Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard, DSO & Two Bars, DFC (16 May 1915 – 18 February 1944) was an officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He served as a pilot and commander, and was the first officer of the RAF to be awarded the DSO three times during the Second World War.[1] He flew over a hundred sorties and distinguished himself in a variety of operations requiring coolness under fire. Some consider Pickard of the same calibre as Guy Gibson and Leonard Cheshire.
In 1941 he participated in the making of the 1941 wartime film Target for To-night, which made him a public figure in England. He led the squadron of Whitley bombers that carried paratroopers to their drop for the Bruneval raid.
Throughout 1943 he flew the Lysander on nighttime missions into occupied France for the SOE, performing insertions of agents and picking up personnel from very small landing strips. Pickard led a group of Mosquitos on the Amiens raid, in which he was killed in action 18 February 1944.
Contents
Background[edit]
Pickard was born in Handsworth, Sheffield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England and was educated at Framlingham College. Academically he did not excel, but was a skilled equestrian and shot.[3] Pickard was the son of the late P. C. Pickard and Mrs. J. Pickard. He was the youngest of two boys and three girls. His sister was actress Helena Pickard, married to English actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke.[3] She gave birth to the actor Edward Hardwicke, one of the stars of Colditz and later Dr Watson of Sherlock Holmes fame who also served in the RAF as a pilot during his national service.[4]
During the 1930s, Pickard spent some time living on a ranch in Kenya. He enjoyed hiking in the African bush and indulged his passion for riding horses and shooting. At the same time he discovered polo, a sport he quickly became skilled at. His first taste of service came when he enlisted in the King's African Rifles as a reservist. Unfortunately, Pickard contracted malaria but recovered and returned to England.[5]
Service history[edit]
After Pickard failed to qualify as an army officer,[6] he was accepted and received a short service commission into the Royal Air Force in January 1937,[7] which was made Permanent in November.[8] After successfully passing his flight training with an 'above average' rating, he was posted to 214 Squadron, flying the Handley Page Harrow.[9] His skill as a pilot was soon noticed, and he was appointed personal assistant to the air officer commanding a training group at Cranwell in 1938. He participated in fighting over Norway, France and during the Dunkirk evacuation.[3] He married Dorothy at this time, despite her family's misgivings. They had one child together, a son named Nicholas Charles Pickard. [10]
During the Battle of Britain while serving as a flight lieutenant in No. 99 Squadron, Pickard flew the Vickers Wellington in raids on Germany, where he began to work with his longtime navigator Flt Sgt Alan Broadley.[11] Involved with early leaflet dropping sorties during the phony war, Pickard flew alongside Jack Grisman of Great Escape fame.[12] While posted to 99, Pickard also flew six missions with David Holford, who served as co-pilot. He rated Holford as a talented pilot.[13]
On 19 June 1940 while on the return from a raid, he was forced to ditch his flak damaged Wellington in the English Channel. He and his crew survived and were picked up by a lifeboat shortly afterwards.[2] He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in July 1940.
He was promoted to squadron leader with No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in March 1941. Pickard was drafted in to the squadron to improve performance and bring the unit up to operational standards. Preferring an informal approach, he was often seen wearing cowboy boots with his uniform and accompanied by his sheepdog Ming.[14] As an officer, Pickard was mild mannered, approachable and humorous but determined in the face of action, leading him to be popular with his men.[2]
He was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross in 1941.[15]
