A Fighter Pilot’s War: Battle of Britain, Far East, D-Day, & Germany - The Remarkable Career of Wing Commander R.E.P. Brooker DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar

Richard Edgar Peter Brooker, always known as Peter to his family and friends, left school and joined the RAF in 1937.He was posted to 56 Squadron and in 1940 he served for several weeks as personal assistant to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, before flying throughout the height of the Battle of Britain.In the spring of 1941, promoted to Acting Squadron Leader, Brooker commanded No.1 Squadron during the Blitz; for this he was awarded the D.F.C. After being posted to Singapore late in 1941, where he led Nos. 232 and 242 squadrons fighting the Japanese invasion, he was evacuated on the last flight out of Bandoeng, Java, to Australia in March 1942.For his gallantry, determination in the face of heavy odds during the fall of Singapore, Brooker was awarded a Bar to the D.F.C. In the spring of 1944, Brooker became Wing Commander Flying of 123 Wing of Hawker Typhoons at RAF Thorney Island, in preparation for the liberation of Europe.Exhausted after an intensive spell of operational flying during