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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth S  South, Gerry |
Group Captain Gerry South DSO DFC
Gerald John South was born in 1922 and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham. In 1940 he joined the RAF. After gaining his wings in 1941 he went to a navigation training school, but early in 1943 was posted to 405 Squadron, a Canadian Halifax unit. This became the first RCAF bomber squadron to be selected for the newly formed Pathfinders, with which South spent the rest of his frontline war. In November 1943 he was wounded when his aircraft was hit during a raid on Hanover, but he was able to bring the Halifax and its crew safely home to base. He was awarded the DFC. After two months in hospital he was back on operations with 7 Squadron flying Lancasters, again in the Pathfinders. He was now involved with marking for raids over some of Germany's most formidably defended targets, notably Berlin, over which he flew eight sorties. On the night of February 24-25, 1944, 7 Squadron was part of a force of 734 aircraft that attacked the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt. It was not an easy target to hit and both the RAF and the US 8th Army Air Force had suffered frightful losses to flak and night fighters while attempting it. For his leadership in Pathfinder operations, South was awarded the DSO in October 1944. After finishing his third tour of operations, South was posted to Transport Command, involved in supplying forces in the Far East theatre. Postwar, he served during the Malayan Emergency at Advanced Air Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, where from 1953 to 1955 he was on the air staff for joint army/air operations against communist insurgents. He subsequently commanded 115 (Canberra) Squadron, 1955-57, during which period it supported the military operation at Suez. From 1962 to 1964 he commanded an operations wing at Changi, Singapore during President Sukarno of Indonesia's attempt to subvert the creation of Malaysia through insurrection in Brunei and military action in Borneo. His final appointment was in 1969 as Group Captain Administration at HQ Near East Air Force, based in Cyprus and responsible for an area stretching from Malta to Oman. Group Captain Gerry South, DSO, DFC, died on February 28, 2010, aged 87.
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| Distinguished Service Order | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Group Captain Gerry South DSO DFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson. Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons - Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) - were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base. |
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