Maurice Mounsdon
Flight Lieutenant Maurice Hewlett Mounsdon (11 February 1918 – 6 December 2019) was a British pilot who flew with the Royal Air Force during World War II. Service in the RAF Maurice "Mark" Mounsdon started training on 24 August 1939 and joined 56 Squadron on 3 June 1940 during the Battle of Britain. Flying a Hurricane, he shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 17 bomber on 3 July and three weeks later he probably destroyed a Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka". As the battle intensified in mid-August he destroyed two Messerschmitt fighters and a probable third. He shot down or damaged about seven German aircraft before he was shot down by German fighters over Colchester on 31 August 1940. He survived but was badly burned and so spent nine months in hospitals including Black Notley and the Queen Victoria Hospital – famous for its specialist work on burns and the Guinea Pig Club. While recovering, he served at the HQ at RAF North Weald. After the reconstructive surgery was complete, he was still rated below A1B "fit full flying" and so was posted as an instructor at RAF Bottisham and then as a flight commander at RAF Booker. When