Basil Embry

Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry, (28 February 1902 – 7 December 1977) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953. Early life and career Basil Embry was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1902 and as a young boy at Bromsgrove School he developed an avid interest in aviation. In 1921 he joined the Royal Air Force with a short service commission as an Acting Pilot Officer. In 1922 he was sent to Mandatory Iraq, serving under future Air Marshals Arthur Harris and Robert Saundby. By 1926 Embry's enthusiasm, professional application, boundless energy and flair for the unconventional had put him on the fast track for promotion within the RAF, and he was rewarded with the Air Force Cross in that year's New Year Honours, and appointment to a permanent commission. Promoted to flight lieutenant, Embry returned to Britain in 1927 and soon became an instructor at the Central Flying School, Uxbridge. In 1934 he was posted to India to serve in the Indian Wing on the North West Frontier. He was promoted Squadron Leader in 1935, and served in the Second Mohmand Campaign of 1935. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for operations in Waziristan in 1938. He was further promoted in 1938 to wing commander. After five years' service he returned to Britain in 1939. On the outbreak of the Second World War Embry was Commanding Officer of No. 107 Squadron flying the Bristol Blenheim bomber. Second World War The energetic Embry led his squadron from the front, and he saw extensive action during the campaigns in Norway and France, often in the face of heavy losses and overwhelming opposition. On 25 September 1939 Embry led a 3-plane formation on a reconnaissance sortie into Germany. Intercepted by German fighters, Embry's aircraft suffered serious damage to wings and fuselage and he carried out a one-wheel forced landing on returning to RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. Throughout the remainder of 1939 and into early 1940 the unit made numerous attacks by day and night on a variety of targets, including U-boats.