearby Sainte-Sève, resulting in the deaths of all three RAF personnel. Their bodies were recovered by nearby residents but the German occupiers were soon on site and took the remains of the crew.

Survived by his wife Joan Bragg, who he had married earlier in the year at Chichester, Ensor is buried at Kerfautras Cemetery in Brest. On 30 August 2024, a memorial to Ensor and his crew was unveiled at Sainte Séve and local streets named in their honour.

Ensor is credited with the destruction of five aircraft, plus one on the ground, with three more probably destroyed. He also damaged three aircraft.