Jeff Rees

Last updated April 11, 2019

Squadron Leader William Jeffrey Rees DFC (21 May 1920 – 13 March 2015) carried out more than 60 operations for the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command during the Second World War. He twice flew damaged aircraft back to Britain and was awarded an immediate Distinguished Flying Cross and bar.

Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) military decoration of the United Kingdom

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy".

Royal Air Force Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

Early life

Rees was born in Seaham and educated at Pocklington Grammar School.^[1]

Seaham is a small town in County Durham, situated 6 miles south of Sunderland and 13 miles (21 km) east of Durham. Its parish church is one of the 20 oldest surviving churches in the UK. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and coal mines. The town is twinned with the German town of Gerlingen.

Second World War

Rees flew more than 60 operations for Bomber Command during the Second World War. He twice flew damaged aircraft back to Britain and was awarded an immediate Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941 for his actions in bringing a Wellington Bomber back after it was damaged by enemy action.^[1]

Later, when flying Mosquitos with 139 Squadron, he added a bar to his DFC when he successfully brought his aircraft back to England on one engine after it was hit by anti-aircraft fire.^[1]^[2] He subsequently became an instructor and then was seconded to BOAC on routes to the Near and Far East.^[1]

Post-war career

Rees left the RAF in October 1946 and joined British South American Airways and then British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) which became British Airways. By the time he retired from that company he was flying Boeing 747s. He finally retired after flying for Iraqi Airlines from Baghdad.^[1]

British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline in the United Kingdom in the late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines it was renamed before services started in 1946. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors and flew to Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico and the western coast of South America. After two high-profile aircraft disappearances it was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation at the end of 1949.

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act of 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. A 1971 Act of Parliament merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways.

British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier and the second largest airline in the United Kingdom based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet. The airline is based in Waterside near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain. IAG is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Squadron Leader Jeff Rees - obituary. The Telegraph, 6 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 October 1944. p. 4691.

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[Tel-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Squadron Leader Jeff Rees - obituary. The Telegraph, 6 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[2] Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 October 1944. p. 4691.