Dennis Barry
Pilot
DENNIS BARRY, one of Britain’s first jet pilots who defended the country from dreaded doodlebugs during the Second World War, has died in Sheffield aged 95.
Mr Barry, who lived in Crookes, was second in command of 616 South Yorkshire Squadron and is believed to have been the last surviving wartime Gloster Meteor pilot.
The Meteors were Britain’s first jets and played a key role in protecting Britain’s shores by shooting down German V-1 flying bombs, dubbed doodlebugs or buzz bombs due to the ominous drone they emitted.
Mr Barry, who was born in London on August 26, 1921, moved to Sheffield as a boy and studied at King Edward VII School before joining the RAF in October 1940, aged 19.
He initially flew Hurricanes and Spitfires, and his skill and daring in the skies propelled him up the ranks to become a squadron leader, the second highest position within the 616 Squadron.
He led offensive patrols over northern France in the build up to the D-Day landings of June 1944, before training to fly Meteors later that month. Having taken on the V-1 bombs in the aircraft that year, his squadron then led numerous attacks as the Allied troops swept through Europe.
His wartime exploits earned him the Croix de Guerre with Palme – a French military honour awarded for acts of heroism.
He was demobbed in May 1946, before rejoining the 616 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force at RAF Finningley, now Doncaster Sheffield Airport, two years later.
He spent three years in the RAAF, during which he earned the distinction of being probably the only pilot to bale out of a Meteor without the use of an ejector seat and live to tell the tale.
Despite his prowess in the cockpit, his first love was for cars, and he quit the air force in 1951 to start his own business, Central Motors, selling luxury automobiles on West Street, in Sheffield city centre. Away from work, he drove rally cars and was a keen squash player, a longstanding member of Hallamshire Golf Club and a freemason.
Dennis Barry married Brenda in 1947 and they had two children together, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. They lived in Fulwood and then Crosspool before moving to Northfield Nursing Home, in Crookes, in their later years.
Mr Barry died peacefully at the home on March 10, just over a year after Brenda died.
Their son Peter described him as a kind man and loving father, who knew how to enjoy life.
He said his father rarely talked about his wartime exploits, but he recalled being given a smashed-up joystick which his dad had kept as a memento after crash-landing a Spitfire. “Dad was one of the first jet pilots. They were pioneers and I’m very proud of what he did,” he added. “It must have been a frightening life as a fighter pilot but also an exciting one, and I think they enjoyed what they were doing.”
Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork, who was former commanding officer of RAF Finningley and knew Mr Barry well, remembers him as a ‘delightful’ and ‘ebullient’ man with a lovely sense of humour.
“Dennis was very loyal to the squadron and to his friends, he laughed very easily and was a truly nice bloke who was very modest as were so many of that generation,” he added.
A service will be held at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium on Saturday, April 1, at 11.15am.