Brian Kingcome Group Captain Charles Brian Fabris Kingcome DSO DFC & Bar ( 31 May 1917 – 1994 ) was a British flying ace of the Second World War , most notable for serving with No . 92 Squadron Royal Air Force in 1940 during the Battle of Britain . He frequently led the squadron on a temporary basis before receiving full command early in 1941 . He later served in North Africa , Sicily , Italy and over Yugoslavia with RAF , Royal Canadian Air Force and South African Air Force Supermarine Spitfire and heavy bomber units . His total personal score stood at eight enemy aircraft destroyed , three shared , five probable and 13 damaged . Kingcome was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1940 , a bar to the DFC in 1941 , and the Distinguished Service Order in 1942 . He was born in Calcutta , India and was educated at Bedford School . RAF career . Kingcome entered the RAF Royal Air Force College Cranwell , Cranwell in 1936 . At the outbreak of the Second World War , Kingcome was based at Hornchurch Airfield serving with No . 65 Squadron RAF . He took part in the battle of France and the battle of Dunkirk ; scoring no victories . He was then posted to No . 92 Squadron , RAF Tangmere in May 1940 , where he assumed temporary command over No . 92 Squadron after the loss of their Squadron leader Roger Bushell over the skies of Calais on 23 May 1940 . During his time at No . 92 Squadron , Kingcome became acquainted with Geoffrey Wellum . Wellum , who flew as wingman to Flight Lieutenant Brian Kingcome , 92 Squadron ’ s acting CO ( the Squadron lost 2 new COs within days of their arrival and Brian Kingcome led the Squadron temporarily in the absence of a squadron commander ) later recorded his experiences in the book First Light . Kingcome was acting CO of No . 92 Squadron until Sqn Ldr Johnny Kent a Canadian , arrived . In early 1941 , after Kent was transferred , Kingcome received full command . During this time he and his pilots achieved the highest success rate of any squadron in the entire Battle of Britain . After serving with 92 Squadron , Kingcome was briefly posted as flight commander at No 61 Operational Training Unit in late 1941 . In February 1942 , he returned to operations as CO of No . 72 Squadron RAF . Almost immediately he was ordered to provide escort cover for the ill - fated Fleet Air Arm Swordfish attack on the German capital ship " Gneisenau " , the cruiser ship Prinz Eugen and the capital ship " Scharnhorst " as they sailed through the Channel in an attempt to reach Kiel , Germany during operation Channel Dash . He then became Wing Leader at Kenley in June 1942 , and late in the year posted to the Fighter Leader ' s School at RAF Charmy Down . In May 1943 he was posted to North Africa to command No . 244 Wing RAF and in September he was promoted to Group Captain at the age of 25 . With 244 Wing , Kingcome found himself leading five Spitfire squadrons : No . 92 Squadron RAF , No . 145 Squadron RAF , No . 601 Squadron RAF , No . 417 Squadron RCAF and No . 1 Squadron SAAF during the Italian Campaign . In October , he attended the RAF Staff College at Haifa . On completion , Kingcome was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer in No . 205 Group , which comprised all of the RAF heavy bomber squadrons in the theatre . In spite of his staff position , Kingcome flew several missions as a waist - gunner in a B - 24 Liberator over northern Yugoslavia . He remained in Italy after the war as CO of No . 324 Wing , again on fighters . In mid 1946 he returned to the UK and the Staff College for two years . Victories . Kingcome flew Spitfires in combat continually until the end of 1944 , his tally finishing at 8 and 3 shared destroyed , plus a score of probables and damaged . One of the prewar Cranwell elite , Kingcome was to become one of the Second World Wars great fighter leaders , alongside Douglas Bader , Robert Stanford Tuck and Johnnie Johnson . In May 1940 , he was posted to No . 92 Squadron as flight commander . On 25 May , Kingcome shared a Do 17 and on 2 June destroyed two He 111s and damaged a third . He shared a Ju 88 of 3 . / LG 1 with two others on 10 July , and again on the 24th . On 9 September he probably destroyed a Bf 110 and two days later shot down a He 111 . On the 14th he damaged another . Kingcome shot down a Bf 109 on the 23rd and next day probably destroyed another ( of 8 . / JG 26 ) and damaged a Ju 88 . Three days later he shared a Ju 88 again , damaged two others , probably destroyed a Do 17 , and damaged one of these also . Around this time Kingcome was awarded a DFC for six victories , and on 11 October got a Bf 109 he claimed another next day , and also damaged one . On the 13th he shot down a BF 109 of JG 3 . On 16 June 1941 Kingcome probably destroyed a Bf 109 , and on 24 July shot one down . He received a Bar to his DFC , having brought his score to 10 confirmed kills . He was promoted to lead the Kenley wing , and on 15 April 1942 damaged a Fw 190 . He probably destroyed a Bf 109 on 28 May , and during the year was awarded a DSO , having added another victory to his score . In 1943 Kingcome was posted to North Africa to lead 244 Wing , and lead this for 18 months , becoming a Gp . Capt . after the invasion of Italy . By the end of his stay with the wing , he had brought his total personal tally to 8 destroyed , three shared , five probable and 13 damaged enemy aircraft . Later life . The Second World War had taken a toll on his health and , after being treated for tuberculosis , he was invalided from the service in 1954 . In civilian life , he engaged successfully in a London garage and car hire business with his Battle of Britain comrade Paddy Barthropp ( who later became very successful with his Rolls - Royce chauffeur business ) . In 1969 , with his wife Lesley ( whom he had married in 1957 ) he set up ‘ Kingcome Sofas ’ an enterprise which involved the employment of Devon boat builders to craft sofas to each customer ' s measurements . Published works . Kingcome wrote an autobiography called " A willingness to die " about his experiences during the Second World War . His Memoirs were written shortly before his death in 1994 . Personal Quotations . " ' I always regarded 92 Squadron as my personal property . I led it through , what was to me , the most exhilarating and treacherous part of the war , the Battle of Britain at Biggin Hill . I gained and lost many good friends , and in front line operations I was with 92 longer than any other squadron ' " “ Why can ’ t they just talk about Battle of Britain pilots ? Why does it always have to be heroes ? I think it devalues the word and denigrates all those others who were called on to face just as great odds . " Television . To mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain , the BBC commissioned a one - off drama for TV called First Light , based on Geoffrey Wellum ' s book of the same name , in which Brian Kingcome was portrayed by the actor Ben Aldridge . The film was first shown by the BBC on 14 September 2010 .