Gerald Stapleton, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Gerald Stapleton

South African flying ace

Date of Birth: 12-May-1920

Place of Birth: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Date of Death: 13-Apr-2010

Profession: aircraft pilot

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Basil Gerald "Stapme" Stapleton, (12 May 1920 – 13 April 2010) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and fighter ace who flew Spitfires and Typhoons during the Second World War.
He preferred the name Gerald and was nicknamed "Stapme" after a phrase used in his favourite cartoon strip Just Jake published in The Daily Mirror.
His score of 6 enemy aircraft destroyed, 2 shared destroyed, 8 probably destroyed and 2 damaged, all achieved on Spitfires during the Battle of Britain made him one of the outstanding pilots of that battle and he was revered as one of Richard Hillary's contemporaries in whose book The Last Enemy, he features.
Without doubt he was one of the real 'characters' to survive the war and to many the quintessential image of a Battle of Britain fighter pilot, complete with handlebar moustache.