1933 Douglas Bader Footage

[SIZE=1.2em]"Rare home movie footage of Douglas Bader, the inspirational Second World War pilot who battled Nazi Germany even after losing his legs, is to go on show to the public for the first time.[/SIZE]
Bader, Britain’s best-known fighter ace, lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident and was invalided out of the Royal Air Force.
When war broke out he persuaded medical officers to let him rejoin and was soon taking to the skies in Spitfire and Hurricane fighters as the RAF defended Britain from Germany’s Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940.
A new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum’s Duxford site, near Cambridge, will show an amateur black and white film shot by his RAF colleague, Group Captain George ‘Sammy’ Sampson, who served as a pilot and instructor at Duxford between 1931 and 1933.
In the film a relaxed Bader is shown participating in a treasure hunt with other officers and their wives.
[SIZE=1.2em]In another sequence he is shown walking out of Duxford’s officers’ mess in civilian clothes and giving a jaunty salute to the camera.[/SIZE]
The images are a far cry from the better known pictures of the rambunctious Bader, who would later retire from the RAF as a Group Captain and shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the war,
He achieved national celebrity after the publication of Paul Brickhill’s book Reach For The Sky, which was turned into a 1956 feature film starring Kenneth More as Bader.
Bader, who died aged 72 in 1982, lost his legs in 1931 and left the air force at Duxford having been told he would never fly again."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292943/Douglas-Bader-Incredible-footage-WW2-fighter-ace-fought-Nazis-false-legs-goes-display.html

 

Thanks for posting that short little bit of history. Inspirational, indeed!

 

I had his train set.....Don't ask....

 

More on D. Bader: When he was shot down by someone from JG 26, he was given the courtesy of the mess by its kommodore, Adolph Galland. It would be hard to say which of the two was more hard-headed, stubborn and outspoken. Naturally, they took an immediate liking to each other, despite the war, and became fast friends afterwards. Galland and Bader often appeared on the same programs together whenever fighter pilot history was the order of the day. One such occaision was the Empire Training Scheme reunion in Canada. Galland was invited but that created some controversy in the minds of some. When Bader's turn to speak came up he mentioned some of this controversy and quite firmly stated that it WAS entirely appropriate for him to attend. "After all", he said, "If it wasn't for him and chaps like him we never would have had an Empire Training Scheme now would we!" It was said that nobody laughted as hard as Galland.

 

Google Books (with preview)
Day of the Flying Fox
Reach for the Sky
Baders War (no preview)

On this day - 1939 - Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader rejoins the R.A.F. eight years after losing both legs in a crash. Bader when on to score 22 (and an uncredited half) victories during World War II.

 

Tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3mdMlC7BAA

 

Douglas Bader Footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF9amKd2gPE

 

Reach for the Sky - Trailer

Based on the novel by Paul Brickhill, this is the remarkable true story of Douglas Bader, a pilot in the RAF who overcomes every obstacle to prove his worth.
He is a young and ambitious pilot who, after a plane crash, is badly injured. Although doctors expect him to die, he survives but loses both his legs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzWUt2xrFBo

 

Reach for the Sky - Bader Rules 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCE9zIOTIQ

Reach for the Sky - Bader Rules 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKW36WUJkWI

 

neat stuff sir, thank you for posting it.