Tom Maxwell (officer)

Thomas John Maxwell (19 June 1924 – 2019) was an officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as a tail gunner during World War II, flying 32 missions and escaping captivity into Spain after being shot down in France. After the war he worked in RAF air traffic control and then, from 10 years on after 1978, for the Royal Air Force of Oman.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Tom Maxwell was born in Belfast on 19 June 1924. He was an only child of a Presbyterian family.^[2] Maxwell applied to the RAF to be a fighter pilot. He was turned down, and applied once more to be a tail gunner, a position where he was accepted In his sixth mission, a bombing run of Stuttgart,^[3] his plane was damaged by enemy flak after bombing the target. The plane landed in Baxancourt, and he was housed by a local family before he left on a bicycle^[4] and eventually made his way through the Pyrenees along with 11 fellow RAF men. He was eventually taken to Pamplona by authorities and reunited with two crewmates. He was shortly thereafter sent to Gibraltar and sent back to England.^[3]

He was a strong supporter of the RAF Bomber Command Memorial.^[2]

Honors

Distinguished Flying Cross
Legion of Honour, awarded 16 January 2018

References

^ "Tom Maxwell", The Times, p. 54, 4 April 2019
^ ^a ^b ^c "Obituary: War hero who eluded Nazis and got back home after being shot down over France". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b Obituaries, Telegraph (26 April 2019). "Flight Lieutenant Tom Maxwell, Lancaster gunner who was shot down over northern France and escaped to Spain – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
^ Cooper, Alan W. (21 April 2009). Air Gunner: The Men who Manned the Turrets. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78340-914-3.

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[Times-1] "Tom Maxwell", The Times, p. 54, 4 April 2019

[Belfast-2] "Obituary: War hero who eluded Nazis and got back home after being shot down over France". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

[Telegraph-3] Obituaries, Telegraph (26 April 2019). "Flight Lieutenant Tom Maxwell, Lancaster gunner who was shot down over northern France and escaped to Spain – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

[Air_Gunner-4] Cooper, Alan W. (21 April 2009). Air Gunner: The Men who Manned the Turrets. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78340-914-3.

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