The medals of a fearless Battle of Britain ace who survived being shot down five times have emerged for sale for £70,000.
Squadron leader Trevor “Wimpy” Wade was among ‘The Few”, who were able to destroy up to 19 German aircraft during World War II.
He was able to shoot down three aircraft of enemy origin in one day during the Battle of Britain, which took place at the height of 1940.
Spitfire pilots were so excited about dogfights that he often came within 50 feet of his enemy in order to fire a barrage.
He had five chances of escape, including the one where he crashed-landed on a Sussex racing track after being taken out in a Dornier 17 formation.
His Spitfire crashed to the ground, trapping him upside-down. Fortunately it did not catch on fire.
He also crawled into the plane’s wreckage shortly before it burst.
Squadron leader Wade of 92 Squadron was able to survive World War Two, but was killed when his experimental plane crashed in 1951. It had been designed to break the sound barrier.
The medals of fearless Battle of Britain ace Trevor ‘Wimpey’ Wade, who survived being shot down five times, have emerged for sale for £70,000. Above: Wade in the aftermath of war
Squadron leader Wade, pictured in the front, is one of “The Few” who destroyed 19 German aircrafts during World War II. Above: Wade is seen here with his comrades, and friends celebrating the 1st anniversary of the arrival at No. 92 Squadron, RAF Biggin Hill in September 1941
In the weeks leading up to his death, he confided in Flying Officer Tony Bartley (a fellow RAF ace member of The Few’) that he had ‘lost it’.
He was proud and continued to fly, but the tragic result of his Hawker P.1081 accident near Ringmer in East Sussex proved too much.
The sale includes an unpublished letter by Bartley who was a Hollywood producer following the war.
He wrote in it: “I told him, for God’s sakes, to quit while he was ahead.” However, he clearly disregarded my advice.
Private collector Dix Noonan webb is selling Squadron Leader Wade’s medals including the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross (AFC) and Air Force Cross.
Mark Quayle is a Dix Noonan Webb medal specialist who said that Wade was a pilot’s captain and one of the most elite squadrons of Battle of Britain.
Spitfire Ace “Ace”, who was able to survive multiple deaths during wartime, but unfortunately died in a peaceful test flight.
Private collector Dix NoonanWebb is selling Squadron Leader Wade’s medals including the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross (AFC) and Air Force Cross. Above from left to right: Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Force Cross; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award
Squadron leader Wade was born in Tonbridge in Kent in 1920. He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in 1938.
He was called up to full-time service at the start of the war and was commissioned in the RAF on April 4, 1940.
Josephine Gibbins, his sweetheart, was his August 1940 marriage. He continued to risk his life every day fighting the Luftwaffe.
He was first to kill a Junkers Ju88, but the Spitfire was struck by return fire.
He wrote: “Return fire was observed coming under the enemy aircraft.
Three minutes later smoke started to rise from the engines of both my sides when it was about a quarter mile south of Selsey Bill.
“By that time, flames had started coming out of my engine, and I was surrounded by fumes in my cockpit.
“I was able to get out of the accident without injury, but eventually the plane exploded.”
From September 10, 1940 to October 29, 1940, 11 other German planes were destroyed or severely damaged by him, three of which were in one day on October 12.
The text of his patrol combat was: ‘P/O Wade attacked an Me.109 that he chased down at 2,000 feet, in Dover. He then started to smoke enough to be declared as damaged.
Wade was Squadron Leader and one of his five escapes involved the crash landing into a Sussex racecourse, after being captured by Dornier 17 bombers. Above: A 1949 pilot
Pictured front right is Squadron leader Wade and his comrades during Second World War
“A second e/a were destroyed” by P/O Wade. He made two strikes, one closing within 15 yards of the pilot. Then, P/O Wade fired from the full starboard beam at another Messerchmitt. It immediately began pouring glycol and rolled to the right before diving vertically.
“With all his ammunition, he engaged another which dived smoking to approximately 4,000 feet before it lost sight …’.
Squadron Leader Wade destroyed a Dornier 17, over the Thames Estuary, on November 26, 1940. Then, he added a Me Bf 109E to the Channel on Dec 2.
Another five kills were also recorded between May and June 1941. One of these was a Me 109, which was decimated in a fierce 90-minute dogfight that Brian Kingcome led.
Squadron Leader Wade (92 Squadron) survived World War Two but was tragically killed when his experimental plane, Hawker Hawker P.1081, which was built to attempt to break the sound-barrier, crashed in 1951.
Wade, the Daily Reported Squadron leader, died in 1951. The Daily Reported described Wade as a “brilliant” pilot.
He came to Group Capain Kingcome’s rescue when he was attacked, and he defeated the enemy fighter.
According to a combat report, P/O Wade was attacked 2/3 times and then he started firing at the e/a that was attacking F/Lt Kingcome from various angles, at varying distances of 200-50 yards.
“After the first explosion, the port side engine of the E/A caught fire. The engine plunged steeply, rolling over on its back and crashed into the ocean.
“He then became engaged by another and, upon reaching a height to fire his guns from the top, found that his ammunition was exhausted.”
Squadron Leader Wade was assigned to 123 Squadron as a break at the end June 1941. He had already earned a Distinguished Flying Cross.
According to his DFC Citation, he has “been engaged continuously in operational flight since May 1940. He has demonstrated to be an experienced pilot with skill and determination. This has made a significant contribution to the success of this squadron.”
The rest of World War II was spent as a test pilot. He received the Air Force Cross in April 1944.
He became a journalist for The Aeroplane after the war and test-piloted Hawker’s first jet-propelled fighter.
The lot includes an unpublished letter by Flying Officer Bartley who was a Film Executive after the war.
This document reveals that Wade, Squadron Leader of the Squadron, visited Wade in Hollywood before the tragic flight on April 3, 1951. He also voiced doubts about his flying abilities not too long afterward.
He said, “Just before Wimpy’s death, he traveled to Hollywood, where he stayed at my house, and confessed one night that he had lost the nerve test of flying.”
He said, “I told him to stop while he was ahead. He clearly ignored my warning and advice.
“He was among the most skilled pilots that I ever knew, and flew with.
“Maybe his natural conceit prevented him from doing this. But in any case, he was an extremely nice person I loved and a sad loss to me.
The medal group of Squadron Leader Wade includes the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Force Cross; 1939-1945 Star; Air Crew Europe Star and Defence and War Medals 1939-1945.
On December 8, the sale begins