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on 25 September 2011, 69 years after his death. A crowd of about 400 people attended the short ceremony which saw guests of honour Flt Lt K A Wilkinson RAF and Mr John Milne unveil the plaque. Flt Lt
Wilkinson flew under Lane's command in 19 Squadron and Milne was Lane's Rigger, responsible for
420:, which was originally published in 1942 under the pseudonym B.J. Ellan. The book is a firsthand account of Lane's experiences as a front line Spitfire pilot, and is one of only a few contemporaneous autobiographical accounts of the life of a Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot.
445:
Corporal Fred
Roberts: "...he was an absolutely wonderful man. Early on in the war, some of the officers could still be a bit snobbish, but not Brian Lane, who knew everyone in his command, no matter how lowly their rank or status, by their first names."
423:
Historian Dilip Sarkar spent many years editing and researching the original work to replace the code words used by the war time censor with the correct names of people and places. The revised book was republished in 2009 and again in 2011.
238:
and attended St Paul’s School in
Hammersmith before entering the RAF in 1936. He was the son of Henry Fitzgerald William Lane and Bessie Elinor Lane (née Hall). After leaving school, Lane worked as a factory supervisor.
298:(DFC) for his bravery, and his official rating as a fighter pilot classed "exceptional". He became acting squadron commander on 25 May 1940 when the incumbent commanding officer was shot down over Dunkirk.
365:
He made his first operational flight with the
Squadron on 13 December 1942, during which he was last seen giving chase to two Focke-Wulf 190 fighters. He never returned from this mission and was listed as
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By
September 1940, during the peak of the Battle of Britain, Lane's abilities as a fighter pilot and leader were duly recognised, and he was promoted to squadron leader.
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439:: "He was completely unflappable, no matter what the odds, his voice always calm and reassuring, issuing orders which always seemed to be the right decisions."
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Sergeant David Cox: "Quite simply Brian Lane was the best CO I ever served under, in every respect, and when my turn came to lead, I modelled myself on him."
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on 1 June and was commissioned into the RAF General Duties Branch on 18 May 1936 on a short service commission. Upon completion of his training, he joined
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During Lane's operational career, he claimed 6 (and 1 shared) enemy aircraft shot down, 2 unconfirmed destroyed, 1 probable destroyed and 1 damaged.
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In
November 1941 Lane was posted on a staff appointment to the Middle East. In June 1942 Lane returned to England to command No. 61 OTU at
252:
Lane joined the Royal Air Force in 1936, with service number 37859. After training at 3 E&RFTS Hamble in March 1936, he was posted to
370:". Lane has no known grave having most likely been shot down over the North Sea. It is probable he was a victim of Oblt. Leonhardt of 6./
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After the Battle of
Britain, Lane continued flying with 19 Squadron until June 1941 when he was posted to the
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276:. He was promoted to Flying Officer on 23 December 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of war, Lane joined
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629:"Imperial War Museum Duxford > What's on > Talks and Tours : Spitfire Stories Tour"
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458:, organised by local resident Paul Baderman, was unveiled on Lane's former home in
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This is what some of Lane's fellow 19 Squadron pilots and crew thought of him:
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on 8 January 1937 at the rank of Pilot
Officer. In June 1937 Lane moved to
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Brian Lane (centre) after a sortie during the Battle of
Britain, 1940
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http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Dux_Sept_Air_Show_Prog_2010.pdf
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824:"Event to remember war veteran with flypast to be held this month"
798:"S/L Brian Lane, DFC: Commemoration | the Pinner Association"
776:
Spitfire!: The
Experiences of a Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot
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During the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940 Lane was awarded the
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Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
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refuelling Lane's Spitfire and the repair of its airframe.
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at RAF Duxford as an Officer Commanding "A" Flight, flying
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194:(18 June 1917 – 13 December 1942) was a fighter pilot and
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316:, the squadrons often working together as part of the
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Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action
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and crashed into the sea 30 km west of Schouwen
658:'Aces High', Shores & Williams, biog on page 386
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A history of Pinner by Patricia A. Clarke – page 195
477:List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
913:Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II
879:
287:In June 1940, Lane married famous racing driver
618:, pp 7–12, Foreword by Dilip Sarkar MBE FRHistS
697:(Supplement). 29 September 1942. p. 4276.
677:(Supplement). 16 December 1941. p. 7111.
774:Lane, Brian; Sarkar, Dilip (15 June 2009).
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497:"Royal Air Force Officers 1939-1945 -- L"
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938:Military personnel from North Yorkshire
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541:Heroes of the Battle of Britain website
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958:Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
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709:"Wings to Victory crash site database"
347:, until December 1942 when he joined
557:The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing
312:, and led by 242's Squadron Leader
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943:Missing in action of World War II
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963:Royal Air Force squadron leaders
928:English male non-fiction writers
918:British World War II flying aces
903:20th-century British biographers
749:"English / British Aces of WWII"
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591:. 30 July 1940. p. 4675.
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254:No. 11 Flying Training School
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27:British author and flying ace
530:. 2 June 1936. p. 3526.
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320:, 12 Group's controversial "
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933:English non-fiction writers
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362:flying the Spitfire Mk. V.
218:Memorial plaque to Lane in
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893:1940s missing person cases
296:Distinguished Flying Cross
171:Distinguished Flying Cross
206:. He was also an author.
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118:Years of service
635:on 14 September 2011
349:No. 167 Squadron RAF
310:No. 242 Squadron RAF
308:often operated with
270:No. 213 Squadron RAF
923:English biographers
860: /
826:. 8 September 2011.
563:on 20 November 2018
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306:No. 19 Squadron RAF
278:No. 19 Squadron RAF
262:No. 66 Squadron RAF
140:No. 19 Squadron RAF
841:Photograph of Lane
804:on 22 October 2011
694:The London Gazette
674:The London Gazette
588:The London Gazette
527:The London Gazette
234:, Lane grew up in
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18:Brian Lane (pilot)
864:51.618°N 03.455°E
755:on 3 October 2010
368:missing in action
179:Brian John Edward
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158:Battle of Britain
16:(Redirected from
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146:Battles/wars
87:(1942-12-13)
72:18 June 1917
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898:1942 deaths
888:1917 births
867: /
735:"La-pilots"
689:"No. 35727"
669:"No. 35383"
583:"No. 34910"
522:"No. 34290"
396: /
266:RAF Duxford
202:during the
54:Nickname(s)
882:Categories
852:51°37′05″N
808:19 October
784:1848683545
759:11 October
639:19 October
567:6 February
483:References
428:Interviews
381:51°37′05″N
353:RAF Ludham
243:RAF career
210:Early life
196:flying ace
98:Allegiance
68:1917-06-18
36:Brian Lane
855:3°27′18″E
616:Spitfire!
418:Spitfire!
384:3°27′18″E
339:1941–1942
331:staff at
282:Spitfires
248:1936–1941
232:Harrogate
121:1936–1942
92:North Sea
77:, England
75:Harrogate
471:See also
322:Big Wing
226:Born in
136:Commands
106:Service/
968:The Few
304:Lane's
198:of the
782:
719:16 May
464:London
460:Pinner
236:Pinner
228:Pannal
220:Pinner
167:Awards
108:branch
355:as a
183:Sandy
57:Sandy
810:2011
780:ASIN
761:2010
721:2012
641:2011
569:2018
372:JG 1
187:Lane
126:Rank
82:Died
62:Born
351:at
272:at
264:at
256:at
191:DFC
884::
778:.
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649:^
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66:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
