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| Aviation Art Collecton - Wing Commander Joseph Robert Kayll DFC DSO |
  Died : 2000 | Joe Kayll joined the Auxiliary Air Force in 1934, serving with No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron rising to become a flight lieutenant. Following the outbreak of the war he volunteered for full-time service and fought in France in early 1940 before taking part in the Battle of Britain, commanding No. 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron as an acting squadron leader. During the Battle of Britain Kayll was credited with shooting down seven German aircraft with one shared and six unconfirmed destroyed, along with six damaged. For these efforts he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross personally by King George VI. In 1941, he was promoted to wing commander and given command of The Hornchurch wing of three Spitfire squadrons. In 1941 he was mentioned in despatches before being shot down over France in July. He was subsequently captured by the Germans and became a prisoner of war. He became Senior British officer at Oflag IX until moved to Oflag VI-B Warburg in October 1941. In September 1942 Wing Commander Kayll escaped in a mass break out and with a companion travelled by foot 90 Kilometres before being recaptured south of Fulda. He was transferred to Stalag Luft III at Sagan in May 1943, and was in charge of the Escape Committee for the East Compound. He remained in captivity for the remainder of the war, co-ordinating numerous escape attempts, for which he was later appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1946. After the war he continued to serve, rejoining the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and commanding No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron. Born in Sunderland and educated at Aysgarth and Stowe, he entered the family timber business but, inspired by flying, he joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1934. Commissioned, he learned to fly with 607 County of Durham Squadron, using Wapiti and Hart biplanes. By early 1939, Kayll was a Flight-Commander in 607 Squadron, which now flew Gladiator biplane fighters. In November 1939, Kayll's squadron was posted to France. The following March, he became commander of 615 County of Surrey Squadron flying obsolete Gladiators. On May 10, the German offensive against the low countries and France began, and 615 Squadron, caught re-equipping with Hurricane 1 fighters, was involved in the intensive air fighting. Kayll nourished 615's fighting spirit by flying up to seven sorties a day from improvised airfields with a mixture of Hurricanes and Gladiators. The squadron inflicted heavy losses on the Luftwaffe while the German army continually overran the squadron's forward airfields. On May 15th, Kayll, flying a Hurricane, shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined fighters, and on May 20th destroyed a Heinkel 111 bomber. The next day, 615's surviving pilots flew back to Kenley, south of London. By mid-June, 615 had regrouped, and it resumed operations against Luftwaffe-occupied airfields in France. Kayll was awarded the DSO and DFC, and during the Battle of Britain he shot down a Messerschmidt Bf 109E fighter and Do 17 and He 111 bombers. This was in a ferocious seven-day period, which started on August 18th. In late September, the exhausted 615 Squadron was moved to Prestwick to regroup. It was credited with 97 German aircraft destroyed. Kayll's score was seven and one shared destroyed, seven unconfirmed destroyed and six damaged. In October, 615 returned to defend London against German fighter-bomber attacks. In June 1941, after six months at Fighter Command HQ, Kayll returned to operations as a wing-commander flying with the famous Hornchurch Wing, operating three Spitfire squadrons. Fighter Command was mounting numerous sweeps over France and he flew in several Circus operations, which involved a small number of bombers, heavily escorted by fighters, to draw the Luftwaffe into battle. On June 25th, Kayll, while flying with his section near St Omer, was shot down, captured and sent first to Spangenberg Castle POW camp, and later to Wartburg, from which he escaped during the great breakout of September 1942. He was recaptured and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sargan, Silesia, location of the wooden horse escape. Other short-term escapes followed until the Great Escape of March 1944. But after the Gestapo shot 50 allied airmen, all escape plans ceased. Kayll was awarded an OBE for his escape activities, and was demobilised in 1946. He rejoined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, commanding 607 Squadron, and also re-entered the family business, which he later ran with his two sons. He died on 3rd March 2000. |
| Based on many years of experience in dealing with thousands of aviation signatures, we have estimated the value this signature adds to a print as £50 |
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