Battling for Britain

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry 'Broady' Broadhurst was one of the RAF's legendary characters of WWII. Responsible for numerous enemy kills and the victim of many near misses, he was the epitomy of British bravery, skill and selflessness.

Sqn Ldr Broadhurst opened his account on a lone mission over the English Channel on November 29 1939 when, piloting a Spitfire, he sent a Heinkel 111 spiralling into the sea and narrowly avoided crashing himself. He continued to distinguish himself throughout the early stages of the war, and for a short time while stationed in France was known to have had the letters 'HB' emblazoned on both the sides of his Hurricane. Back in England as commander of RAFs' Wittering and Hornechurch respectively he became heavily involved in the intensive air operations known as the 'Battle of Britain'. As well as damaging several enemy aircraft he had at least 4 confirmed kills acknowledged from this time recorded in the London Gazette of July 4 1941. In June 1941 he was wounded and his plane badly damaged by flak after downing 2 Messerschmitt 109s over France. Fortunately he managed to land safely back in England. From June 1941 up until December 1941 he had 6 more confirmed kills and possibly a further 4. He added 1 more confirmed kill during combined operations against Dieppe on 18th August, 1942.

Later in the War 'Broady' took up various posts in the Middle East with the Desert Air Force, and was involved as a group commander in what became the decisive turning point of the War - Operation Overlord. In 1943 he became the youngest RAF officer ever to attain the rank of Air Vice Marshal, and in 1957 was appointed Air Chief Marshal.

Little is known of Sir Harry's genealogy. He was born 28 Oct 1905 and died 29 Aug 1995. He may have been related to one Pilot Officer John William Broadhurst of 222 squadron who was killed after baling out of his Spitfire over Salehurst, Essex on October 7 1940. Perhaps significantly this squadron had been based at RAF Hornechurch since 30 August 1940. Sir Harry was commanding officer of Hornechurch from Dec 1940 up until May 1942.

Additional Notes:
(1) John William Broadhurst was 23 at the time of his death. He was the son of Sam and Charlotte Annie Broadhurst; and husband of Edith Lilian Broadhurst, of Bexley, Kent. (2) One source gives Sir Harry two additional christian name initials - S.T. Harry Broadhurst (3) Sir Harry was to have at least one more narrow escape in his lifetime when he ejected safely from a crashing Vulcan bomber at Heathrow Airport on October 1 1956.

Principal Sources:
www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx
www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Broadhurst.htm
www.the-battle-of-britain.co.uk/pilots/Br-pilots.htm