UK

041613 - READY, WILLING AND ABLE TWO: The Story of Squadron Leader Howard Battson Ld'H, 460 Squadron RAAF

By Sean Feast

Howard Battson was one of life’s great characters. Born in Hertford, the son of a prominent local councillor, Howard was training to become an architect in London before the war interrupted his studies and he volunteered for aircrew. Hopes of becoming a pilot receded in favour of becoming an air bomber, and after training in Canada he returned for operational training in the blacked-out skies of Britain, surviving a terrible crash and narrowly escaping with his life. Posted to 460 Squadron, an Australian unit, in the early summer of 1944, and flying with an Australian pilot and mixed RAF/RAAF crew, Howard was in his element, fighting hard and playing harder. During an eventful tour in which they had their fair share of scrapes and near misses, they also had the near-unique experience of ‘looping a Lanc’ to escape a night fighter attack and living to tell the tale. Howard stayed on in the RAF immediately after the war, becoming the last Commanding Officer at RAF Silverstone before it was handed over to the army. Emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Howard pursued a successful second career as a surveyor, working primarily on the railways, and coming across Prime Ministers Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe. Eventually returning home and retiring to Surrey, he became an active member of Silver Line and the RAFBF Telephone Friendship Group. Appointed to the Legion d’Honneur, Howard died on August 13, 2020.