W/C John E Holland DFC RAF
Joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve after leaving Whitgift School, Croydon, in 1938, John Holland joined up when war broke out the following year and, like many pilots who were rated “exceptional", spent the first part of his war as a flying instructor. He had first taken to the air as a sergeant pilot, but was subsequently commissioned. Finally, in October 1944 he was able to get on to operations
After the usual training Holland and his crew were posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds on the 3 October 1944 from 11 Base.
The crew consisted of :-
F/L J Holland
Sgt W Paton
F/O V C Love RCAF
W/O W F Lynch RCAF
Sgt A Knox
Sgt K Wheatland
F/S D C Walker RCAF
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Holland flew his first operation as Second Dickie in the crew of F/L A J Henry on the 14 October 1944 to Duisberg in Lancaster PD236.
He then captained his own crew on the following operations :-
30-Oct-44 - Cologne - Point of Aim - Lancaster - LM177 – F/L JE Holland
31-Oct-44 - Cologne - Point of Aim - Lancaster - NF999 - F/L JE Holland
09-Nov-44 - Wanne Eikel - Oil - Lancaster - LM682 - F/L JE Holland
11-Nov-44 - Dortmund - Oil - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
27-Nov-44 - Freiburg - Army support - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
29-Nov-44 - Dortmund - Point of Aim - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
03-Dec-44 - Urft - Dam - Lancaster - NF999 - F/L JE Holland
06-Dec-44 - Leuna - Oil - Lancaster - LM295 - F/L JE Holland
15-Dec-44 – Ludwigshafen/Oppau - Chemical - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
17-Dec-44 – Ulm - Point of Aim - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
22-Dec-44 – Koblenz - Railway yards - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland - Bad weather at base. All aircraft diverted to Langham.
29-Dec-44 - Scholven Buer - Oil - Lancaster - ND861 - F/L JE Holland
14-Jan-45 – Merseburg - Oil - Lancaster - PD272 - F/L JE Holland
16-Jan-45 - Aarhus Bay - Mine laying - Lancaster - PB898 - F/L JE Holland
01-Feb-45 - Ludwigshafen - Point of Aim - Lancaster - PD272 - F/L JE Holland
02-Feb-45 - Wiesbaden - Point of Aim - Lancaster - NG492 - F/L JE Holland
04-Feb-45 - Elbe Estuary - Mine laying - Lancaster - NG492 - F/L JE Holland
07-Feb-45 - Kleve - Army support - Lancaster - PD272 - F/L JE Holland
08-Feb-45 - Politz - Oil - Lancaster - NG492 - F/L JE Holland
14-Feb-45 - Kadet Channel - Mine laying - Lancaster - LM295 - F/L JE Holland
15-Feb-45 - Aarhus Bay - Mine laying - Lancaster - RA528 - F/L JE Holland
02-Mar-45 - Cologne - Army support - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
07-Mar-45 - Dessau - Point of Aim - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
08-Mar-45 - Kassel - Point of Aim - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
11-Mar-45 - Essen - Point of Aim - Lancaster - PD427 - F/L JE Holland
12-Mar-45 - Kattegat - Mine laying - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
15-Mar-45 - Misburg - Oil - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
19-Mar-45 - Hanau - Point of Aim - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
31-Mar-45 - Hamburg - Shipyards - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
04-Apr-45 - Lutzkendorf - Oil - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland
10-Apr-45 - Plauen - Railway yards - Lancaster - ME475 - F/L JE Holland - Diverted to Sandtoft due to poor weather at base.
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On completion of his tour Holland as awarded a DFC.
Post war he enjoyed a long and distinguished RAF career. He was also the recipient of the Air Efficiency Award (AE) Granted a permanent commission in the RAF in 1946, he had two years, 1952-54, in New Zealand as chief flying instructor to the RNZAF’s Central Flying School, before passing through the RAF Staff College, Andover, in 1956.
In 1960 he was given a key operational command as CO of No 16 Squadron based in Germany, operating English Electric Canberra bombers with a nuclear strike
capability, at RAF Laarbruch. He took command of the squadron at the outset of a particularly tense period of the Cold War, with the erection of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban missile crisis following in the succeeding years. Consequently the air forces on both sides of the Iron Curtain were on constant alert. The situation was rendered wryly equivocal for Holland and his group commander when their respective teenage daughters,
Pamela and Sally-Anne, insisted on marching around RAF Laarbruch waving “Ban the Bomb” banners.
Holland retired from the RAF in 1967. Intending to pursue a teaching career he was accepted on a training course at St Luke’s College, Exeter, but on his way to his first day of induction drove past Exeter Airport where he saw a prominent advertisement for pilots. Thoughts of teaching were abandoned and he began flying with Airwork, first at Exeter and then in Saudi Arabia where Airwork trained young pilots. He was appointed chief flying Instructor at the King Faisal Flying Academy. When British Aerospace took over the training contract he worked with it on the planning side at Warton in Lancashire, finally retiring in 1985.
His wife Betty died in 2003 and he is survived by their younger daughter Pamela. Their other daughter Carolyn died of cancer in 1977.
Wing Commander John Holland DFC wartime bomber pilot was born on 18 April 1920. He died on 15 May 2010.
Compiled by David Fell from a newspaper article published in 2010
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