GALLANTRY REWARDED.
WANGANUI MAN’S BRAVERY. LONDON, June 12. Five members •of the B.E.I 1 . have been awarded the D. 5.0., eleven the Military Cross, seven the D.C.M., and eight the Military Medal. A few ot the awards are for gallantry on patrol work before the invasion of the Low Countries, but the majority concern the operations in Northern France and Belgium. _ Pilot-Officer Alan Christopher Deere, of Wanganui, aged 22, has been awarded the D.F.C. During May ho was engaged in seven combats!, often against superior numbers, and shot down five ’planes and assisted in the destruction of others. Once twelve Messerschmitts attacked a training ’plane which was going to Calais to rescue a squadronleader who had been shot down there. Deere and another pilot escorting the tiaining ’plane immediately fought hack three Messerschmitts and shot down three seriously damaged. Deere displayed courage and determination in all the encounters. He joined the R.A.F. as a pupil pilot in 1938.
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Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 167, 14 June 1940, Page 8
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158GALLANTRY REWARDED. Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 167, 14 June 1940, Page 8
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