George Melville-Jackson

Who was George Melville-Jackson?

Wing Commander George Holmes Melville-Jackson DFC was a Royal Air Force flying ace who fought in the Battle of Britain.

Born in Weston-super-Mare and educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, Melville-Jackson joined the RAFVR in June 1938 to undertake pilot training. In July 1940 he was posted to No. 236 Squadron RAF and flew Bristol Blenheims on convoy patrols and escort sorties over the Channel and Western Approaches. With No. 236 squadron throughout the Battle of Britain.

Melville-Jackson flew Bristol Beaufighters with No. 248 Squadron RAF, joining in July 1942. The squadron was assigned to Coastal Command to provide long-range fighter support to the anti-submarine aircraft operating against U-boats in the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay.

In August 1942, Melville-Jackson flew in support of Operation Pedestal, the crucial convoy mission that resupplied the island of Malta in 1942.

In April 1943 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. Melville-Jackson was released from the RAF in 1946. The same year he married Elizabeth Whyte; they later had two children a son, who went on to be a RAF pilot, and a daughter.