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Arise to Conquer: Life of a World War Two Fighter Pilot
“Life and death in a fighter squadron of the R.A.F.” Robert Gale Woolbert, Foreign Affairs At the outbreak of the Second World War Ian Gleed was twenty-three years old. Yet despite his youth he was already one of the R.A.F.’s most experienced fliers and was immediately given the position of flight commander in 266 Squadron. Yet, the life of an R.A.F. pilot in the initial months of the war, with experience or not, was no easy feat. Just four months after war had broken out his Spitfire broke up while flying meaning that he was hurtling towards the earth from 18000ft without a plane. Fortunately, he still had his parachute, but it was a difficult start to his wartime career. After recovering from his injuries he was transferred to 87 Squadron, based in France, and there shot down two Me-110, one definite Bf 109, another probably Bf 109, two Do 17 bombers, and a shared He 111 bomber. This record set in two days made him the fastest R.A.F. pilot to have become an ace. Gleed’s book Arise to Conquer records his fascinating life through the course of World War Two as fights through the course of the Battle of Britain. “a candid, simply spoken record of a job done and likeable in the telling.” Kirkus Review Wing Commander Ian Gleed DSO, DFC, was a R.A.F. fighter pilot ace who shot down thirteen enemy planes through the course of his service in World War Two. He served in both the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. Tragically he lost his life at the age of twenty-six in Tunisia in 1943. His book Arise to Conquer was first published in 1942.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2007
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77 people want to read
About the author
Ian Gleed
2 books3 followersIan Richard Gleed had his first flight at Hatfield (a joyride with the London Aeroplane Club) while still at school. He later became a member of the London Aeroplane Club (thought to have joined in April 1935). He gained his licence on 12 July 1935 (No.12976) at Hatfield. However, one biographer states he qualified on 31 July 1936 (No. 8003) – after he joined the RAF in March 1936 (possibly this refers to a B-licence).
He was given the nickname 'Widge' – short for 'Wizard Midget', apparently due to his tendency to call things 'Wizard' (like people today describe things as 'Wicked'), and his short stature (he was 5 feet 6 inches / 1.65m). He mentions his RAF nickname in his part-fiction, part-autobiographical book but claimed not to know how he got it (although that may be irony as his commanding officer calls him 'Widget' on the same page).
Already experienced in flying the Hawker Hurricane, Gleed first flew the Supermarine Spitfire while on the strength of 266 Squadron. However, testing one of their new Spitfires (N3120) on 18 February 1940 nearly ended his career before it had really begun. A sudden, unexplained structural failure at 18,000ft found him falling through the air without an aeroplane (he had either been flung out or it had broken up around him). Fortunately, he still had his parachute. Even so, his injuries meant a 3-week stay in hospital and a fight to regain his flying status.
On 17 May 1940 he arrived at 87 Squadron (which operated Hurricanes and had first deployed to France on 9 September 1939) as a replacement. He possibly became the RAF's fastest ace: destroying two Bf110C's on 18 May, and two Do17z's and a Bf109E the next day (he also shared in the destruction of a He111, and claimed another Bf109E as a probable).
He survived the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. On Christmas Eve 1940 he became Squadron Leader and commanding officer of 87 Squadron.
In November 1941 he was promoted to Wing Commander and took charge of the Ibsley Wing making fighter sweeps across the Channel (a fighter wing was made up of three or more squadrons. The Ibsley Wing consisted of 118, 234 and 501 Squadrons). As a wing leader he was entitled to use personal markings instead of the usual squadron codes (usually a set of three letters: two letters as the squadron identifier and the last denoted the aircraft), he used his initials, 'IR-G', on his personal Spitfire.
Among the numerous missions he flew one was leading his wing as fighter escorts for bombers on Operation Veracity I and II (attacks on the German Navy in the port of Brest), during which a bomber scored a hit on the battleship Scharnhorst. An incident which triggered 'The Channel Dash' by three German capital ships (Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen). He also led his wing during Operation Fuller – the RAF's attempt to stop them.
Gleed had met a number of literary characters through his love for sailing before the war (e.g. W Somerset Maugham, Beverley Nichols and Hector Bolitho). Their friendship is thought to have influenced Gleed to try his hand at writing. His book, "Arise to Conquer," which describes life as a fighter pilot was published in May 1942 (he was working on a second book, which contains the now poignant sentence: "It's strange how confident I feel that I shall survive this war.").
Gleed was rested from combat operations and posted to Fighter Command headquarters in July 1942.
He could have sat the rest of the war out doing desk jobs but he volunteered to lead a fighter wing in the Middle East. He took command of 244 Wing, Desert Air Force at the beginning of 1943. Sadly, this proved to be Gleed's last command, for he was killed in action over Tunisia on April 16, 1943.
He was given the nickname 'Widge' – short for 'Wizard Midget', apparently due to his tendency to call things 'Wizard' (like people today describe things as 'Wicked'), and his short stature (he was 5 feet 6 inches / 1.65m). He mentions his RAF nickname in his part-fiction, part-autobiographical book but claimed not to know how he got it (although that may be irony as his commanding officer calls him 'Widget' on the same page).
Already experienced in flying the Hawker Hurricane, Gleed first flew the Supermarine Spitfire while on the strength of 266 Squadron. However, testing one of their new Spitfires (N3120) on 18 February 1940 nearly ended his career before it had really begun. A sudden, unexplained structural failure at 18,000ft found him falling through the air without an aeroplane (he had either been flung out or it had broken up around him). Fortunately, he still had his parachute. Even so, his injuries meant a 3-week stay in hospital and a fight to regain his flying status.
On 17 May 1940 he arrived at 87 Squadron (which operated Hurricanes and had first deployed to France on 9 September 1939) as a replacement. He possibly became the RAF's fastest ace: destroying two Bf110C's on 18 May, and two Do17z's and a Bf109E the next day (he also shared in the destruction of a He111, and claimed another Bf109E as a probable).
He survived the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. On Christmas Eve 1940 he became Squadron Leader and commanding officer of 87 Squadron.
In November 1941 he was promoted to Wing Commander and took charge of the Ibsley Wing making fighter sweeps across the Channel (a fighter wing was made up of three or more squadrons. The Ibsley Wing consisted of 118, 234 and 501 Squadrons). As a wing leader he was entitled to use personal markings instead of the usual squadron codes (usually a set of three letters: two letters as the squadron identifier and the last denoted the aircraft), he used his initials, 'IR-G', on his personal Spitfire.
Among the numerous missions he flew one was leading his wing as fighter escorts for bombers on Operation Veracity I and II (attacks on the German Navy in the port of Brest), during which a bomber scored a hit on the battleship Scharnhorst. An incident which triggered 'The Channel Dash' by three German capital ships (Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen). He also led his wing during Operation Fuller – the RAF's attempt to stop them.
Gleed had met a number of literary characters through his love for sailing before the war (e.g. W Somerset Maugham, Beverley Nichols and Hector Bolitho). Their friendship is thought to have influenced Gleed to try his hand at writing. His book, "Arise to Conquer," which describes life as a fighter pilot was published in May 1942 (he was working on a second book, which contains the now poignant sentence: "It's strange how confident I feel that I shall survive this war.").
Gleed was rested from combat operations and posted to Fighter Command headquarters in July 1942.
He could have sat the rest of the war out doing desk jobs but he volunteered to lead a fighter wing in the Middle East. He took command of 244 Wing, Desert Air Force at the beginning of 1943. Sadly, this proved to be Gleed's last command, for he was killed in action over Tunisia on April 16, 1943.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2016
Stirring account of a British RAF airman during the Battle of Britain and a very admirable hero as well.
March 1, 2014
"ARISE TO CONQUER" was one of those books that was published in the UK during the Second World War by a select group of airmen so as to give people on the home front a palpable sense of what frontline combat was like. In this case, the reader is given a glimpse into the life of its author, Ian Gleed. Gleed, who had joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) prewar, describes life in a fighter squadron in the last hours of peace. Then, upon the declaration of war in September 1939, his squadron is tasked with flying coastal patrols in their Hawker Hurricane fighters, protecting merchant shipping from Luftwaffe attack. Very little action takes place as autumn gives way to winter. Gleed is transferred to another squadron as a flight leader, this time flying Spitfires.
But this was not to be a long stay for Gleed. While flying a Spitfire one day on a high altitude test, the aircraft experiences significant structural collapse. How Gleed managed to extricate himself from the cockpit and bail out is nothing short of miraculous. He's wounded and placed in hospital for 3 weeks.
Gleed, after a few days of enforced rest, becomes impatient and clamors to be placed back on flying status. Eventually, his persistence pays off and he's posted to a Hurricane squadron in France. He arrives (via ship and train) at No. 87 Squadron shortly after the beginning of the German blitzkrieg in the West. His words convey the urgency, the terror and despair at that stage of the war.
"... Around me a gigantic dog-fight was taking place; it was impossible to see which was friend or foe until you were close enough to see the aircraft markings. Round and round I went. Slowly but steadily I was turning inside the 109. Round and round until I felt sick and hardly knew which way up I was. Now and then I flashed by other 'planes, sometimes with black crosses [German] and sometimes with roundels [Allied].
" 'You're a swine. --- a few more turns and you'll have had it.' Damn! it was as if the Hun had heard my thoughts. He turned on his back and dived vertically. I followed. Brrrrrrrmmm. Damn! that was a shaky shot. Christ! a large chunk of something flew off. A snaky white trail suddenly appeared by my cockpit. 'Someone on your tail; aileron turn, quick. Stick hard over to one side. That's lost him. Thank God for that! Now for home."
Gleed survives the evacuation of 87 Squadron to the UK and the subsequent French collapse. The UK is now under threat of invasion. Throughout the summer and fall of 1940, Gleed, who is adept in conveying so much of squadron life through sparse word-pictures, shows how it was that the British refused to fold and inflicted on Hitler his first serious setback in the War.
Taken as a whole, "ARISE TO CONQUER" is a classic of the combat memoir genre, comparable to Saint-Exupery's "Flight to Arras." I recommend it highly.
But this was not to be a long stay for Gleed. While flying a Spitfire one day on a high altitude test, the aircraft experiences significant structural collapse. How Gleed managed to extricate himself from the cockpit and bail out is nothing short of miraculous. He's wounded and placed in hospital for 3 weeks.
Gleed, after a few days of enforced rest, becomes impatient and clamors to be placed back on flying status. Eventually, his persistence pays off and he's posted to a Hurricane squadron in France. He arrives (via ship and train) at No. 87 Squadron shortly after the beginning of the German blitzkrieg in the West. His words convey the urgency, the terror and despair at that stage of the war.
"... Around me a gigantic dog-fight was taking place; it was impossible to see which was friend or foe until you were close enough to see the aircraft markings. Round and round I went. Slowly but steadily I was turning inside the 109. Round and round until I felt sick and hardly knew which way up I was. Now and then I flashed by other 'planes, sometimes with black crosses [German] and sometimes with roundels [Allied].
" 'You're a swine. --- a few more turns and you'll have had it.' Damn! it was as if the Hun had heard my thoughts. He turned on his back and dived vertically. I followed. Brrrrrrrmmm. Damn! that was a shaky shot. Christ! a large chunk of something flew off. A snaky white trail suddenly appeared by my cockpit. 'Someone on your tail; aileron turn, quick. Stick hard over to one side. That's lost him. Thank God for that! Now for home."
Gleed survives the evacuation of 87 Squadron to the UK and the subsequent French collapse. The UK is now under threat of invasion. Throughout the summer and fall of 1940, Gleed, who is adept in conveying so much of squadron life through sparse word-pictures, shows how it was that the British refused to fold and inflicted on Hitler his first serious setback in the War.
Taken as a whole, "ARISE TO CONQUER" is a classic of the combat memoir genre, comparable to Saint-Exupery's "Flight to Arras." I recommend it highly.
September 2, 2015
Ian Gleed, the English author of this book, recounts his everyday daily routine during WW2 and his air battles over England and France. If you don't know how the English men spoke in those days - you'll find out in this book. That is what makes this book very Interesting and Refreshing.
A really good read.
A really good read.
May 29, 2024
This first-hand account of the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain by a fighter pilot published in early 1942 helped shape the image of "the Few" in the war and thereafter. Unlike the intellectual reflections of Richard Hillary ("The Last Enemy") or the thoughtful account of Paul Richey ("Fighter Pilot"), Gleed's account is often stream-of-consciousness and seems consciously shallow. Gleed uses the infamous RAF slang non-stop and avoids introspection almost to a fault -- as if Gleed is intentionally feeding the already popular image of the happy-go-lucky higher pilot.
The views of the enemy and allegations of bombers running away when attacked without doing much damage tell us more about what the Air Ministry wanted people to read than about the aerial engagements allegedly depicted. It is also important to remember that Gleed participated in the Battle of Britain from 10 Group, which was not on the front line and did not experience the intensity of combat or the extend of the casualties faced by 11 Group.
In short, this book is not a valuable source for information about actual combat but provides extremely valuable insight into the mentality and attitudes of Britain's still largely juvenile fighter force. After all, most fighter pilots in Britain during WWII were not yet deemed mature enough to vote, e.g. they were under 21 years of age.
The views of the enemy and allegations of bombers running away when attacked without doing much damage tell us more about what the Air Ministry wanted people to read than about the aerial engagements allegedly depicted. It is also important to remember that Gleed participated in the Battle of Britain from 10 Group, which was not on the front line and did not experience the intensity of combat or the extend of the casualties faced by 11 Group.
In short, this book is not a valuable source for information about actual combat but provides extremely valuable insight into the mentality and attitudes of Britain's still largely juvenile fighter force. After all, most fighter pilots in Britain during WWII were not yet deemed mature enough to vote, e.g. they were under 21 years of age.
March 4, 2023
A very interesting account of the Battle of Britain...
The book is written in an unusual style, in my opinion. Almost in a conversational style. It took a while to get used to. The story
Itself took place from just prior to the declaration of war through the Battle of Britain, including the author's time with the BEF in France.
The book is written in an unusual style, in my opinion. Almost in a conversational style. It took a while to get used to. The story
Itself took place from just prior to the declaration of war through the Battle of Britain, including the author's time with the BEF in France.
October 15, 2018
A rare pearl of a book
Published in 1942, this is the story of Ian Gleed, a fighter pilot during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. His memories were fresh and the book reflects it.
This is a great read.
Published in 1942, this is the story of Ian Gleed, a fighter pilot during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. His memories were fresh and the book reflects it.
This is a great read.
November 13, 2018
An inside look at the battle of Britain.
Laying your life on th line to protect your country. A look at how it was high on the sky above Britain battling the German menace and still live to do it another day.
Laying your life on th line to protect your country. A look at how it was high on the sky above Britain battling the German menace and still live to do it another day.
December 12, 2018
Excellent Book!
A well told story of the early days of WWII as e,experienced by an ART pilot. From the fall of France to the beginning of the Battle of Britain, you'll e,experience the action first hand. My only regret is that it was too short!
A well told story of the early days of WWII as e,experienced by an ART pilot. From the fall of France to the beginning of the Battle of Britain, you'll e,experience the action first hand. My only regret is that it was too short!
May 17, 2022
A great biography regarding one of the great pilots for the RAF during WW2. The story is full of action and full of great stories about the pilots and the ordeals they endured. A must read for the air enthusiast.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 2, 2018
One of the Best
Absolutely a historical and vivid of account of British fighter pilot,s life was in the battle for Britain. I felt like I was there.
Absolutely a historical and vivid of account of British fighter pilot,s life was in the battle for Britain. I felt like I was there.
September 6, 2022
Excellent insight to the events and actions of a fighter squadron at the start of the war.
August 26, 2023
Tally ho!
What can I say? A brilliant read and an even more valuable insight into the life of an RAF pilot during the events of the Battle of Britain
Highly recommended
What can I say? A brilliant read and an even more valuable insight into the life of an RAF pilot during the events of the Battle of Britain
Highly recommended
March 23, 2025
4.5 stars
April 3, 2014
It reminded me that WWII was a different war, in a different time. The accounting in this story showed how united "good" was over "evil." There is just no sense of cause in any subsequent generation since.
October 28, 2016
Very much written in the context of it's time - keep calm and carrying on whatever the odds with a smile on your lips and plenty of RAF banter.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews