Australians in the Battle of Britain. 1 August 1940.

Pilot Officer Bryan Martin McDonough who was born in Ulverstone, Tasmania on 15 August 1916 is not one of the nine pilots I am writing about but the death of the second Australian in the Battle of Britain on 1 August 1940 cannot go unacknowledged.

Bryan’s family moved to Melbourne, Victoria at some point and he received his early education at a Christian Brother’s college. He applied for a short service commission in the RAF in Australia and sailed for England in March 1939. At the completion of his training he joined 236 Squadron in November 1939. At 12.50 p.m. on 11 July 1940, he gave chase to a Heinkel He 111H that had appeared on the scene, and damaged it. He was  the third Australian to shoot down and enemy aircraft. On 1 August, during an afternoon bomber escort operation to Cherbourg (taking off from 236 Squadron’s base on Thorney Island), Bryan’s Blenheim R 2774 was shot down either by the ground defences of Querqueville aerodrome or by Oberleutnant Dullberg of III/JG 27. Both Bryan and his gunner Sergeant Frederick Arthur Percy Head were reported missing.

Also killed that day, was 236 Squadron’s commanding officer, Squadron Leader Peter Edward Drew and his gunner Flying Officer Benjamin Nokes-Cooper. Flight Lieutenant Richard Maurice Power of Melbourne, who had trained at Point Cook with Des Sheen and Pat Hughes, assumed temporary command of the squadron until the new CO arrived on 4 August. On 30 July, Richard had been in an aircraft accident. While taking off from Carew Cheriton in bad weather, he hit an obstacle on the ground. Neither he nor his gunner was injured but the aircraft was a write off.

Pat Hughes would have had no knowledge of the recent fortunes of his old classmate. On 31 July, he was assigned to night flying duty again. After an abortive take off at 22.55 and landing five minutes later, he took off again at 23.25 and landed at 00.50. Despite his late night/early morning, on 1 August he was off like a shot to Bodmin, about 12 miles away from St Eval to meet Kathleen ‘Kay’ Agnes Broderick. Pat and Kay had met in February 1940 at the Beverley Arms while 234 Squadron was still at Leconfield. She had thought him a bit conceited at first, but soon warmed to him. When the squadron moved south she followed Pat and all they needed was a break in the ops schedule so they could marry. No friends stood up for them at the registry office as they exchanged their marriage vows.