Barrie Heath

Barrie Heath was born on 11 September 1916 at Kings Norton, then in Warwickshire. He learned to fly with the Auxiliary Air Force before the war and was mobilised into the RAF as it expanded. In 1940 he joined No. 611 Squadron, flying Spitfires through the Battle of Britain and the operations that followed. His usual aircraft was Spitfire IIa P7883, named “Grahame Heath” after his late brother and presented by his father. Between June 1940 and February 1941 he was credited with destroying enemy aircraft and damaging others, claims that included a Junkers Ju 87 and a Messerschmitt Bf 109. By 1941 he was an acting squadron leader, and on 29 April 1941 he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry and devotion to duty. He went on to serve with the fighter forces in the Mediterranean. Surviving the war, he built a distinguished industrial career, becoming chairman of GKN and being knighted in 1978. He died on 22 February 1988.