Joseph "Jeff" Moureau (13 April 1921 – 28 October 2020) was a Belgian fighter pilot of the 349th (Belgian) Squadron belonging to the Royal Air Force during World War II.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Joseph Moureau | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Moureau in 2019 in a spitfire | |
| Nickname(s) | "Jeff" |
| Born | 13 April 1921 Tienen |
| Died | 28 October 2020 (aged 99) Jette |
| Allegiance | Belgium United Kingdom |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Other work | Civilian pilot |
Life
editA few days after the German invasion in Belgium, in 1940, he fled, together with his twin brother, to England.[6][7] A few months after their arrival in England both brothers joined the British air force, applying to be pilots.[5] After an intense training both were assigned as spitfire fighter pilots in the 349th RAF squadron that was mainly formed by Belgian personnel. During his stay in this squadron Moureau had a severe accident, but he returned to his unit (without a medical clearance) right in time for D-Day.[7] During D-Day, Operation Overlord, on 6 June 1944, Moureau shot down a German Junker Ju 88 bomber.[1][4][5]
After World War II he became a civilian airline pilot and flew for over 30 years with different airplanes for, Sobelair and later Sabena. He was the last living Belgian pilot that was active on D-Day. He died in 2020 aged 99.[2][4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b Last Belgian military pilot to fly on D-Day passes away aged 99 brusselstimes.com, 29 October 2020
- ^ a b Laatste Belgische militaire piloot die meevocht op D-Day is overleden hln.be, 29 October 2020, article in Dutch
- ^ Joseph “Jeff” Moureau, the last Belgian pilot to fight on D-Day, has passed away worldwarbirdnews.com
- ^ a b c Laatste militaire piloot die meevocht op D-Day is overleden Archived 6 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine proximus.be, donderdag 29 October 2020, article in Dutch
- ^ a b c d Laatste Belgische Spitfire-piloot, die meegevochten heeft op D-day, is overleden vrt.be, Luc De Roy, 29 October 2020, article in Dutch
- ^ a b Belgische Luchtcomponent neemt met droefheid afscheid van ‘Jeff’ Moureau beldefnews.mil.be, Jo Vanden Broeck, 30 October 2020, article in Dutch
- ^ a b Joseph Moureau youtube.com, Belgian Voices of the Sky, 4 February 2020, interview in French/Dutch