Group Captain Johnny Kent

Letter dated 3 March 1969 signed by

Group Captain JA ‘Johnny’ Kent DFC* AFC

Johnny Kent was a Canadian who joined the RAF before the war. During the Battle of Britain he was a Flight Commander with 303 Polish Squadron and later took over as CO of the famous 92 Squadron.  He was also a test pilot before and after the war, spending time as Chief Test Pilot at Farnborough and ended his career as Station Commander at RAF Tangmere.

An ace with 12+ victories, Johnny wrote about his adventures in his memoir ‘One of the Few’ published by William Kimber in 1971.  He passed away in 1985. In this letter, he mentions the fact he has completed the manuscript for his book ‘but, so far, nobody seems willing to publish it although I have had plenty of complimentary remarks about it’.

The letter is in Very Good condition and measures approx 7 x 5 inches.  NB, the Orde portrait shown above is not included.