Guy Branch
Royal Air Force officer
title: "Guy Branch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1913-births", "1940-deaths", "alumni-of-balliol-college,-oxford", "the-few", "royal-air-force-officers", "people-educated-at-eton-college", "royal-air-force-pilots-of-world-war-ii", "english-aviators", "royal-air-force-personnel-killed-in-world-war-ii", "recipients-of-the-empire-gallantry-medal", "military-personnel-from-london", "survivors-of-aviation-accidents-or-incidents", "aviators-killed-by-being-shot-down"] description: "Royal Air Force officer" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Branch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Royal Air Force officer ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Guy Rawstron Branch |
| image | Guy Rawstron Branch.jpg |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | London, England |
| death_date | |
| death_place | English Channel, off Cherbourg, France |
| allegiance | United Kingdom |
| branch | Royal Air Force |
| serviceyears | 1937–1940 |
| rank | Flying Officer |
| servicenumber | 90137 |
| unit | No. 601 Squadron RAF |
| No. 145 Squadron RAF | |
| battles | Second World War |
| awards | Empire Gallantry Medal |
| :: |
| name = Guy Rawstron Branch | image = Guy Rawstron Branch.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = London, England | death_date = | death_place = English Channel, off Cherbourg, France | placeofburial = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Air Force | serviceyears = 1937–1940 | rank = Flying Officer | servicenumber = 90137 | unit = No. 601 Squadron RAF No. 145 Squadron RAF | commands = | battles = Second World War
- Battle of Britain | awards = Empire Gallantry Medal | relations = | laterwork = Guy Rawstron Branch, EGM (27 October 1913 – 11 August 1940) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and one of "The Few". He was killed in action on 11 August 1940. His death occurred before the introduction of the George Cross but unlike Herbert John Mahoney GC awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal in 1927, the next-of-kin of Branch did not receive the insignia of the George Cross.
Early life
Branch was born on 27 October 1913 in London, the son of Charles Churchill Branch and Mary Madelaine Bernadette Branch (née Rawstron). He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford. On 7 May 1937 he was commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. On 25 March 1939 in Lewes he married Lady Prudence Mary Pelham, daughter of the 6th Earl of Chichester.
Accident and award
On 8 January 1938 Branch was a student pilot was flying as a passenger in a Hawker Demon with Pilot Officer Crawley when it crashed and burst into flames at RAF Upavon. Branch escaped but then returned to the aircraft to free the trapped pilot and pull him clear. For his actions he was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal on 25 March 1938, the citation reading:
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Battle of Britain
During the Battle of Britain Branch, by then a flying officer, was a Hawker Hurricane pilot with No. 145 Squadron RAF. On 8 August 1940 he was credited with destroying two Junkers Ju 87s. A few days later on 11 August 1940 while flying Hurricane serial number P9251 on a mission to intercept German bombers, a large air battle took place off Cherbourg in which Branch was shot down and killed.
Branch was buried in the churchyard at Quiberville, France. His name recorded on the Battle of Britain Monument in London, and at the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne.
References
References
- The widow of Herbert John Mahoney GC, awarded the EGM in 1927, KIA before the introduction of the GC, received the insignia of the GC from the King in March 1942.
- "145 Squadron Hurricane I".
- {{London Gazette. (25 March 1938)
- (2007). "List of British Pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain". [[Battle of Britain London Monument]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::