Walter Beaumont

Walter Beaumont, DFC (21 March 1914 – 23 September 1940) was a British flying ace who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.

He flew Supermarine Spitfire fighters during the Battle of Britain, claiming several aerial victories over the English Channel and along England's southern coast.

Walter Beaumont, the son of a railway worker and his wife, was born on 21 March 1914 at Dewsbury, in Yorkshire, the United Kingdom.

[2] On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Beaumont was called up for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and commenced further training.

10 Group's sector, to join in Fighter Command's efforts to intercept incoming Luftwaffe raids over the English Channel.

[4][5] On 8 August Beaumont's Spitfire was damaged in an engagement with Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters that were escorting a group of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers attacking a convoy as it passed the Isle of Wight.

[8] It was then directed eastward of the Isle of Wight, and Beaumont caught and destroyed a pair of Ju 87s that had just attacked Thorney Island, as well as sharing in the shooting down of a Bf 109.

He shared in the destruction of a Heinkel He 111 medium bomber several miles to the southwest of Portland on 27 August, but in a subsequent engagement the same day, this time with a Ju 88, his Spitfire was damaged by return gunfire.

The citation, which noted that he had been reported missing, was published in The London Gazette and read: This officer has displayed great skill and determination in air combat against the enemy and has destroyed six of their aircraft.With no known grave, Beaumont is commemorated on the Runneymeade Memorial at Englefield Green.