Caesar Hull

Caesar Barrand Hull, DFC (26 February 1914 7

September 1940) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) ying
ace during the Second World War, noted especially for
his part in the ghting for Narvik during the Norwegian
Campaign in 1940, and for being one of "The Few"
the Allied pilots of the Battle of Britain, in which he was
shot down and killed. From a farming family, Hulls early
years were spent in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa
and Swaziland. He boxed for South Africa at the 1934
Empire Games. After being turned down by the South
African Air Force because he did not speak Afrikaans,
he joined the RAF and, on becoming a pilot ocer in
August 1936, mustered into No. 43 Squadron at RAF
Tangmere in Sussex.

South Africas boxing team at the 1934 Empire Games in

London.[2]
Hull attempted to join the South African Air Force in
1935, but was turned down because he did not speak
Afrikaans.[2] He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) instead, enlisting in England in September 1935.[1] Completing the pilots course on 3 August 1936 with the rank
of pilot ocer, he joined No. 43 Squadron at RAF Tangmere in Sussex ve days later.[3]
Much of Hulls early air force career was dedicated to
aerobatics. He and Peter Prosser Hanks perfected a
routine in which they would change places in a two-seater
Hawker Audax in mid-air. Along with Peter Townsend
(who joined the squadron at the same time as Hull) and
Sergeant Frank Carey, they formed an aerobatic ight
that performed stunts such as loops, barrel rolls and stall
turns. Piloting a Hawker Fury, Hull ew the individual
aerobatics at the air show at Hendon in 1937 honouring
the coronation of King George VI.[2][3]

A skilful pilot, Hull dedicated much of his pre-war service to aerobatics, ying Hawker Audaxes, Furies and
Hurricanes. He reacted to the outbreak of war with enthusiasm and achieved No. 43 Squadrons rst victory of
the conict in late January 1940. Reassigned to Norway
in May 1940 to command a ight of Gloster Gladiator biplanes belonging to No. 263 Squadron, he downed four
German aircraft in an hour over the Bod area southwest of Narvik on 26 May, a feat that earned him the
Distinguished Flying Cross. He was shot down the next
day, and invalided back to England. Hull returned to action at the end of August, when he was made commander
of No. 43 Squadron with the rank of squadron leader. A
week later, he died in a dogght over south London.

Hull was promoted to ying ocer on 16 April 1938.[4]

As war loomed, the squadron began to prepare for combat
in late 1938, and in December that year was re-equipped
with Hawker Hurricane Mk Is.[5] Hull reacted to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 with
great excitement; according to Hector Bolitho, No. 43
Squadrons intelligence ocer, the Rhodesian leapt from
one foot to the other in the ocers mess, repeating the
words wizard, wizard.[6]

With eight conrmed aerial victories during the war, including ve over Norway, Hull was the RAFs rst Gladiator ace and the most successful RAF pilot of the Norwegian Campaign. He was buried among fellow ghter 2 Air war in Europe
pilots at Tangmere, and a monument to his memory was
erected near his birthplace in Southern Rhodesia. This
remained until 2004, when the plaque was transported to 2.1 Early war
England and donated to the Tangmere Military Aviation
Museum. Other memorials to Hull were built in Bod in In November 1939, No. 43 Squadron moved to RAF
Acklington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ying Hawker
1977 and Purley, where his aircraft crashed, in 2013.
Hurricane Mk Is.[7][8] Amid severe weather conditions,
Hull scored the squadrons rst victory of the war on
30 January 1940, when he shot down a Heinkel He 111
1 Early life
bomber of the Luftwae near the island of Coquet.[9]
On 26 February the squadron was transferred to RAF
Caesar Barrand Hull was born on 26 February 1914 at Wick in northern Scotland to help protect the Home Fleet
Leachdale Farm, a property near Shangani in Southern at Scapa Flow.[10] Hull, Carey and three others together
Rhodesia. His childhood years were divided between downed another He 111 on 28 March 1940.[11] On 10
Rhodesia and South Africa, and in his early teens the fam- April 1940, Hull took part in the destruction of a reily moved to Swaziland. He was educated at home until connaissance He 111. The aircraft had been sent out
1926, when he began to board at St. Johns College in in advance of a major raid launched by He 111s from
Johannesburg. A champion boxer, he was a member of Kampfgeschwader 26 and Kampfgruppe 100, aimed at
1

AIR WAR IN EUROPE

covering the German invasion of Norway.[12]

ing 70 dogghts.[16]

When No. 43 Squadron returned to its home base at

Tangmere in May 1940, some of its leading pilots were
reassigned to other units: among these were Townsend,
who was assigned to No. 85 Squadron RAF as its
commanding ocer, and Hull, who was posted to No.
263 Squadron to command a ight of Gloster Gladiator biplanes during the units second committal to the
Norwegian Campaign.[13]

Hull and two other pilots, South African Pilot Ocer

Jack Falkson and Naval Lieutenant Tony Lydekker, volunteered to be detached to an improvised airstrip at Bod,
a port about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-west of Narvik,
on 26 May 1940 to cover Allied troops who were retreating north for evacuation under Operation Alphabet. Arriving to nd the aireld extremely muddy, the pilots had
great diculty moving their aircraft to drier ground to refuel from four-gallon (18-l) tin cans. A He 111 was spotted overhead while this was in progress, prompting the
three pilots to scramble having only partially refuelled.
Falksons plane crashed after mud clung to its wheels, and
while Lydekker took o successfully, he had so little fuel
that Hull almost immediately ordered him to land to add
more.[16][17]

2.2

Norway

Bardufoss
Narvik
Gloster Gladiator, a type own by Hull over northern Norway

Bod
The Rhodesian pursued the He 111 over the Saltdal valHull supported the Allied troops ghting at Narvik in ley and, with three attacks from astern, set the bomber
late May 1940, during Operation Alphabet.
ablaze, forcing it to crash. Hull then downed a Junkers Ju
52 transport plane and, after unsuccessfully chasing anNo. 263 Squadron was deployed to the area around other He 111, destroyed two more Ju 52s. The transports
Narvik, a strategically valuable port city in northern Nor- had been coming to the aid of the hard-pressed German
way then under German control, but ercely contested by forces ghting around Narvik; one was loaded with supthe Norwegians and Allies. Crossing the Norwegian Sea plies, while the other two were carrying Fallschirmjger
aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Furious, the pilots took paratroops. One of the latter aircraft successfully landed
o on 21 May while at sea, in groups of three each led in German-held territory before burning out, allowing the
by a Fairey Swordsh of the Fleet Air Arm, and encoun- crew and paratroopers aboard to exit safely, but the sectered thick mist around the island of Senja; the Sword- ond spiralled out of control and crashed, killing eight Gersh and two Gladiators from one of the groups crashed man paratroopers. Hull then attacked another He 111,
into a mountain. Hull led the rst four aircraft through which soon retreated, giving o smoke. Having used up
and landed safely at Bardufoss aireld, about 80 kilo- all his ammunition, Hull returned to Bod. In the space of
metres (50 mi) north-east of Narvik, at 04:20. A fur- about an hour, in a technologically-outdated aircraft and
had destroyed four German planes
ther 12 Gladiators followed four hours later. Fourteen without assistance, he[2][17]
and
damaged
a
fth.
Gladiators were operational and began ying patrols from
Bardufoss on 22 May, carrying out 30 sorties on the
rst day. Hull and two other pilots together downed a
He 111 over Salangen on 24 May 1940, killing two of
the ve German crew; the other three were captured by
Norwegian troops after making an emergency landing at
Fjordbotneidet.[14][15] In all, during its two weeks of operations in northern Norway, No. 263 Squadron was to
claim 26 conrmed kills and nine probable victories dur-

Hull, Falkson and Lydekker spent the night of 26/27

May 1940 patrolling the area around Rognan, about 20
kilometres (12 mi) inland from Bod.[n 1] After driving German bombers away from British and Norwegian
forces ghting at Pothus south of Rognan, the Gladiators
strafed German ground forces. Around 08:00 on 27 May,
Bod was attacked by 11 Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers
from I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1Dive Bomber

3
Wing 1) and three Messerschmitt Bf 110 ghters attached
to I./Zerstrergeschwader 76 (ZG 76Destroyer Wing
76).[19] Lydekker claimed one of the Stukas, but was ultimately forced to limp north to Bardufoss to land, his
Gladiator heavily damaged.[18][20] Having initially been
caught on the ground by the German attack, Hull got his
ghter airborne during a pause in the raid. After engaging
the German aircraft and shooting down Feldwebel Kurt
Zubes Stuka, which fell into the sea, Hull was overcome
by one of the Bf 110s, piloted by Oberleutnant Helmut
Lent, and forced to crash near the Bod aireld.[20][21]
Wounded in the head and the knee,[22] he was initially
treated at Bod Hospital before being evacuated back to
Britain for further treatment on a Sunderland ying boat
via Harstad.[23] Hulls kills during the Norwegian Campaign made him the RAFs rst Gloster Gladiator ace,
as well as the most successful RAF ghter pilot of the
campaign.[24] On 17 June, while convalescing, he was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions
in Norway.[25]

2.3

Battle of Britain

cisive aerial victory over coastal Sussex against a large

group of Bf 110s from ZGs 2 and 76. Flight Lieutenant Thomas Dalton-Morgan destroyed a Bf 110 north
of Worthing and chased another until it crashed near
Shoreham-by-Sea, while Sergeant Jereys shot down another Bf 110 in a eld. Pilot Ocer A E A van den Hove
d'Ertsenrijck, from Belgium, pursued a fourth back out to
sea and sent it crashing into the English Channel, but was
hit himself and compelled to make an emergency landing
at RAF Ford. Hull and Flight Ocer Hamilton Upton
together seriously damaged two more Bf 110s.[28]
Around 16:00 on 7 September 1940, nine Hurricanes of
No. 43 Squadron scrambled to intercept a large formation of German aircraft over Kent on their way to London. Hull led six of the aircraft towards the German
bombers while Flight Lieutenant John Killy Kilmartin,
from Ireland, headed a section of three tasked with countering the ghter escort.[29] Hull took his aircraft above
the bombers, then dived towards them, telling his pilots
to smash them up.[2] A very fast engagement followed
in which Hull was killed while diving to the aid of Flight
Lieutenant Dick Reynell, an Australian pilot who had
come under heavy attack. Hull was last seen ring at a
Dornier Do 17,[29] and was shot down by a Bf 109.[n 3]
Reynell was also killed.[29] The Rhodesian aces body was
discovered largely burnt inside the shell of his Hurricane,
which had crashed in the grounds of Purley Boys High
School in Purley, Surrey.[31] He was 26 years old.[29]

The loss of Hull and Reynell, two of the squadrons most

popular pilots, aected morale deeply. Kilmartin, arriving back at Tangmere on the evening of 7 September, simply muttered My God, My God.[29] DaltonMorgan took over command of the squadron.[29] Hulls
remains were recovered and returned to Tangmere, where
he was buried among fellow ghter pilots at St Andrews
Church.[2] His nal conrmed record for the war was four
Hawker Hurricane Mk I, similar to that own by Hull as com- German aircraft destroyed, two damaged and four shared
destroyed (counted at half a victory each); also noted
mander of No. 43 Squadron during the Battle of Britain
were one unconrmed destroyed, two probably destroyed
[32]
Hull was declared t to return to operational duty after and one shared probable.
about two months rest and recuperation in Guildford,[22]
and on 31 August 1940 he was appointed commanding
ocer of his former unit, No. 43 Squadron, replacing
Squadron Leader John Tubby Badger, who had been 3 Memorials
shot down and grievously wounded the previous day. The
unit was still based at Tangmere, ying Hurricanes, and After Hulls death, the people of Shangani organised
was by now ghting in the Battle of Britain, the Al- the construction of a memorial in his honoura granite
lied participants of which would later be dubbed "The plinth to which a brass plaque was axed commemoratFew". Concurrently promoted to squadron leader, Hull ing the pilots service and bravery. This monument was
expressed disbelief at his sudden elevation and as if to completed before the end of the war and erected alongemphasise his surprise, Andy Saunders records, suxed side the main road between Bulawayo and Gwelo, near
his rst description of himself on paper as Commanding the bridge over the Shangani River.[2] A memorial to the
actions of Hull, Falkson and Lydekker at Bod was built
No. 43 Sqn with four exclamation marks.[26]
The rst engagement of Hulls command, on 2 Septem- at the towns airport three decades later, and inaugurated
of Deber, resulted in three of the squadrons Hurricanes being on 17 June 1977 with the Norwegian Minister
[2]
Rolf
Arthur
Hansen,
in
attendance.
fence,
[n 2]
shot down in return for two Messerschmitt Bf 109s.
On 4 September, Hull led a group of Hurricanes in a de- After Rhodesias reconstitution as Zimbabwe in 1980,

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Fellow No. 263 Squadron ight commander Tom

Rowland[34]
Hull was remembered by his comrades as an exceptional
pilot and an aable, jovial personality. Jimmy Beedle, in
his 1966 history of No. 43 Squadron, called Hull one of
its all-time great characters, citing him as a major factor
in the squadrons high standard of ying and ... outstanding squadron spirit.[3] John Simpson, who joined the unit
as a pilot ocer two months after Hull, recalled nding a
condence when ying with Caesar that was wholly lacking otherwise.[3] I have never seen anyone who could
throw a ghter about with so much condence as old Caesar, said another pilot, quoted by Beedle. Nobody gave
me so much condence to have a lead from, nobody gave
me so much exhilaration and fun. Following Caesar you
found yourself getting more out of your machine than you
had ever imagined was possible, doing things that done by
yourself would have made your hair stand on end.[3]
All the superlatives have already been written about Caesar, Beedle wrote. Caesar Barrand Hull, of the crinkly
hair and the croaky voice, the laughing warrior whose
idea of a lark was to change seats in the air ... who had a
phobia about worms or slugs, who would look under the
bed 'in case there are any feenies about', then kneel beside it and say his prayers.[3] Bolitho took a similar line
in his 1943 book Combat Report, attesting to Hulls bubbling, unquenchable gaiety. According to Bolitho, Hull
The memorial to Hull, Falkson and Lydekker in Bod, next to the was possessed of a magic power of creating happiness in
Norwegian Aviation Museum
others; making them belittle their cares, of inspiring them
with condence, not simply in him but in themselves. Of
imbuing them with his own abounding love of life. Where
Robert Mugabe's government disowned many old monu- Caesar was, laughter was.[35]
ments making reference to the fallen of the World Wars,
including the Hull memorial at Shangani. The Hull family resolved in 2003 to take the plaque down and donate it
5 Notes and references
to the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, an idea that
the museum welcomed. The plaque was removed, own
to England free of charge by MK Airlinesa freight Footnotes
carrier owned by a former Rhodesian Air Force pilot,
Mike Krugerand ceremonially delivered to the Tang- [1] They shared two Gladiators as Falksons could not y following his earlier crash.[18]
mere museum curator on 17 April 2004 by Hulls sister,
[2]
Wendy Bryan.
A new monument to Hull was erected at Coulsdon Sixth
Form College, which today occupies the Purley High
School site, in 2013. Depicting an aeroplane and a dove
intertwined, it was formally dedicated on 11 November
that year, Remembrance Day, with Bryan present.[33]

Character and reputation

He was the best chap I have ever metan extraordinarily

skilful pilot and a lively character.

[2] Pilot Ocer Tony Woods-Scawen parachuted from his

aming Hurricane too low and was killed. The other two
RAF pilots, New Zealand Flight Ocer Malcolm Crackers Carswell and Belgian Pilot Ocer D A R G le Roy
du Vivier, survived.[27]

[3] It is impossible to know which German unit the Bf 109

in question came from as seven Jagdgeschwader (ghter
wings) were operating in the raid.[30]

References
[1] Salt 2001, p. 254.
[2] Musgrave 2004.
[3] Beedle 2011, p. 61.

[4] The London Gazette: no. 34509. pp. 30253025. 10 May

1938. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
[5] Beedle 2011, pp. 6466.

Musgrave, Bill (2004). Squadron Leader Caesar

B Hull, DFC (PDF). Battle of Britain Remembered
(Fairlight, East Sussex: The Battle of Britain Historical Society). Retrieved 16 January 2014.

[6] Beedle 2011, p. 67.

[7] Saunders 2003, p. 12.
[8] Beedle 2011, pp. 6970.
[9] Saunders 2003, p. 17.
[10] Beedle 2011, p. 73.
[11] Shores, Foreman & Ehrengardt 1992, p. 187.
[12] Holmes 1998, pp. 2224.
[13] Beedle 2011, p. 74.
[14] Haarr 2010, pp. 197262.
[15] Hafsten et al. 2005, pp. 108112.
[16] Haarr 2010, p. 261.
[17] Hafsten et al. 2005, pp. 112113.
[18] Haarr 2010, pp. 290292.
[19] Shores, Foreman & Ehrengardt 1992, p. 332.
[20] Weal 1997, p. 38.
[21] Goss 2011, p. 5.
[22] Barrymaine 1958, p. 38.
[23] Haarr 2010, p. 292.
[24] Thomas 2002, pp. 29, 32.
[25] The London Gazette: no. 34878. pp. 37833784. 21
June 1940. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
[26] Saunders 2003, pp. 4243.
[27] Saunders 2003, pp. 4345.
[28] Saunders 2003, p. 45.
[29] Saunders 2003, pp. 4647.
[30] Mason 1969, pp. 359, 361, 365.
[31] De la Bdoyre 2000, pp. 1314.
[32] Saunders 2003, p. 122.
[33] Baynes 2013.
[34] Thomas 2002, pp. 26, 29.
[35] Beedle 2011, p. 61, quoting Bolitho 1943.

Newspaper and journal articles

Baynes, Chris (12 November 2013). Fighter pilot shot down over Coulsdon school honoured in
memorial. Your Local Guardian (Weybridge, Surrey: Newsquest). Retrieved 16 January 2014.

Bibliography
Barrymaine, Norman (1958). The Peter Townsend
Story. New York: E P Dutton. OCLC 1343117.
Beedle, Jimmy (2011) [1966]. The Fighting Cocks:
43 (Fighter) Squadron (Third ed.). Barnsley: Pen
and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84884-385-1.
Bolitho, Hector (1943). Combat Report: The Story
of a Fighter Pilot. London: B T Batsford. OCLC
1232515.
De la Bdoyre, Guy (2000). Battles over Britain:
the archaeology of the air war. London: NPI Media
Group. ISBN 978-0-7524-1485-0.
Goss, Chris (2011) [2000]. Luftwae Fighters and
Bombers: The Battle of Britain. Mechanicsburg,
Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-81170749-7.
Haarr, Geirr H (2010). The Battle for Norway
AprilJune 1940. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.
ISBN 978-1-84832-057-4.
Hafsten, Bjrn; Larsstuvold, Ulf; Olsen, Bjrn;
Stenersen, Sten (2005). Flyalarm luftkrigen over
Norge 19391945 (in Norwegian) (Second, revised
ed.). Oslo: Sem og Stenersen AS. ISBN 82-7046074-5.
Holmes, Tony (1998). Hurricane Aces 193940.
Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 18 (First ed.). Oxford:
Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-597-7.
Mason, Francis (1969). Battle over Britain. London:
McWhirter Twins. ISBN 978-0-901928-00-9.
Salt, Beryl (2001). A Pride of Eagles: The Denitive History of the Rhodesian Air Force, 19201980.
Weltevredenpark, South Africa: Covos Day Books.
ISBN 978-0-620-23759-8.
Saunders, Andy (2003). No 43 'Fighting Cocks
Squadron. Aviation Elite Units 9 (First ed.). Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-4399.
Shores, Christopher; Foreman, John; Ehrengardt,
Chris (1992). Fledgling Eagles (First ed.). London:
Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-42-7.
Thomas, Andrew (2002). Gloster Gladiator Aces.
Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 44 (First ed.). Oxford:
Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-289-X.

5
Weal, John (1997). Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader
193741. Osprey Combat Aircraft 1 (First ed.).
Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176439-9.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Caesar Hull Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Hull?oldid=680273596 Contributors: MistToys, MONGO, MarnetteD,

Manxruler, Marcus Cyron, Gadget850, Crisco 1492, Nikkimaria, NeilN, Ian Rose, Colonies Chris, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, MilborneOne,
Mr Stephen, Richard Keatinge, Cydebot, Dalliance, Connormah, Dapi89, Gbawden, MenoBot, Avoran, Brianboulton, Dank, Lamberhurst,
Legobot, Kalamkaar, Ruby2010, Cliftonian, Zawed, ClueBot NG, TFA Protector Bot, 1982vdven, Landingdude13, FACBot, JJMC89,
SmartyBootz, Mlgkid99, Jaredstevenson1234 and Anonymous: 7

6.2

Images

File:British_fighter_pilot_memorial_in_Bod,_Norway.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/British_

fighter_pilot_memorial_in_Bod%C3%B8%2C_Norway.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Manxruler
File:Caesar_Hull_1940.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Caesar_Hull_1940.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Cropped from File:Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. CH89.jpg, part of the Air Ministry Second World
War Ocial Collection Original artist: Daventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force ocial photographer
File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Gloster_Gladiator_I_K7985_(G-AMRK)_(6740967969).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/
Gloster_Gladiator_I_K7985_%28G-AMRK%29_%286740967969%29.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: Gloster Gladiator I
'K7985' (G-AMRK) Original artist: Alan Wilson
File:Hurricane_mk1_r4118_fairford_arp.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Hurricane_mk1_
r4118_fairford_arp.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Arpingstone
File:Norway_location_map.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Norway_location_map.svg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: own work, using
United States National Imagery and Mapping Agency data
World Data Base II data
Original artist: NordNordWest
File:Steel_pog.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Steel_pog.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Red_pog.svg Original artist:
derivative work: Mareklug <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Mareklug' title='User talk:Mareklug'>talk </a>

6.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0