Bid to find out more about 'brilliant and courageous' Yorkshire fighter pilot lost 80 years ago

On the Isle of Wight stands a memorial to the memory of a brave Yorkshireman, one of The Few, who died 80 years ago on Friday.

John Dundas, a Yorkshire Post journalist, who was 25, shot down Luftwaffe fighter pilot Helmut Wick to the south of the island.

But his triumph was brief – he was shot down and killed by another aircraft manned by Wick’s wingman. The bodies of the two men were never found.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The memorial, which stands on a clifftop path near Freshwater Bay, on the island, urges passersby to "learn this man's name and the manner of his end above your head, on that distant November day."

John DundasJohn Dundas
John Dundas

Walkers may also come across a bench in his memory high on Skugdale on the North Yorkshire Moors.

The great grandson of the 1st Earl of Zetland, Dundas, grew up with his brother Hugh, who also become a fighter pilot, at Deal House in Cawthorne, Barnsley. Dundas joined The Yorkshire Post after graduating from Oxford.

Based in London for the newspaper, he was part of a party that went to Czechoslovakia with Neville Chamberlain at the time of the Munich Crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A colleague recalled him being indifferent to his appearance, wearing frayed trousers and having ink-stained hands – but popular with the younger female staff.

He was also a member of the Auxiliary Air Force and was called up in 1939, serving with 609 Squadron.

He shot down a succession of enemy aircraft from May 1940 onwards and was posthumously awarded a Bar to his DFC.

Oxford-based researcher Keith Meadows is trying to build up a picture of his earlier life but has had no success so far tracking down relatives.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “According to the material I’ve got, John was an extremely likeable guy, not particularly athletic but brilliant academically.

"He was awarded a scholarship to Stowe and Christchurch, Oxford, at 17 and then later to the Sorbonne and Heidelberg.

“After his death a letter from his squadron to his parents said, ‘It is a perhaps a comfort to you and his mother to realise that John was one of the best air fighters this war has produced, besides being, as we all know, both brilliant and courageous.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.