How Douglas Bader rose to fame

Douglas Bader, pilot and Blesma Member

Douglas Bader was perhaps one of Britains’ most well-known limbless veterans.

A Blesma Member and Trustee, Douglas joined the Association in an advisory role in 1947. Prior to this, he had already gained a reputation as one of the RAF’s five most deadly pilots, having risen to fame during the Battle of Britain, 80 years ago today…

This is the story of his incredible accomplishments and rise to fame.

In July 1940, Britain's coalition government was worried about public morale, and Luftwaffe warplanes fought for the supremacy that Adolf Hitler needed to get his army across the channel. The nation's fate hung in the balance and the Air Ministry believed uplifting stories could inspire optimism and encourage resistance.

When a 30-year-old Hurricane pilot shot down a Dornier 17 'in a fierce aerial fight', the ministry spotted a tremendous story. This was no ordinary pilot. In 1931, he had lost both his legs when 'coming out of a slow roll over Woodley Aerodrome, Reading, he crashed and for weeks struggled against death in hospital'. His legs were amputated and, although he soon learned to fly again using artificial legs, the RAF rejected his applications to return to active service until the war began.

The hero, of course, was Douglas Robert Stuart Bader. In 1940, his story was little-known beyond RAF Fighter Command. In a meticulous public relations exercise, Air Ministry press officers made him a household name.

Alerted by an Air Ministry briefing on July 14, the mass-market Conservative Daily Mail sent a reporter to interview Bader's mother. She told the journalist: 'I wish I could tell you adequately the story of how he had to face life again without two legs … It was amazing to watch his courage and the gradual return of his sunny disposition.' He had also learned how to dance and drive a car. The Mail portrayed the hero in uniform and smiling for the camera.

Like its conservative rival, the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror displayed its populist flair when it covered the story. Douglas Bader was the ' Greatest hero of them all … Britain's most amazing RAF Fighter Pilot '. The Mirror sent a reporter to meet the hero's mother-in-law.

Mrs Edwards said: 'The more fights he can fly himself into, the better he is pleased.' He was encouraged by the love and support of her daughter Olivia, whom he married in 1938. The Mirror declared that 'the story of his courage thrilled Britain'.

Not only did Douglas Bader have one prosthetic leg, but before the war another pilot called ‘Peggy’ flew despite having a plain wooden peg-leg. He inserted this into a cylindrical cigarette tin screwed to the rudder bar.In August 1941, Bader baled out over German-occupied France and was captured. His fame did not fade when he was taken prisoner.

A prisoner of war, he received a replacement leg made of aluminium, by parachute. He immediately tried to escape, but was caught hiding in a hayloft. After that, the Germans took away one of his legs every night and gave it back to him in the morning to prevent further escape attempts.

Bader ended the war in the infamous Colditz castle where he was held as a member of the group known as the Prominente – famous prisoners the Nazi leadership hoped they might use as bargaining chips. He remained there until April 1945 when the camp was liberated by the First United States Army.

Bader left the Royal Air Force's permanently in February 1946 and resumed his career in the oil industry. In 1956, the life story of Group Captain Douglas Bader was produced as a feature length film and presented on 5th July, the proceeds of the night being shared by Blesma and the RAF Benevolent Fund.

"Reach for the Sky" starring Kenneth Moore, chronicled his life and RAF career to the end of the Second World War. The film was, and remains still, an inspiration and living example to all those who have lost limbs.

Sir Douglas Bader campaigned for the disabled, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1976, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor "for services to disabled people." He continued to fly until ill health forced him to stop in 1979.

Bader died, aged 72, on 5 September 1982, after a heart attack. His legacy lives on through the Douglas Bader Foundation.