I Had a Row With a German: A Battle of Britain Casualty

Tom Gleave was a RAF pilot who began his career in 1930 and joined Bomber Command on 1 January 1939. He gained fame for claiming five Messerschmitt Bf 109s in a single day but is best known for being shot down and badly burned on 31 August 1940. He was one of the first pilots to undergo plastic surgery by Archie, later Sir Archibald, McLndoe and his colleague Percy Jayes. Despite his wounds, he returned to duty and became station commander of RAF Northolt and later RAF Manston. I Had a Row With a German is a memoir of his experiences during the Battle of Britain.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 30 August 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Thomas Percy Gleave commenced his RAF career in 1930, three years later joining the RAF aerobatic team. He joined Bomber Command on 1 January 1939, but at the outbreak of war, Gleave requested a return to Fighter Command. He assumed command of 253 Squadron just in time for the start of the Battle of Britain, earning fame for claiming five Messerschmitt Bf 109s in a single day.

Tom Gleave, however, is remembered more for the misfortune that befell him on 31 August 1940. On that day, he was shot down and badly burned when his Hurricane caught fire. In his memoir, Tom Gleave vividly recounts the early days of his encounters with German aircraft, particularly the dreadful day when he escaped his dying aircraft with severe burns to much of his body and his face. After being taken to Orpington Hospital, Gleave was transferred to Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, where he was one of the first pilots to undergo plastic surgery by Archie, later Sir Archibald, McLndoe, and his brilliant colleague, Percy Jayes. Gleave received leg and facial grafts, and his nose was reconstructed.

The Guinea Pig Club was formed at Queen Victoria Hospital on 20 July 1941, with McLndoe as President and Gleave as Vice-President and a Founder Member, being the club's first and only Chief Guinea Pig until his death in 1993. Originally written in 1941, this moving and graphic story is not one of despair but of overcoming adversity with cheerful determination not to allow circumstances of the past to determine the future. Despite his terrible wounds, Tom Cleave returned to duty, becoming station commander of RAF Northolt and later RAF Manston. Above all, I Had a Row With a German is a ripping yarn of the cut and thrust of the Battle of Britain by one of Churchill's memorable figures.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399072731