Round-John-Alfred

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

138653

Flight Lieutenant

John Alfred Round

Distinguished Flying Cross

Born 1922 - Middlesex

Son of Captain Henry Joseph Round MC and Olive Winifred (nee Evans) Round

John’s father was a personal assistant to Guglielmo Marconi.

Brother to Barbara, Peggy, Jeanne, Molly, Anne and Jim

Royal Air Force

91 Squadron and 607 Squadron

Service

John joined 91 Squadron flying Spitfire XII defending Britain.

91 Squadron went operational with their Spitfire XII's when they moved back to Hawkinge in May 1943. 41 Squadron moved to Biggin Hill on 21 May, followed by a move to Friston on the 28th. Their primary duty, as recorded in their ORB, was now to “protect the coastal towns against tip and run raiders”. 91 Squadron downed five of these tip and run 190’s on 25 May, the Squadron Diary noting:-

We got the Huns tonight - five of them, all in the drink. It was a grand occasion for 91 Squadron, and this entry ought to be typed in red. We had been flying all day, but the weather closed in towards evening with heavy clouds - in fact F/O Hoornaert and F/Sgt. McPhie had to land at Lympne because of heavy rain when returning from patrol at 19.30 hours. However, the CO., with Johnny Round as his No. 2 and F/O Maridor and P/O Davy Nos. 3 and 4, went on a low patrol of Dungeness area at 21.25hrs. They were not out long and came in to land at 21.50 hrs. This was when the fun started, for about 12 F.W. 190's came in with the intention of dealing a shrewd blow at Folkestone at about this time. The C.O. and Johnny had landed and just taxied to dispersal when the greens were fired, so whipped off again smartly, while Maridor and Davy, who were circling to land, went "Through the gate" to Folkestone. There were gutteral cries of 'Alarm' 'Alarm' from the surprised Huns, who broke away and ran for home, dropping their bombs in the sea, except for one, which fell in a bathing pool and injured one person. The XII's had the legs of the 190's, and having flown through a lively A.A. barrage, smacked down five of them, two falling to the C.O., one to each of the others. Matt and Kyn, who had been scrambled, saw some of this, but didn't get a chance to have a crack at anything themselves, while F/O Bond, who made a smart get-away on a second scramble a minute or so later, saw a 190 go straight in near Gris Nez. It turned out that this must have been the one that Davy had engaged, which was disappointing for Bond, who thought he had scared the bandit in the drink himself. After this, the C.O. was in the chair and behind the bar, and rather more of the odd beers were drunk rather later than usual .....

1943/10/01 - Flying Officer, with 91 Squadron

Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

John flew in action on the south coast of England with 91 Squadron

John was then sent out to Burma to join 607 Squadron.

Spitfire VIII

Spitfire VIII; The One That Kind of Missed the Bus - Forgotten Aircraft - Military Matters

The Mark.VIII was able to carry an external bombload of a single 500 lb bomb on the centreline and a single 250 lb under each wing, for a total bombload of 1000lbs.

Drop tanks of various sizes could be carried, giving a maximum possible range 1,500 miles.

The first production model was completed in November 1942, it took until June 1943 for the first squadron to be equipped with the Mk.VIII.

In the Far East the aircraft really made its mark, beginning to equip squadrons in eastern India towards the end of 1943. This proved extremely fortunate timing as in March 1944, the Japanese launched their attack aimed at destroying the Indian and British armies in the country and opening a route for a full invasion.

Key to the British counter was the ability to supply units cut off by the Japanese by air to keep them in the fight. Naturally, air superiority was a key factor, and the Spitfire Mk.VIII was the perfect aircraft for the job.

1945/06/05 - John flew Aircraft No. MT909, Spitfire VIII.

Based at Mingaladon, Burma, Under India/Burma Command.