One of The Few – Rose

Squadron Leader Nigel Rose

Nigel Rose joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve, in his words ‘to impress a girl’ shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Flying Spitfires with No. 602 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, Nigel was attacked and wounded by a Messerschmitt Bf110. He initially attempted to bale out of his aircraft but quickly realised that the Spitfire, although badly damaged, was still flyable. He nursed the aircraft back to the squadron’s base at Westhampnett airfield, where he made a landing without flaps, brakes or a working radio. Nigel Rose was credited with destroying three enemy aircraft during the Battle.

He continued to serve as a fighter pilot and an instructor with the RAF until 1946, when he was released and qualified as a chartered quantity surveyor.

Nigel Rose is remembered as a self-effacing and modest figure, described as ‘a real gentleman in temperament and manners’.