A rare and impressive East Africa 1941 operations immediate D.F.M. group of six awarded to Sergeant J. G. P. Burl, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve: in the unenvious position of being a Lysander air gunner under attack - and having had two or three bullets pass through one of his hands - he managed to force down an Italian CA. 133 and damage a CR. 42, following which his own aircraft crash-landed after serious damage inflicted by Italian fighter ace Maresciallo Soffritti - still under attack, he then proceeded to drag his unconscious pilot clear of the Lysander’s wreckage before leading him through difficult terrain to the safety of a Sudan Defence Force camp

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (776358 Sgt. J. G. P. Gurl, R.A.F.), note surname spelling; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals, generally good very fine (6) £2500-3000

D.F.M. London Gazette 1 April 1941. The original recommendation states:

‘On 2 February 1941, while on reconnaissance patrol off the Scipitale-Tole road in Lysander N. 1206, three CA. 133 aircraft were encountered. After a careful search which failed to locate escorting fighters, Flying Officer Johnson attacked the formation. As a result of this attack, one CA. 133 was forced to land but crashed in doing so. Flying Officer Johnson was then attacked himself by three CR. 42s which had evidently been “sitting in the sun”. In the first attack, Sergeant J. G. P. Burl, the Air Gunner, was wounded in the hand by two or three bullets which passed through it. However, in spite of this, he succeeded in firing off three pans of ammunition and evidently caused some damage to one of the enemy fighters as it was seen to break off its attack with smoke emanating from the engine area. Enemy fire caused the destruction of the flying controls of the Lysander and the pilot was forced to attempt a landing by increasing the engine revolutions and momentarily he succeeded in clearing a ridge ahead of him, although the elevators were ineffective, and throttled back to effect a landing on the other side. By a combination of wing dropping, which could not be corrected as the ailerons were not under control and an obstruction in the landing path, the aircraft crashed on landing and Flying Officer Johnson was rendered unconscious. He was extricated from the wreckage by Sergeant Burl. While this was being done, one CR. 42 continued the attack. The engagement occurred in the hills to the end of Tole and, when Flying Officer Johnson recovered, the crew set off on foot in a northerly direction in order to avoid possible Italian forces withdrawing along the road. The country was difficult and after a few miles, Sergeant Burl found it necessary to give Flying Officer Johnson considerable assistance in addition to carrying a three gallon water tank which he had removed from the aircraft. Later, they met some natives who put them on donkeys and led them into a Sudan Defence Force H.Q. camp where they received first aid attention and they were subsequently sent back by ambulance.’

John Graham Ponsonby Burl was serving in No. 237 Squadron at the time of the above deeds, the subsequent award of his immediate D.F.M. being erroneously announced in the London Gazette under the surname ‘Gurl’. His pilot, Flying Officer Miles Johnson, was awarded the D.F.C.

No. 237 Squadron was formed from No. 1 Squadron, Southern Rhodesia Air Force, in April 1940 and went operational against the Italians in East Africa in June 1940, flying out of Nairobi, Kenya. Thus ensued a busy round of operations against enemy positions, troops and transport, in addition to Army co-operation work alongside such units as the King’s African Rifles, an agenda that gathered pace with the Squadron’s move to the Sudan that September - Burl’s brother, Alan, was also serving as an Air Gunner in 237 and became the Squadron’s first fatality when killed in a combat against CR. 42s on 27 November.

In early 1941, 237 lent valuable support to the ground offensive against the Italians at Kassala and Keren, and it was in a related mission on 2 February that Burl won his immediate D.F.M. - in addition to the remarkable engagement recounted above, it is worth noting from the Squadron’s history that a Daily Express correspondent was on hand to witness Burl and Johnson stagger back into their base: ‘He reported that Burl, though in great pain and suffering from loss of blood, had carried the pilot a considerable distance on his shoulders. It had taken the men two days to reach British lines.’

In March 1941, the Squadron was re-equipped with Gladiators and remained actively engaged until that May, so it is probable that Burl witnessed further action in the intervening period - certainly 12 accompanying original photographs include images of Gladiators, in addition to wrecked Italian aircraft.