Kumla Bibliotek

John Greenwood was born in East London in April 1921. At the age of eighteen he forged his father’s signature and joined the RAF on a short service commission in February 1939. Seven months later Britain declared war on Germany and 253 Squadron was formed. In May 1940, John and his fellow pilots were sent to France with 24 hours’ notice where he shot down a Dornier 17 and a Messerschmitt 109 the next day, before returning to England with only four pilots and three aircraft left. He was the last surviving member of 253 Squadron who fought in the Battle of France, then subsequently in the Battle of Britain. One of Churchill’s last surviving Few, this is his story.