Bertie Rex O'Bryen Hoare

Bertie Rex O’Bryen Hoare was born on 6 June 1912 and, after schooling at Harrow and Wye Agricultural College, took a short-service commission in the RAF in 1936. A flying accident before the war cost him the sight in one eye, yet he secured permission to return to operations once war broke out, joining No. 23 Squadron. He flew Blenheims and then Havocs on hazardous night-intruder sorties over occupied Europe, rising from pilot to flight commander and then squadron commander, and later led No. 605 Squadron, by which time the unit operated the de Havilland Mosquito within No. 100 Group. Credited with around nine aerial victories, he became one of the foremost night-intruder pilots of the war and finished it commanding the airfield at Little Snoring in Norfolk. His decorations included the DSO and Bar and the DFC and Bar, with three mentions in despatches. He died on 26 March 1947 when the Mosquito he was ferrying crashed into the Gulf of Carpentaria.