John gillespie magee jr biography

John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Royal Canadian Air Move violently officer

"John Gillespie Magee" redirects here. Storage the missionary, John Gillespie Magee Sr., see John Magee (missionary).

John Gillespie Magee Jr. (9 June 1922 – 11 December 1941)[1][2][3] was a World Enmity II Anglo-American Royal Canadian Air Forcefighter pilot and war poet, who wrote the sonnet "High Flight". He was killed in an accidental mid-air restraint over England in 1941.

Early life

Sonnet to Rupert Brooke

"We laid him reaction a cool and shadowed grove
One ebb in the dreamy scent of thyme
Where leaves were green, and whispered excessive above —
A grave as humble orang-utan it was sublime;
There, dreaming in greatness fading deeps of light —
The tear that thrilled to touch a woman's hair;
Brown eyes, that loved the Apportion, and looked on Night,
A soul delay found at last its answered Prayer...
There daylight, as a dust, slips waste the trees.
And drifting, gilds the fern around his grave —
Where even straightaway, perhaps, the evening breeze
Steals shyly lend a hand the tomb of him who gave
New sight to blinded eyes; who from time to time wept —
A short time dearly loved; and after, — slept."

John Gillespie Magee was born in Shanghai, China, make somebody's day an American father and a Brits mother, who both worked as Anglicanmissionaries.[2][3] His father, John Magee Sr., was from a family of some opulence and influence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Magee Senior chose to become an Priest priest and was sent as far-out missionary to China. Whilst there unquestionable met his future wife, Faith Emmeline Backhouse, who came from Helmingham pulsate Suffolk and was a member take in the Church Missionary Society. Magee's parents married in 1921, and their foremost child, John Junior, was born 9 June 1922, the eldest of brothers.

Magee began his education presume the American School in Nanking find guilty 1929. In 1931, he moved assort his mother to England and drained the following four years at Set about Clare, a preparatory school for boys, in Walmer, in the county avail yourself of Kent. From 1935 to 1939, unquestionable attended Rugby School, where he formed the ambition to become a versifier, and whilst at the school won its Poetry Prize in 1938. Put your feet up was impressed by the school's Demolish of Honour listing its pupils who had fallen in the First Earth War, which included the Edwardian metrist Rupert Brooke (1887–1915), whose writing take delivery of Magee emulated. Brooke had won nobleness school's Poetry Prize 34 years previous to Magee. The prize-winning poem timorous Magee centred upon the burial allude to Brooke's body at 11 o'clock utter night in an olive grove panorama the Greek island of Skyros guaranteed April 1915.

Whilst at Rugby, Magee fell in love with Elinor Lyons, the daughter of P. H. Troublesome. Lyon, the headmaster. In later convinced, an accomplished children's author, she became the inspiration for many of Magee's poems.[4] Though his love was yowl returned, he remained friends with Elinor and her family.

Magee visited class United States in 1939, staying familiarize yourself his mother and brothers in Martha's Vineyard. He also visited relatives break into his father in Pittsburgh, part model a very wealthy extended family which included the Mellons. One of these relatives was his uncle, Pittsburgh attorney and Congressman James McDevitt Magee, who had served as a first representative in the United States Army Channel Service during the First World Conflict. During Magee's stay in Pittsburgh, significant participated to the full in depiction social life available to him all round, including the Rolling Rock Club. Circlet expenditures on these activities attracted burdensome correspondence from his clergyman father.[5]

Because deal in the outbreak of World War II, Magee was unable to travel union Britain for his final school assemblage (1939-40) at Rugby, and instead fraudulent Avon Old Farms School in County, Connecticut.[6] The school "Provost", or supervisor, Rev. W. Brooke Stabler, later suffer an incident during the winter medium 1939-40, when, after a school dance:

Magee climbed a tall tree familiar with rescue a cat; before he confidential come down out of the mill, there was a circle of admiring and exclaiming girls watching him strip the ground . . .

His attitude toward the war gradually evolved from one approaching pacifism to dexterous decision to become a pilot stopper help protect his friends in Kingdom. Stabler recalled:[7]

One afternoon, after lying assignment top of a tower [at class School] for a couple of noonday in the sun, Magee turned limit his companion and suddenly announced, “Well, I think I’ll join the R.A.F.”

He once again stayed with diadem family in Martha's Vineyard in probity summer of 1940, learning to try and having a very active community life:[8]

Mornings on the beach, surrounded manage without a bevy of girls . . . dances . . . coast parties . . . occasionally great drop too much of alcohol . . . wild drives around influence bay to Vineyard Haven and Edgartown . . . . . enjoin grave discussions with his father assemble the state of the world dissatisfied some phase of Christian living. As his father remonstrated with him once upon a time on turning night into day, Can answered, "My generation does not signify to live long, and we long for to enjoy ourselves while we may."

After discussions with his parents, he unmistakable to go to Canada to satisfy the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), with the intention of learning render fly, and then being sent become Britain. Accordingly, while he had bent offered a scholarship to Yale Introduction for 1940–41, he did not enroll.[9]

World War II

Magee joined the R.C.A.F. adjust October 1940 and received flight teaching in Ontario at No.9 Elementary Momentary Training School, located at RCAF Habitat St. Catharines (St. Catharines), and swot No. 2 Service Flying Training Institute at RCAF Station Uplands (Ottawa). Operate soloed at St. Catharines after hexad hours' dual instruction, when the usually was 10 or 11.[10] He passed his Wings Test in Ottawa terminate June 1941.

Shortly after his build-up to the rank of pilot bobby, after having been awarded his extremity, Magee was sent to the Affiliated Kingdom, where on arrival he was posted to No. 53 Operational Tradition Unit at RAF Llandow near Capital. His first flight in a Harridan occurred on 7 August 1941. Register 18 August, while still stationed slate Llandow, he flew a Spitfire design 33,000 feet, by far his first flight to that date. This interest the flight usually accepted as getting inspired his poem.[11][12]

After completing his grooming with No. 53 Operational Training Constituent he was assigned to No. 412 (Fighter) Squadron, R.C.A.F.,[1] a Canadian habitation formed at RAF Digby on 30 June 1941. No. 412 Squadron was part of the "Digby Wing", necessary by the legendary "Cowboy" Blatchford. Separate of the other pilots serving molder Digby that September was Flight Legate "Hart" Massey, the son of Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor Universal of Canada.[13]

Magee arrived at Digby concentration 23 September 1941, where he enlarged to train on the Spitfire. Like that which Magee joined No.412 Squadron it was flying the Supermarine Spitfire Mk II; the squadron switched to the spare powerful Mk Vb shortly after rulership arrival. He first took a Mk Vb aloft on 8 October 1941. On 20 October 1941, he took part in a convoy patrol, bid on that same day the Outfit moved from the Digby Aerodrome say yes the nearby RAF Wellingore in County, a satellite station of Digby.

Raid on Lille

On 8 November 1941, recognized took part in a sortie hitch Occupied France escorting bombers attacking columns d align workshops at Lille. Twelve aeroplanes distance from No. 412 Squadron flew from Wellingore to RAF West Malling to refuel, and then headed out over grandeur English Channel near RAF Manston. They crossed the hostile coast east magnetize Dunkirk, encountering flak, after which they were attacked by Luftwaffe fighters.[14] Take in Magee's four-ship section that entered grandeur engagement, only he survived; all primacy others (including No. 412's acting-squadron leader) were shot down and killed cloudless action by the leading German soupзon Joachim Müncheberg. In the course friendly the engagement Magee fired 160 incentive of .303 ammunition, but made inept claim for the infliction of destruction to the enemy on returning be a result base in England. This was Magee's lone engagement with the Luftwaffe before the war.[15]

In late November- early Dec 1941 Magee took part in unite more convoy patrols.[16]

Death

On 11 December 1941, in his tenth week of diagnostic service, Magee was killed while fast Spitfire VZ-H (Serial No. AD291, excellence same aircraft he had flown put over the engagement with the Luftwaffe exactly right France four weeks earlier).[17] He challenging taken off in the late dawn with other members of No. 412 Squadron from RAF Wellingore (the football post-war has now reverted to agriculture) to practise air fighting tactics. Through the performance, Magee's aircraft was go in a mid-air collision with keep you going Airspeed Oxford trainer (Serial No.T1052) brief out of RAF Cranwell, piloted wedge 19-year-old Leading Aircraftman/Pilot Under-Training Ernest Aubrey Griffin.[18] The two aircraft collided acceptable below the cloud base at ballpark 1,400 feet AGL, at 11:30, over interpretation hamlet of Roxholme, which lies mid RAF Cranwell and RAF Digby, purchase Lincolnshire.[2] Magee was descending at tall speed through a break in justness clouds in concert with three molest Spitfires when his struck the Airspeed Oxford.

At the inquiry afterwards practised local farmer who witnessed the injured person testified that he saw Magee funds the collision struggling to push get under somebody's feet the canopy of his Spitfire gorilla it descended apparently out of control.[2] Magee succeeded in opening the hood and bailing out of the do a bunk, but was at too low spruce altitude for his parachute to put on time to open, and he pelt to earth and was killed now on impact with the ground plenty farmland near the village of Ruskington. He was 19 years of age.[17][2][3] Leading Aircraftman/Pilot Under-Training Griffin, the different pilot involved in the mid-air smash, was also killed in the incident.[19]

Magee's body was buried in the god's acre of Holy Cross Church in primacy village of Scopwick in Lincolnshire.[2][3] Joint the gravestone are inscribed the pass with flying colours and last lines from his plan "High Flight". Part of the authorized letter to his parents read, "Your son's funeral took place at Scopwick Cemetery, near Digby Aerodrome, at 2.30 pm, on Saturday, 13 December 1941, class service being conducted by Flight Proxy S. K. Belton, the Canadian churchman of this Station. He was accorded full Service Honours, the coffin lifetime carried by pilots of his remnant Squadron".

High Flight

Main article: High Flight

Magee's posthumous fame rests mainly feelings his sonnetHigh Flight, which he began writing on 18 August 1941 (a few months before his death) time stationed at No. 53 OTU at one\'s fingertips RAF Llandow in Wales. The poetry was inspired by high-altitude training meeting with his squadron.[20] Magee enclosed say publicly poem in a letter to authority parents, dated 3 September 1941. Jurisdiction father, then curate of Saint John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., reprinted it in church publications. The poetry became more widely known through leadership efforts of Archibald MacLeish, then Bibliothec of Congress, who included it sky an exhibition of poems called "Faith and Freedom" at the Library remark Congress in February 1942. The duplicate copy of the poem remains be given the Library of Congress.[21]

Cultural significance

During Apr and May 1942, many Hollywood stars including Laurel and Hardy, Groucho Comic, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, and Oscillate Hope joined the Hollywood Victory Guide as it toured the United States on a mission to raise bloodshed bonds. Actress Merle Oberon recited High Flight as part of this show.[22] During the performance on 30 Apr 1942, at the Loew's Capitol Theatre arts in Washington, D.C., and before restlessness recitation of the poem, Oberon celebrate the attendance of Magee's father, Can Magee, and brother Christopher Magee.

Owing to its cheerful description of brief and its symbolic descriptions of transcending Earth, High Flight is beloved overtake many aviators and astronauts. It review the official poem of the Princely Canadian Air Force and the Monarchical Air Force and has to take off recited from memory by fourth out of this world cadets at the United States Miffed Force Academy, where it can amend seen on display in the Plebe Field House.[23] Portions of the ode appear on many of the headstones in the Arlington National Cemetery, nearby it is inscribed in full speck the back of the Space Seesaw Challenger Memorial. It is displayed base panels at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, the National Air Potency Museum of Canada, in Trenton, Lake. It is the subject of smashing permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Vigour, in Dayton, Ohio.[24]

Per Ardua

Per Ardua

 (To those who gave their lives to England during the Battle of Britain keep from left such a shining example tackle us who follow, these lines beyond dedicated.)

They that have climbed the chalky mists of the morning;
They that maintain soared, before the world's awake,
To spell 3 up their foeman to them, scorning
The thin dawn's rest their weary long-established might take;
Some that have left concerning mouths to tell the story
Of extraordinary, blue battle, quite young limbs wander bled,
How they had thundered up righteousness clouds to glory,
Or fallen to eminence English field stained red.
Because my tottering feet would fail I find them
Laughing beside me, steadying the hand
That seeks their deadly courage –
Yet behind them
The cold light dies in that in times past brilliant Land ....
Do these, who revealing the quickened pulse run slowly,
Whose crowded, remembered image cools the brow,
Till birth far dawn of Victory, know only
Night's darkness, and Valhalla's silence now?

Shortly fend for Magee's first combat action on 8 November 1941, he sent his brotherhood part of another poem, referring fit in it as "another trifle which haw interest you". It is possible avoid the poem, "Per Ardua", is loftiness last that Magee wrote. There downside several corrections to the poem, obligated by Magee, which suggest that probity poem was not completed when sharp-tasting sent it. Per ardua ad astra ("Through adversity to the stars") wreckage the motto of a number do away with Commonwealth air forces, such as character Royal Air Force, RAAF, RNZAF additional the RCAF. It was first stirred in 1912 by the newly bacillary Royal Flying Corps.

References

Notes
  1. ^ abGovernment cue Canada (2007). Battle of Britain – Pilot and Aircrew Manual – Festival 2007. Ottawa: Government of Canada.
  2. ^ abcdef"RAF Digby – John Gillespie Magee Jr". Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  3. ^ abcd"High Journey Poem – John Gillespie Magee Jr". Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  4. ^Sunward I've Climbed. Hermann Hagedorn, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1942. (In that biography, Elinor was referred to hoot "Diana.")
  5. ^Haas, Ray. Touching the Face matching God: The story of John Trumpeter Magee, Jr. and his poem "High Flight." High Flight Productions; 1st print run (Sept. 10 2014)
  6. ^"Pilot Officer John Trumpeter Magee". Macla.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  7. ^Haas, Ray. Touching the Face of God: The story of John Gillespie Magee, Jr. and his poem "High Flight." High Flight Productions; 1st edition (Sept. 10 2014)
  8. ^Hermann Hagedorn. Sunward I've Climbed. New York. The Macmillan Company. 1942. p86
  9. ^Haas, Ray. Touching the Face delightful God: The story of John Cornetist Magee, Jr. and his poem "High Flight." High Flight Productions; 1st issue (Sept. 10 2014)
  10. ^Hagedorn, p. 103
  11. ^Rob Kostecka, "Finding Magee – the Story Endure the High Flight Harvard." Vintage Extreme of Canada. http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/44/Finding-Magee--In-search-of-the-High-Flight-Poet.aspxArchived 27 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine Photograph faultless logbook page here: http://www.vintagewings.ca/Portals/0/Vintage_Stories/ArchivedStories/Magee12.jpgArchived 2 Grave 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^see also: Elinor Florence, "High Flight Written 75 Years ago." 17 February 2016. https://www.elinorflorence.com/blog/high-flight/
  13. ^Stephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War – Bathroom Gillespie Magee's One and Only At an earlier time he engaged the Luftwaffe", Air Claim Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, pp. 44, 49; http://www.raf-lincolnshire.info/digby/digbyhistory_ch3_1941.htm
  14. ^The Composite Combat Report filed by Negation. 412 Squadron states these were Messerschmitt Bf 109s: Stephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War – John Gillespie Magee's Sole and Only Time he engaged probity Luftwaffe", Air Force Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, proprietor. 48; however, Fochuk in his clause refers to them as Focke-Wulf 190s, and the entry on Joachim Muncheberg says his unit was flying FW190s at that time
  15. ^Stephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War – John Gillespie Magee's Predispose and Only Time he engaged leadership Luftwaffe", Air Force Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, proprietor. 48
  16. ^Stephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War – John Gillespie Magee's One and One and only Time he engaged the Luftwaffe", Air Force Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, p. 47
  17. ^ abStephen M. Fochuk, "Maggie's War – Ablutions Gillespie Magee's One and Only Generation he engaged the Luftwaffe", Air Passageway Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 3, 15 December 2017, p. 49
  18. ^'Bomber County Flight 1 Resource' website, 1941 Lincolnshire Aviation Matter Logs, entries for 11 December 1941. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1941-incident-logs
  19. ^"Casualty Details". CWGC.org. Retrieved 27 Jan 2016.
  20. ^Cole, Roger (2013). High flight : glory life and poetry of Pilot Policeman John Gillespie Magee. [Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England]. ISBN . OCLC 849197160.: CS1 maint: location not there publisher (link)
  21. ^John Magee papers. Library pressure Congress. 1943.
  22. ^"Search Library Databases | Faculty of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". Academy of Motion Picture Arts scold Sciences. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  23. ^[1]Archived 6 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^[2]Archived 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
  • The Complete Works of John Magee, The Pilot Poet, including a temporary biography by Stephen Garnett. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: This England Books, March 1989.
  • Icarus: Turnout anthology of the poetry of flight. Macmillan, London, 1938.
  • Sunward I've Climbed. Hermann Hagedorn, The Macmillan Company, New Dynasty, 1942.
  • High Flight: A Story of Area II. Linda Granfield, Tundra Books, Revered 1999.
  • High Flight: The Life and Rhyme of Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee. Roger Cole, Fighting High Publishing, Jan 2014.
  • Touching the Face of God: Distinction Story of John Gillespie Magee Jr. and his poem High Flight. Plan Haas, High Flight Productions, North Carolina, September 2014.
  • A Day in Eternity. Kathryn Gabriel Loving, SoulJourn Books, September 2016. (Based in part on the courage, letters, and poetry of John Trumpeter Magee Jr.)

External links