Percy Charles Pickard

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Percy Charles Pickard
16 May 1915 – 18 February 1944)
Group Captain Pickard
Place of birth	Handsworth, South Yorkshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1937 – 1944
Rank	Group Captain
Battles/wars	World War II

Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO, DFC, (b. 16 May 1915 - d. 18 February 1944) was born in Handsworth, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and educated at Framlingham College. He is best remembered by the public for his role in the 1941 wartime propaganda film Target for Tonight in which he featured as the pilot of 'F for Freddie' – a Wellington bomber of 149 Squadron.

Pickard was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in January 1937 and served with a bomber squadron before being appointed personal assistant to the air officer commanding a training group at Cranwell in 1938. He was awarded the DFC in July 1940 while serving as a flight lieutenant in a bomber squadron. He was promoted to squadron leader with 311 Squadron and was awarded a DSO in March 1941. In May 1942, as wing commander in charge of 51 Squadron, he was granted a bar to the DSO in recognition of his leadership in Operation Biting (also known as the Bruneval raid) on 27 February 1942. In March 1943, while commanding 161 Squadron at RAF Tempsford he was awarded a second bar to the DSO for outstanding leadership ability and fine fighting qualities. He was the first RAF officer in World War II to be awarded the DSO and two bars.

Pickard led the February 1944 low-level attack on the Amiens Prison, in the raid known as Operation Jericho. The attack was carried out at the request of the French resistance in order to allow a considerable number of their imprisoned members, who were soon to be executed by the occupying forces, the chance to escape, the Resistance stating that the prisoners had said they would rather take the chance of being killed by RAF bombs than be shot by the Nazis. Operation Jericho was a success but Pickard, together with his Navigator, Flight Lieutenant J. A. "Bill" Broadley, DSO, DFC, DFM, were both killed when their de Havilland Mosquito, HX922, "EG-F", was shot down by Feldwebel Mayer of 7. Jagdgeschwader 26 in the closing stages of the operation.

[edit] References

Mosquito At War by Chaz Bowyer - Ian Allen - 1977 - ISBN 0-7110-0474-9
Armstrong Whitworth's Night Bomber by Ray Williams - Aeroplane Monthly - October 1982 issue.
Royal Air Force A/Group Captain Percy Charles Pickard, Obituary. The Times, 22nd September, 1944.