bentley priory - Spink

September 6, 2012 - LONDON
Graduation of No.1 Graduate Entry, RAF Cranwell, August 1971 -
Hughes with H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
engine air-intake as he dived away. I pushed the nose hard
down (propelling Laurie sharply up into the Perspex dome!)
and gave a very long burst, hitting him hard. He crashed into
the sea, this being witnessed by Paddy Green who had arrived
to join the fray ...’
Hughes gained his final victory in this theatre of war on 15
August, when he downed a Stuka off Syracuse - hit in the
crank of its port wing, it turned over and crashed into the sea
‘with an enormous splash’. He also served in Italy, claiming
to be the first pilot to land a Beaufighter on mainland Europe
when he touched down at Monte Corvino on 25 September.
But in October he went down with jaundice, quickly
followed by malaria, and, but for the urgent attention of the
medical staff at 95th Army Field Hospital at Salerno, may well
have died. Even so, in moments of consciousness, he couldn’t
help but laugh on being told to ‘lie to attention’ when the
senior M.O. made his morning rounds. Awarded a second
Bar to his D.F.C., he was invalided back to the U.K., where,
after a period of recuperation, he took up an appointment at
H.Q. No. 85 Group at Uxbridge - this his first real rest from
operations since the outbreak of war.
D-Day and Beyond
Hughes subsequently served alongside John “Cat’s Eyes”
Cunningham, who had been placed in charge of the planning
night fighter cover for Operation Overlord and, on the night
of the 5-6 June, watched the development of that memorable
occasion at No. 11 Group’s Operations Room. Then in early
July, with the fall of Cherbourg, he was ordered to France to
get a mobile G.C.I. up to the enemy’s old radar at Cap de la
Hague, an eventful ground operation that was duly
accomplished. Immediately on his return to England,
however, he took command, in the acting rank of Wing
Commander, of No. 604 Squadron, a Mosquito unit
operating out of Hurn, and was quickly back in the air with
Laurie Dixon at his side. Thus ensued a flurry of activity in
support of the Allied landings in France - a dozen or so
operations in the period leading up to the Squadron’s move
to Predannak in September, during which he claimed a Ju. 88
over Rennes on 6 August. Then on 13 January 1945, while
operating out of Lille, he claimed his last victory of the War,
a Ju. 88 downed south of Rotterdam. He had now flown at
least 200 operational sorties and claimed 18 confirmed “kills”
and one shared destroyed. He was awarded the D.S.O.
The Post-War Years
Hughes served at Fighter Command H.Q. 1946-53, before
going on to add the A.F.C. to his long list of decorations in
1954. Next employed on the Directing Staff at Bracknell, he
was then employed as P.S.O. at the C.A.S. 1956-58, in which
latter year he was advanced to Group Captain. Then between
1959-61 he commanded R.A.F. Geilenkirchen in Germany,
and was awarded the C.B.E. Returning to the U.K., he served
as Director of Staff Plans at the M.O.D. 1962-64, in which
period he was also advanced to Air Commodore and
appointed an A.D.C. to the Queen. And his next
advancement, to Air Vice-Marshal in July 1967, occurred
during his tenure as A.O.C. at H.Q. Flying Training
Command. Having then served as Commandant of the
R.A.F. College at Cranwell, he was appointed S.A.S.O. of the
Near East Air Force, until his retirement in June 1974, after
being appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
Retiring to Lincolnshire, Air Vice-Marshal Hughes died in
January 1992.
Only 15 aircrew were awarded the combination of a D.S.O.
and three D.F.Cs in the 1939-45 War. The addition of the
recipient’s post-war C.B., C.B.E, and A.F.C., his fifth
decoration, most probably make this a unique combination
of awards.
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