Background

Paul was born on July 16, 1918, in Boscombe, United Kingdom. His mother, who was unmarried, died in childbirth, while his father, a member of the Australian armed forces, returned home. His father did not want to raise him, but the midwife who delivered him had taken a liking to him and adopted him.

Education

Paul studied at Surbiton County School in Surbiton on the borders of London and Surrey, United Kingdom, and Kingston Technical College in Kingston, United Kingdom, living near Walton-on-Thames. An indifferent student, Mr. Farnes was working in a factory in London in 1938 when the prospect of war led him one day to a Royal Navy recruitment ship. Soon after, as he recalled, a friend of a friend suggested to him that flying might be more fun than serving on a ship and recommended that he join the R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve. But Mr. Farnes was worried that the circumstances of his birth would be an obstacle to joining the reserve. His adoptive mother wrote a letter on his behalf to the British Air Ministry voicing his concern; she was told that if he passed all the tests, he would be welcomed.

Career

Mr. Farnes was one of the last survivors of the nearly 3,000 airmen called the Few, a sobriquet inspired by Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s tribute to them in August 1940 while the campaign, begun in July, raged on.

After the war began in September 1939, Mr. Farnes went on active duty with the R.A.F., posted first at a base in Filton, near Bristol, and then in France in early 1940.

Mr. Farnes entered the Battle of Britain having destroyed three German Luftwaffe bombers, on his own or with a fellow fighter, during the Allies’ defeat in the Battle of France in May. With France having fallen, Britain had reached a critical point in World War II and now had to defend itself against a relentless aerial assault by the Luftwaffe. A German victory in the air would almost certainly have led to a ground invasion of Britain more than a year before the United States entered the war. But for three months, through the end of October, the R.A.F. battled the Luftwaffe for supremacy in the skies over Britain.

Flying a Hurricane fighter for the 501 Squadron, Mr. Farnes, a sergeant pilot, proved supremely adept at attacking German aircraft. In August alone he shot down three Junkers Ju-87 Stuka bombers, a Dornier 17 light bomber and a Messerschmitt 109E fighter. At the end of September, as Mr. Farnes maneuvered his malfunctioning Hurricane back to the R.A.F.’s Kenley base, he spotted a German bomber flying directly at him at about 1,500 feet. When he landed at Gatwick, the station commander drove him to meet the German pilot, who had survived a crash landing. They did not speak — neither knew the other’s language — but Mr. Farnes's attempt to shake hands with the enemy was rebuffed.

Farnes was commissioned an officer after the Battle of Britain, became an instructor and served in Malta, North Africa, and Iraq. He also commanded two squadrons in Britain. After retiring from the R.A.F. in 1958, Farnes worked in the motor industry, co-ran a builders’ merchants and was a director of the Beach hotel in Worthing.

Achievements

• Paul Farnes was one of roughly 3,000 airmen who fought the German Luftwaffe in the skies above southern England in 1940 when Britain was vulnerable to invasion by Nazi forces. He was officially designated an "ace" because of the number of enemy aircraft he downed. Mr. Farnes received the Distinguished Flying Medal in late October 1940 and was the only member of the Few to attend an annual commemoration of the Battle of Britain in 2017. For his gallant and meritorious action in the face of the enemy, Mr. Farnes was mentioned in dispatches.
  
  

Views

Quotations: "I'm very proud of having fought in the Battle of Britain, it is thought of as being a considerable achievement. Whether we like it or not, and the Navy does not, but if you talk sensibly about it people accept it as an iconic occurrence".

"My father said the midwife was to get rid of me. But this lady took a fancy to me - she was about forty at the time - and she adopted me. I had a wonderful upbringing, just she and I together." (speaking about his adoptive mother)

"I couldn’t have had a more wonderful mother. I was very lucky." (speaking about his adoptive mother)

"I thought, 'Good God,' so I whipped out and had to reposition myself and managed to get round behind him. I gave him a couple of bursts and he crashed at Gatwick just on the point between the airport and the racecourse. It was particularly poignant for me because I landed and the station commander took me over to meet the pilot of the German aircraft. I went to shake hands with him, but he wouldn't shake my hand. One of the gunners was all right, but the other was killed." (speaking about his encounter with a German aircraft)

"Suddenly you would get a scramble and we would be off. Sometimes you would find the enemy; other times it was a wasted trip. It was really a bit chaotic. There were times we know when Hurricanes shot Spitfires down and Spitfires shot Hurricanes down. It was almost inevitable." (speaking about fighter planes known as Hurricanes)

"I don't go along with this business of people saying how brave we were. It's a lot of nonsense. I don't think the average chap was brave at all. He was trained to do a job, and he did the job and he did it well."

"It was very emotional today because, when we walked out of the abbey, the audience applauded and it’s never happened before at the annual service and I was very moved by it." (at the service in the honor of "The Few" at Westminster Abbey)

Personality

Physical Characteristics: Paul Farnes was a tall, distinguished man with striking silver-grey hair that he retained throughout his life.

Connections

In 1948 Paul married Pamela Barton who died in 1989. Five years later Paul married Cynthia. They were married until her death in 2012. Farnes had three children - Jonathan, Linda, and Nicholas who died in 1954.

Spouse:

Cynthia Farnes

ex-spouse:

Pamela Barton

Son:

Jonathan Farnes

Daughter:

Linda Farnes

Son:

Nicholas Farnes