Rank & Name: F/L Anthony Ellerton Ryan Fry D.F.C.
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Above: Anthony in London in early 1941 to receive his DFC from King George VI at Buckingham Palace. |
Anthony Fry was born and raised in South Africa but when war broke out in 1939, he ws living in Denmark and working in a brewery. He was recalled to join the RAF (having learnt to fly whilst attending London University previously as an Engineering student) and left for England leaving behind his Danish fiance Bodil, whom he would never see again..He was posted to Coastal Command and 59 Squadron. Anthony believed that the night raids on enemy vessels were a waste of time and it is said that he had offered to crash land his Blenheim on the ships to achieve a better result, although this request was denied by his C/O. |
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| ORB records show that F/L Fry reported to 59 Squadron for duty, on 24/06/1940. Along with 10 other pilots. On the day that he died, he was leading three other crews on an anti-shipping strike near the Coast of Holland. On this mission all aircraft and crews were lost bar one survivor. He was only 24 years old. view mission details |  |
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| In 1942 the artist Sir William Rothenstein published a book called, Men of the RAF, which contained portraits of forty crew and ground staff serving with the RAF. The picture above of Anthony is dated 7th of February 1941, just two months before he died. | |
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| (above) This photo is taken from the book "Bristol Blenheim - Theo Boiton". The image was supplied by Alec McCurdy, a pilot of 59 Sqdn during and after the Battle of France. |
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| (above L-R) F/O Fry (p), Sgt "Lofty" Groves (Obs), Tubby Ball (AG), Unknown, LAC EJ Sheldon (Engine Fitter - A Flight) - Terry Sheldon. |
The above information and images were sourced from the book "How I won the War" by Alex fry and "Bristol Blenheim" by Theo Boiton.
 | Awardee of the Battle of Britain Clasp - Although entitlement was revoked by the Air Ministry in 1960 (read more). |