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New Name added to “The Few”

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New Name added to “The Few”

Old 15th Apr 2020, 06:34
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New Name added to “The Few”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...-few-x5k6zxgd8

Sergeant James Ballard: Logbook discovery adds one more pilot to the Few

A single entry spotted in a logbook has led to a Spitfire pilot being added to the ranks of the Few who fought in the Battle of Britain 80 years ago.

When Sergeant James Eric William Ballard of No 610 (County of Chester) Squadron climbed into his Spitfire on October 8, 1940, he was 22 and a few days out of training. Told to investigate a possible sighting of an enemy aircraft, he spent a quarter of an hour searching the skies over Northumberland before returning and getting his first operational sortie of the battle signed off in his logbook.

After his death in combat a year later the logbook went missing and he was not recognised as one of those who fought in the skies to defend Britain from Nazi invasion. Following the discovery of the logbook at auction, however, his name will be carved in black granite alongside those of more than 2,900 others on the Battle of Britain Memorial wall at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, Kent.

The logbook was bought by Jacqui Watts, 69, who collects RAF memorabilia. She saw the entry and showed it to the 610 Squadron Association in Chester. “I just felt there was something special in that logbook and I had to buy it,” Ms Watts said. “I didn’t know it would be a Battle of Britain pilot but I went over the odds to get it.”

The entry for the operational sortie is confirmed by the signatures of Ballard’s commanding officer and flight commander. Geoff Simpson, a historian and trustee of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, told The Times: “It was known that Ballard was in 610 Squadron but the squadron records back then weren’t particularly well kept and didn’t show him doing any operational sorties.”

The entry shows that Ballard was sent by his controller to investigate an unidentified aircraft and that he was in the air for 15 minutes. “There is no evidence he saw any enemy but if he had done he would have had to deal with them,” Mr Simpson said. “He played his part, a small part, possibly, but he played his part in fighting the Battle of Britain.”

Ballard, known as Eric or Bill, continued to serve with 610 Squadron and was killed in action, aged 23, on August 27, 1941, over the Continent. His body was not found and his name appears on the Air Forces Runnymede Memorial in Surrey.

The Battle of Britain is considered to have taken place between July 10 and October 31, 1940, and the Air Historical Branch of the RAF has concluded that Ballard meets the criteria to be awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp to the 1939-45 Star. Any surviving family members could claim this on his behalf.

After the war Ballard’s mother, Elizabeth Beatrice Ballard, was recorded as living in Tooting, south London. Ms Watts has been struggling to trace relatives but believes Ballard’s niece lives in Braintree, Essex.

Group Captain Patrick Tootal, secretary of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, said: “Such was the desperate need then for fighter pilots that Sergeant Ballard had only nine hours of flying time before joining his squadron.”
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Old 15th Apr 2020, 06:45
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And quite right too. All's well that ends well, and for any more out there. Well done Jacqui Watts, and of course to ever-serving Patrick Tootal.
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Old 15th Apr 2020, 08:56
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I heartily agree with all that. Good to see that Pat Tootal is alive and kicking (from a friend of Jim Gradwell).
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Old 16th Apr 2020, 00:14
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the Air Historical Branch of the RAF has concluded that Ballard meets the criteria to be awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp to the 1939-45 Star. Any surviving family members could claim this on his behalf.
I wonder if stocks of the original "Battle of Britain" clasps are still held by the MOD Medal Office. I somehow doubt it, and if his surviving next of kin is traced and they put in a claim for the clasp then I hope the clasp they receive will be identical to the originals. The medal office does not have a good record in this respect. When the "Canal Zone" clasp was authorised for the old General Service Medal some years ago, the lettering on the clasps was noticeably larger than that on other clasps on these medals, and the error was quite obvious on multi clasp medals.
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