Basil Embry Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry , ( 28 February 1902 – 7 December 1977 ) was a senior Royal Air Force commander . He was Commander - in - Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953 . Early life and career . Basil Embry was born in Gloucestershire , England , in 1902 and as a young boy at Bromsgrove School he developed an avid interest in aviation . In 1921 he joined the Royal Air Force with a short service commission as an Acting Pilot Officer . In 1922 he was sent into Iraq , serving under future Air Marshals Arthur Harris and Robert Saundby . By 1926 Embry ' s enthusiasm , professional application , boundless energy and flair for the unconventional had put him on the fast track for promotion within the RAF , and he was rewarded with the Air Force Cross in that year ' s New Year Honours , and appointment to a permanent commission . Promoted to Flight Lieutenant , Embry returned to Britain in 1927 as an instructor at the Central Flying School , Uxbridge . In 1934 he was posted to India to serve in the Indian Wing on the North West Frontier . He was promoted Squadron Leader in 1935 , and served in the Second Mohmand Campaign of 1935 . He was awarded his first DSO for operations in Waziristan in 1938 . He was further promoted in 1938 to Wing Commander . After five years ' service he returned to Britain in 1939 . On the outbreak of the Second World War Embry was Commanding Officer of No 107 Squadron flying the Bristol Blenheim bomber . Second World War . The energetic Embry led his squadron from the front , and he saw extensive action during the campaigns in Norway and France , often in the face of heavy losses and overwhelming opposition . On 25 September 1939 Embry led a 3 - plane formation on a reconnaissance sortie into Germany . Intercepted by German fighters , Embry ’ s aircraft suffered serious damage to wings and fuselage and he carried out a one - wheel force - landing landing on returning to RAF Wattisham . Throughout the remainder of 1939 and into early 1940 the unit made numerous attacks by day and night on a variety of targets , including U - Boats . On 6 April 1940 RAF photo reconnaissance revealed that a German Naval force including battleships " Gneisenau " and " Scharnhorst " was at anchor off Wilhelmshaven . Embry and his 107 Squadron crews were soon involved in a series of attacks on this German force . With the German invasion of Norway , 107 Squadron were detached to Scotland , and there carried out ten raids in just eight days on Stavanger and airfields in the area , often in treacherous weather conditions . Embry suffered with frostbite during this time . In April May 1940 Embry was awarded a second DSO and a third award was announced in August 1940 . The German invasion of France and the Low Countries began on 10 May 1940 and Embry ' s Squadron flew intensively against the German advance , each crew flying two or three sorties daily across the Channel to France . His leadership and personal gallantry resulted in the award of a second bar to his DSO On 12 May he led No . 107 Squadron and No . 110 Squadron in an attack on two bridges across the Albert Canal at Maastricht . Heavily defended , the formation was savaged by ground fire and intercepted by numerous Messerschmitt fighters , losing 7 Blenheims from the original force of 24 . Two No . 107 Squadron aircraft also crash - landed at Wattisham , and every surviving Blenheim had suffered some damage . Due to the tremendous pressure of his operational flying in recent months Embry was then ordered to take an operational ' rest ' and was given command of R . A . F . West Raynham , with a promotion to Group Captain . He was to fly one more sortie before relinquishing command . On 26 May 1940 , Wing Commander Embry was shot down by anti - aircraft fire over Saint - Omer from during a low level bombing mission against advancing German Army columns . His aircraft crashed at Eperlecques . Of his crew , observer P / O T . A . Whiting was made prisoner while Air Gunner Crpl . G . E . Lang was killed . Captured by the German Army , he was being marched away in column of Allied prisoners when he saw a road sign " Embry , 3 km . " Taking this as a good omen , he rolled down a bank unnoticed by the column ' s guards and made his escape . He successfully evaded recapture for two months in occupied France before eventually getting back to England via Spain and Gibraltar . His adventures while on the run are detailed in the book " Wingless Victory " by Anthony Richardson and originally published in 1950 . After two months sick leave Embry was posted to No . 6 Group as Senior Air Staff Officer in the rank of Group Captain . After only three weeks he was offered command of a night - fighter wing in RAF Fighter Command , which was accepted , although he reverted to the rank of Wing Commander . The wing disbanded in December 1940 and Embry became AOC RAF Wittering returning to the rank of Group Captain in March 1941 . Embry kept his hand in operationally by flying radar equipped night - fighters with No . 25 squadron . In July 1941 Embry was given the ceremonial title of an Air Aide - de - Camp to the King . and was Mentioned in Despatches in September . In October 1941 he was seconded to the Desert Air Force as an adviser and saw action in the Desert War . Embry returned to Britain in March 1942 and served as AOC Wittering again and as AOC 10 Group , Fighter Command . In June he was again Mentioned in Despatches but he was passed over as the prime candidate for leading RAF Bomber Command ' s newly formed Pathfinder Force in July 1942 before being given command of No 2 Group Bomber Command , which was about to join the 2nd Tactical Air Force , in June 1943 . Although he was now an Air Vice Marshal , Embry continued to fly on operations where possible , piloting each type of light bomber in his command to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the tools available to his aircrews . He usually flew as a ' wingman ' in a formation , flying under the name of " Wing Commander Smith " . This hands - on approach ensured Embry was worshipped by the men under his command , although his frank utterly honest criticisms made few friends within the Air Ministry . He pushed fervently for 2 Group ' s re - equipment with the Mosquito FB VI , which became the highly potent workhorse of the Group by 1944 . By October 1943 Embry ' s efforts had made 2 Group a highly effective weapon , with bombing accuracy and serviceability among the best in the Allied Air Forces . The group ' s contribution to the war effort , such as the bombing of V - 1 launch sites in France and the anti - transportation offensive prior to D - Day was arguably decisive . In December 1944 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath . Embry ' s Mosquitoes also undertook specialist precision bombing operations such as the attack on Amiens jail , and in 1945 ( 21 March ) on Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen and Odense ( April , 17th ) . On 31 October 1944 Embry took part in a successful low - level attack undertaken by Mosquitoes of Nos . 21 , 464 and 487 Squadrons on the Aarhus University , Denmark , which housed the Gestapo HQ for the whole of Jutland . For " . . . ( pressing ) home his attacks with a skill and gallantry in keeping with his outstanding reputation . . " in the latter three operations he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . He was also honoured after the war by the Danish Government for his part in these operations , being awarded the Order of Dannebrog , Commander 1st Class . On 20 July 1945 he was awarded a third bar to his DSO . Other nations to honour Embry included the Netherlands ( Order of Orange Nassau , Grand Officer ) and France ( Croix de Guerre , Légion d ' honneur , Croix de Commandeur ) Post - war career and later life . Shortly after the end of the war Embry was knight ed , with his appointment as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( KBE ) . He was later to receive further knighthoods with higher precedence , in 1952 he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) and in 1956 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB ) . He was Commander - in - Chief Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953 . Embry was appointed Commander - in - Chief of Allied Air Forces Central Europe . His outspoken criticism of the NATO chain of command and organisation framework ensured however that he was retired early from the Royal Air Force in 1956 . In 1956 Embry briefly relocated to New Zealand where he wrote his autobiography , titled ' Mission Completed ' . In March 1956 accompanied by his wife Hope , he emigrated to Western Australia and began a new life as a sheep farmer , purchasing a property at Chowerup . He also acquired land at Cape Riche , east of Albany , and moved here in the late 1960s . Embry became active in the politics of agriculture through the Farmers ' Union of Western Australia . He was elected General President in 1971 and held office for two years . In 1972 he led a delegation through South - east Asia and instigated the establishment of the Rural Traders Co - operative ( W . A . ) Ltd . He was the president of the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society and worked himself at a punishing pace until he became ill in 1975 . Basil Embry died in Boyup Brook , Western Australia in 1977 . " He was both charming and rude , prejudiced and broad - minded , pliable and obstinate , dedicated and human . " ( Group Captain Peter Wykeham , No 2 Group 1944 - 45 ) Honours and awards . On 19 April 2007 Spink auctioned the remarkable and unique medal group of Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry , selling for £155 , 350 to Michael Naxton , an agent .