Archibald Winskill Air Commodore Sir Archibald Little ' Archie ' Winskill , KCVO , CBE , DFC and Bar , AE ( 24 January 1917 - 9 August 2005 ) was a British Royal Air Force officer . He flew Spitfires in the Battle of Britain and evaded capture twice during World War II on two different continents . After the war , he held a number of appointment in different parts of the world . After retiring from the RAF , he became Captain of the Queen ' s Flight . Early life . Winskill was born on 24 January 1917 in Penrith , Cumberland , to James Winskill . He was educated at Penrith and Carlisle Grammar Schools . Military career . World War II . In 1937 Winskill joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and trained as a pilot . Following the outbreak of World War II , he was mobilised in September 1939 . Between September 1939 and June 1940 , he served as a staff pilot at RAF Catfoss . He was commissioned on 25 August 1940 as a pilot officer ( on probation ) with seniority from 15 August 1940 . Having trained to fly Spitfires , he was posted to No . 72 Squadron RAF on 4 October 1940 . He moved to No . 603 Squadron RAF based at RAF Hornchurch on 17 October . He flew in the Battle of Britain . Shortly after joining 603 Squadron , he scored his first aerial victory when he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Dungeness , Kent , on 29 October 1940 . In November , he shared in the destruction of a Heinkel He 111 with two other pilots from his squadron . On 23 November , he shot down two Fiat CR . 42 fighters ; it was one of the few air raids made on England by the Italian Air Force . In January 1941 , he was appointed a flight commander of No . 41 Squadron RAF . With the squadron he flew fighter sweeps and bomber escort sorties over Nazi occupied France . On 14 August 1941 , he was flying over France escorting bombers whose target was the St Omer railyards near Lille . One of the Blenheim bombers was attacked by two Messerschmitt 109 fighters . He went to its aid , shooting down one of the Messerschmitts . However , in the dogfight with the remaining Nazi fighter , his spitfire sustained damage and burst into flames . He was forced to bale out at a low altitude from his out of control aircraft . He landed safely and a French farmer immediately ushered him to a cornfield where he hid until nightfall . The farmer ' son , Felix Caron , then arrived to bring him to the safety of their farm in Saint - Folquin . On 25 August 1941 , his commission was confirmed and he was promoted to war substantive flying officer with seniority in that rank from 15 August 1941 . After two weeks in a French Resistance safe house , the French speaking Winskill was moved down the Pat Line . He travelled to the Pyrenees and then , via Andorra , Barcelona and Madrid , to British Gibraltar . He arrived back in England in December 1941 ; it had taken him three months to arrive back in England after being shot down . As flying over Europe was forbidden to those who had used a Resistance escape route for fear that if captured they would divulge the information , he was posted to an air defence squadron in Scotland . On 6 April 1942 , he formed No . 165 Squadron RAF and served as its officer commanding until August . He was promoted to war substantive flight lieutenant on 14 July 1942 . He was then appointed officer commanding No . 222 Squadron RAF , and in November 1942 , he was appointed officer commanding No . 232 Squadron RAF . The squadron was posted to North Africa in December 1942 . There , they provided close air support for the First Army in Algeria and Tunisia as part of the Desert Air Force . On 18 January 1943 , he was shot down off the Tunisian coast and bale out into the sea . He was rescued by Arabs and taken to the shore . From there , he made his way back to his squadron through German controlled positions . This made him one of the very few men who had evaded capture twice during World War II . In April 1943 , he shot down a Junkers Ju 87 and shared in the destruction of a second one . He also destroyed two aircraft on the La Sebala Airfield . His tour ended in June 1943 , and he returned to England . He then become an instructor at the Central Gunnery School based at RAF Catfoss . He was promoted to squadron leader on 21 June 1944 . He was then appointed Commandant of the Fighting Wing of the school . He served in that post between September 1943 and December 1944 . He then attended and graduated from the British Army ' s Staff College , Camberley . In June 1945 , he was posted to the Air Ministry . Post - war service . He continued his military service after the war ended and he was given a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force on 1 September 1945 in the rank of squadron leader . He continued to serve at the Air Ministry until 1947 . He was then posted to Japan where he served as officer commanding No . 17 Squadron RAF who were part of the Allied occupation forces . Having converted to jets from the Spitfires he flew throughout the war , he was posted to the Belgian Air Force as an air adviser in 1949 . During his three years there , he helped establish its first wing of Gloster Meteor jet fighters . As part of the half - yearly promotions , he was promoted to Wing Commander on 1 January 1953 , and to group captain on 1 July 1959 . He served a station commander of RAF Turnhouse and then RAF Duxford . In 1961 , he was appointed Group Captain Operations at the headquarters of Royal Air Force Germany . As part of the half - yearly promotions , he was promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1963 . He was posted to Paris , France , as an air attaché , in February 1964 . In June 1967 , he was appointed Director of Public Relations for the RAF at the Ministry of Defence . This his final posting before his retirement . He retired from the Royal Air Force on 18 December 1968 after 31 years service . Later life . On 15 February 1968 , Winskill was appointed Captain of the Queen ' s Flight . In that role he did not fly the aircraft but was responsible for the safety and comfort of the Royal passengers in addition to commanding the flight . His arrival coincided with the introduction of the Westland Wessex helicopter and the Hawker Siddeley Andover aircraft to the Flight . In July 1971 , he oversaw the first parachute jump by an heir to the throne when Charles , Prince of Wales completed one over the Channel . In 1972 , he had to arrange for the body of the Duke of Windsor to be flown from France to RAF Benson for his funeral . He retired in 1982 . A favourite of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , he would make yearly visits to the Castle of Mey , her summer residence , until her death . He played golf and tennis , and was a bridge player . He died on 9 August 2005 , aged 88 . Personal life . In 1947 , Winskill married Christiane Bailleux , from the Pas de Calais , France . Together they had two children ; a daughter and a son . Their son pre - deceased him . His wife survived him and did their daughter . Honours and decorations . On 6 January 1942 , Winskill was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) ' in recognition of gallantry displayed in flying operations against the enemy ' . His citation read : On 27 July 1943 , he was awarded a further Distinguished Flying Cross . This was shown in the form of a medal bar attached to his original DFC . He was awarded the Air Efficiency Award ( AE ) in 1944 for long service in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force . In the 1960 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) . In the 1973 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , he was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ( CVO ) . In the 1980 New Year Honours , he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ( KCVO ) . He was appointed extra equerry to Queen Elizabeth II on 15 February 1968 . He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 1978 .