Broadley, John Alan

Flight Lieutenant John Alan 'Bill' Broadley


He was born in 1921 in Leyburn, but grew up in Richmond, Yorkshire. After leaving school he was drafted into the RAF and trained as an observer/navigator with the rank of Sergeant. From the early days of war he took part in combat flying. In May 1941 he was posted to 9 Squadron, where he became a permanent navigator in the crew of P.C. Pickard. He took part in many raids on targets in Germany and was awarded the DFM in September 1941 for his bravery.
In August 1941, he was sent to 138th Special Squadron, tasked with dropping supplies to resistance fighters in occupied Europe and dropping agents. In November 1941 Broadley was promoted to the rank of Pilot Officer and sent to 51st Squadron, where he again flew with Pickard. On the night of 27-28 February 1942, they took part in Operation Bitting, when paratroopers dropped from twelve Whitley aircraft, led by Pickard, attacked a radar station at Bruneval, north of Le Havre, and captured vital parts of the Würzburg radar. They then destroyed the station and returned to Britain on prepared ships, the whole operation lasting 3 hours.
In July 1942 another redeployment followed, this time to 296 Squadron, whose task was to tow gliders. However, he stayed with the unit only until November, when he was sent to 161st Special Squadron, which also performed actions on behalf of the Resistance. Here Broadley received the DFC, DSO and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.
The final move of his career came on 1 December 1943, when he was sent to 21st Squadron, which was armed with the excellent Mosquito. Here again he flew with Pickard, who commanded the entire 140th Wing (3 squadrons) of these aircraft, and he was the chief navigator of the Wing.
They flew together on the last mission, Operation Jericho, on 18 February 1944. After the successful bombing of the prison, Pickard continued to stay over the target and monitor the attack of the other aircraft. At that moment they were surprised by a German fighter Lt. W.Mayer of II./JG 26 and shot down their Mosquito FB Mk.VI HX922 (EG-F).
The local French were the first to reach the crash site, and they rescued the two airmen from the wreckage and removed all their documents and stripped the badges and ribbons of their decorations from their uniforms so that the Germans could not identify them.
Both airmen were subsequently buried in St Pierre Cemetery in Amiens, both have a memorial plaque in the town and a memorial service is held for them in the cathedral on the Sunday nearest to 18 February.


Prameny:
http://www.chrishobbs.com/pickardcharles.htm
Rajlich J.: In the Sky of Proud Albion, Part 1, Ares, Prague 1999