Anthony Hemelik

Flight Lieutenant Anthony John ('Tony') Hemelik, DFC was an English airman of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who served during the Second World War.
He was born on 11 May 1921, in Hampstead, the son of Dutch-born Franz Joseph and Henrietta Wilhelmina Hemelik (née Mendelson), of London. Hemelik studied at Brondesbury College and joined the Royal Air Force in 1939,Leviathan - the Business Who's who: A Biographical Dictionary of Chairmen, Chief Executives and Managing Directors of British-registered Companies, p. 169. and was commissioned on 3 September 1941.The London Gazette (35343), p. 6507. 11 November 1941, thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015. While serving with 70 Squadron, Hemelik was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in March 1943, the citation for which reads: 
Flying Officer Hemelik is a navigator/bomb aimer of high merit. Whatever the opposition he never releases his bombs until he is satisfied that the objectives are truly in his sights. Several times he has made a number of runs over the target to ensure accuracy of aim. On 3 occasions, when ordered to release flares to illuminate the bombing by other aircraft of Tobruk, then most heavily defended, he accomplished his task in what was judged the best of many such operations. In the battle area, Flying Officer Hemelik has taken part in many sorties. His untiring efforts and great courage have proved most inspiring.The London Gazette (35930), p. 1127. 9 March 1943, thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
Hemelik later transferred to the RAF's Administrative and Special Duties Branch, and resigned his commission on 26 March 1948.The London Gazette (38291), p. 3018. 18 March 1948, thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015. Afterwards, he went into civil aviation, and was a manager in the industry until 1959, during which time he was a consultant for the Italian Ministry of Defence. He later became a managing director with the Italian car firm Lancia. Hemelik died in 1995, at Dacorum, Hertfordshire.
==Notes==
==References==
*Ancestry.co.uk.
Category:1921 births
Category:1995 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:British people of Jewish descent
Category:British people of Dutch descent
Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Category:Buried in England
Category:Flight Lieutenants