WWII BATTLE BRITAIN FIGHTER PILOT 229 SQ RAF AIR CHIEF MARSHAL AUTOGRAPH SIGNED!

Description

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL
Sir FREDERICK ROSIER
(1915 - 1998)
SENIOR ROYAL AIR FORCE (RAF) COMMANDER
&
WWII UK BATTLE OF BRITAIN ARMY SPITFIRE FIGHTER PILOT and COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE No. 229 SQUADRON BATTLING NAZI ENEMY AIRCRAFT!
Air Chief Marshal Fredrick Rosier first saw active service during the Second World War in France where he commanded a detachment of No. 229 Squadron at
Vitry-en-Artois
near
Arras
and was shot down by a
Messerschmitt Bf 109
, receiving facial burns. Returning to active service by October 1940 he commanded 229 Squadron from
RAF Northolt
for the last 12 days of the
Battle of Britain
!
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HERE’s AN AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURE CARD SIGNED BY ROSIER SHOWING A PHOTO ILLUSTRATION OF A SPITFIRE WITH HIS PHOTO IN UNIFORM AS AIR CHIEF MARSHAL .
The photo measures 4” x 7¼” and is in VERY FINE CONDITION.
A FINE ADDITION TO YOUR WORLD WAR II MILITARY AVIATION HISTORY AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT & EPHEMERA COLLECTION!
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BIOGRAPHY OF COMMANDER FREDERIC ROSIER
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Frederick Rosier
,
GCB
,
CBE
,
DSO
(13 October 1915 – 10 September 1998) was a senior
Royal Air Force
commander.
Early and wartime career
Born in
Wrexham
on 13 October 1915, son of E. G. Rosier, a railway engine driver, Fred Rosier was educated at Grove Park School and played rugby for
North Wales
Schoolboys.
He received a Short Service Commission in the
Royal Air Force
in 1935 and served with No. 43 Squadron flying
Hawker Fury
aircraft at Tangmere from 1936 to 1939. He was a flight commander with
No. 229 Squadron RAF
(
Hawker Hurricane
aircraft) by May 1940, having helped form and convert the squadron from the
Bristol Blenheim
aircraft. He first saw active service during the Second World War in France where he commanded a detachment of No. 229 Squadron at
Vitry-en-Artois
near
Arras
and was shot down by a
Messerschmitt Bf 109
, receiving facial burns. Returning to active service by October 1940 he commanded 229 Squadron from
RAF Northolt
for the last 12 days of the
Battle of Britain
.
He embarked with No. 229 Squadron for
North Africa
on board
HMS
Furious
and led the aircraft in a take-off from ship to North Africa via
Malta
. Promoted to
wing commander
in 1941, he took charge of
No. 263 Wing
where he had joint operational control of the Desert Air Force's fighter squadrons. In November 1941 he spotted an Australian
Tomahawk
aircraft being forced down by enemy fighters and landed his single-seater to rescue the pilot. Having got Sergeant Burney aboard, he attempted to take-off but suffered a burst tire and crashed the aircraft. Both he and Burney walked across the desert for four days, avoiding large enemy patrols, to reach safety with a Guards unit.
Rosier became the deputy commander of No. 211 Group and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order
for operations over Libya in 1941. Returning to the UK in 1943 he became simultaneously Officer Commanding No. 52 Operational Training Unit and
RAF Aston Down
. He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
mid that year, before being appointed to command
RAF Northolt
in 1944.
Post-war
He was appointed Officer Commanding
RAF Horsham St Faith
in 1947 and then went on an Exchange Officer posting with the
United States Air Force
in 1948 and on return to the UK was appointed an instructor at the Joint Services Staff College in 1950. He went on to be Group Captain Operations at Central Fighter Establishment in 1952, Group Captain Plans at
RAF Fighter Command
in 1954 and
Aide-de-Camp
to
the Queen
in 1956.
He was made Director of Joint Plans at the
Air Ministry
in 1958, Air Officer Commanding
Air Forces Middle East
in 1961 and Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters
Transport Command
in 1964. His last appointments were as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at
RAF Fighter Command
in 1966, as UK Permanent Military Deputy at
CENTRO
in
Ankara
in 1968 and as Deputy Commander-in-Chief
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
in 1970. Rosier was advanced to a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
in 1972, before he retired from the RAF the following year.
Retirement
In retirement he became a Military Advisor and Director of the Preston Division of the
British Aircraft Corporation
until 1977 when he was made Director in charge of the
Saudi Arabia
part of the company. He was the Chairman of the Polish Pilots Benevolent Fund and received the Polish Order of Merit in 1998.
For the last few years of his life he lived at Sun Bank, Trevor, near
Llangollen
.
Family
Sir Fred married Hettie Denise Blackwell of Wrexham in 1939; they had three sons and one daughter.
References
Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organization – Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier
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