During 2003 I came across what appeared to be a rather tired looking Czech WW2
style air force pilot badge, located in southern England. It was mixed in with a small collection of odds and ends. I
recognised what it may be from a picture of the assortment, with just the tip of a wing sticking out. I asked for a
better picture of the item and this proved to be what I thought it may be, but indeed the pilot badge looked "tired",
the silvering and gold looked flat and thin. It was not a major decision to aquire it, but something made me ask the
vendor for a picture of the rear of the badge.
The receipt of the picture of the rear of the badge aroused a great deal of excitement and a deep sense of something
special. It was marked with the route and dates of a man's escape from Czechoslovakia, to Poland, to Morrocco and the
French Foreign Legion, to France and finally, to England and the RAF. It was also marked with his initials, including
the distinctive accents used in the Czech language
The badge itself is not a pre-war, Czech made, pilot badge. It is in fact slightly small, a casting made from an
original badge, judging by the detail contained in it, and made from a fairly soft alloy. It is quite thin and has been
polished flat on the rear to take the engraving. The wings and crest have been lightly gilded. The back was engraved,
presumably by its owner, as Czech forms have been used, and then the back was gilded and buffed off such that the
writing stands out from the grey rear. It is interesting to contemplate that this man was aware of what a significant
17 months he had experienced to record it so.
Curious to find out a little more about this small fragment of history, it took some time to research but with the
help of Roger Darlington, the son-in-law of Flight Lieutenant Karel M Kuttelwascher, the second highest Czech air ace,
I discovered that these initials belonged only to one man who had this service record. Now, with a name, I searched
first the Commonwealth War Graves Commission information and discovered that my man had in fact perished but was
recorded with the CWGC, as he served with the RAF and was not transferred to any of the Czech squadrons Czech President-in-Exile Benes established.
Svatopluk Stulir was born on July 11th 1917 in Vresovice, a very small village some kilometres north east of
the town of Kyjov, east of Brno in Czechoslovakia. I have not been able to discover much about his background, hampered
by lack of language skills, but I shall continue to try. Preliminary contact with the family in the Czech Republic indicates that he was first trained to fly at a flying club and then joined the Czech air force and became a military pilot. He left Czechoslovakia when it was invaded by Germany.
I do know from his engraved badge that he left Czechoslovakia on May 28th 1939, arriving in Poland on June 4th 1939.
The defence of Poland was very brief. I have no information about his subsequent route out of Poland, but I do have the
date of his arrival in Alzir, Morrocco, July 27th 1939. Initially the French could only accept the Czech aviators into
the Foreign Legion but later integrated them into "L'Armee de l'Air" on the French mainland. Stulir arrived on French
soil January 1st 1940.
The date of Stulir's arrival in England is unusual in that it was December 4th 1940, some time after the fall of
France. One is left with nothing but conjecture as to his whereabouts until this date.
65 Sqn at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, 1941. Sgt Stulir is at top left.
Photograph from "Mnozi Nedoleteli" by Frantisek Loucky (Prague 1989)
I have found that Stulir was transferred from 52 OTU on April 16th 1941 to 257 (Burma) Sqdn RAF at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk, flying Hurricanes, and later transferred to 65 (East India) Squadron RAF on July 19th 1941 (thanks for these dates to Geoff Rayner) which was at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, flying Spitfire Mk 2's. The squadron was flying out of RAF Redhill in August 1941 and in October 1941, it transferred to RAF Westhampnett in Sussex, established on the grounds of the Goodwood racing circuit.
Most recently, with the help of Captain Radek Palicka of CSA Airlines in the Czech Republic, I have been able to find
a little more about Stulir, a portrait photograph of him in RAF uniform, a picture of him in his aircraft at
Kirton-in-Lindsey, and some copies of Fighter Command Combat Reports. While these are not complete service records, they help to illustrate Stulir's RAF career.
Stulir in his aircraft at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, 1941.
Photograph from
"Mnozi Nedoleteli" by Frantisek Loucky (Prague 1989),
Stulir's original 65 Squadron aircraft was a Spitfire Mk 2, YT-W (P 8147). This is the aircraft he was flying on
August 18th 1941 when he brought down an Me-109E 15 miles (25km) north-east of Gravelines. During this attack he was
himself taking fire and returned to Redhill alone, with "class 3 damage".
Spitfire Mk 2 YT-W (P 8147) 1941.
Image from "Mnozi Nedoleteli" by
Frantisek Loucky (Prague 1989)
On the day he was killed, November 8th 1941, he was flying Spitfire Mk 5b YT-R (W 5360). A fragment of the story is
abstracted from the book "Mnozi Nedoleteli" by Frantisek Loucky (Prague 1989),
"Sgt Svatopluk Stulir, Czech member of British 65 sqdn did not return from an operational flight near the French coast.
This squadron had orders for this morning to attack a German naval convoy sighted in the vicinity of Le Touquet. For
unknown reasons Stulir's Spitfire suddenly left the flight formation at 11:45 hrs and from that time this Spitfire has
not been seen."
The book's author, Sgt. Loucky, was also a member of 65 squadron. He
notes:
"I did not take part in this attack. Stulir flew with "B" flight. After landing, pilots reported that somewhere in the
middle of the Channel he suddenly turned aside to the left; they called him by radio but he did not answer. The
weather was poor that day. He did not report any failure. It is a really mysterious case."
Whatever the reason, Svatopluk Stulir most probably crashed into the waters of the Channel. His body and aircraft were
never found.
It has been postulated from the evidence given by Sgt. Loucky, as reported by those who were flying that day, that Sgt.
Svatopluk Stulir may have been the victim of oxygen equipment failure. Patrolling at high altitude, any failure of the
oxygen equipment would have caused a fairly rapid blackout and a consequential loss of control of the aircraft. It
would also account for the lack of a trouble call from Stulir and the lack of a response to his squadron's calls.
This situation was not uncommon. If the pilot ever came to before impact, it would be to an unknown and chaotic
situation in an uncontrolled descent. Few survived.
Sad though it is that this young Czech flyer, like so many hundreds of others, never saw his homeland again, he is
remembered and commemorated on panel 53 of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorial
on the islet of Runnymede,
near London, where the Magna Carta was signed, surely a great testimonial to a struggle for freedom.
Rest In Peace Svatopluk Stulir
