Diary of Pilot Officer John Derek Bisdee, 3 October 1939-31 December 1939

John Bisdee joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1937 and was called up in September 1939. The diary covers the period where Bisdee was undertaking flying training prior to be being posted to an operational fighter squadron

Bisdee was posted No. 609 Squadron in December 1939 and would serve as a fighter pilot with the squadron during the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941 and was posted to command No. 601 Squadron in April 1942, leading the squadron from the aircraft carrier USS Wasp to Malta. He left the RAF in 1945 as a Group Captain and returned to his pre-war job with Unilever.