Sutherland, Malcolm A Fighter Pilot's War

Battle of Britain, Far East, D-Day, & Germany. The Remarkable Career of Wing Commander R.e.p. Brooker DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar

Richard Edgar Peter Brooker, always called Peter by his family and friends, left school and joined the RAF in 1937. He was assigned to No. 56 Squadron and served as personal aide to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park for several weeks in 1940 before seeing action during the Battle of Britain. In the spring of 1941, Brooker was promoted to deputy squadron commander and commanded No. 1 Squadron during the Blitz. For this, he was awarded the D.F.C. After being transferred to Singapore at the end of 1941, where he commanded Squadrons No. 232 and 242 in the fight against the Japanese invasion, he was evacuated to Australia in March 1942 on the last flight from Bandung, Java. For his bravery and determination in the face of the difficult situation during the fall of Singapore, Brooker was awarded a bar to the D.F.C. In the spring of 1944, Brooker became Wing Commander Flying of the 123rd Wing of Hawker Typhoons at RAF Thorney Island to prepare for the liberation of Europe. Exhausted after an intense period of operations during and after D-Day, Brooker was relieved of flying duties in July and sent to the Senior Staff Officers' Course at RAF Staff College. At this time, he was awarded the DSO. In January 1945, Brooker became Wing Commander Flying of the 122nd Wing, which operated Hawker Tempest V aircraft, first in Holland and then in Germany. During this period, he was awarded a bar to his DSO - albeit posthumously. Peter took off from Rheine-Hopsten in Germany on the evening of 16 April 1945 and did not return, just twenty-two days before VE Day. His aircraft and remains were never found. However, the answers to the mystery and controversy surrounding Brooker's disappearance are finally revealed in this detailed biography.