| Wilfrid George Gerald Duncan Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 May 1914 |
| Died | 11 December 1996 (aged 82) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1946 |
| Rank | Group Captain |
| Unit | No. 611 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II Malayan Emergency |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar |
Group Captain Wilfrid George Gerald Duncan Smith, DSO and Bar, DFC and 2 Bars (28 May 1914 – 11 December 1996) was a British Royal Air Force Second World War Flying ace.
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Duncan Smith was born in Madras, India on 28 May 1914, the son of an officer in the Indian civil service. He was educated in Scotland, where he joined his school's OTC. Returning to India in 1933, he became a coffee and tea planter, but in 1936 returned to the UK to join the RAF.
Serving at 7 OTU at the outbreak of war, he was posted to No. 611 Squadron RAF later that year. He was awarded a DFC in June 1941, and went to 603 Squadron in August 1941 as a Flight Commander. Taken ill late in the year, he spent some time in hospital before joining 64 Squadron in March 1942. In August he became Wing Commander, flying at RAF North Weald.
After a rest from operations he was then sent to the Mediterranean as Wing leader, 244 Wing. In September 1943 after engine failure he bailed out into the sea, being rescued after 5 hours adrift. As a Group Captain, he then took charge of 324 Wing, finally leaving in March 1945.
Duncan Smith or "Smithy" was credited with 17 confirmed kills, two shared kills, six probables, two shared probables and eight damaged in aerial combat. [1] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar and the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Bars in recognition of his bravery.
He was the author of Spitfire into Battle, published in 1981, a highly entertaining account of aerial combat in the Spitfire aircraft.
In 1952 Duncan Smith received a second bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross for service in the Malayan Emergency.[2]
His wife, Pamela (whom he married in 1946) was a ballerina. Her maternal grandmother was Ellen Oshey, a Japanese woman whose father was a Japanese artist. Their son Iain Duncan Smith is now a British politician, and was leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to November 2003.
His son Iain Duncan Smith revealed in a BBC radio interview in 2001 that, while living in America in the 1950s, his father was "propositioned" by American actress Marilyn Monroe.[3]