Geoff Barkway
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{{Infobox Military Person
|name= Geoff Barkway
|lived= [[18 September]] [[1921]] – [[8 June]] [[2006]]
|placeofbirth=[[London]]
|placeofdeath=
|image=[[Image:Geoff Barkway small.png]]
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance=
|serviceyears=6
|rank=[[Staff Sergeant]]
|commands=
|unit=[[Glider Pilot Regiment]]
|battles=[[Battle of Normandy|Normandy Landings]]
|awards=[[Distinguished Flying Medal|DFM]]
|laterwork=[[Engineer]]
|portrayedby=
}}
[[Staff Sergeant]] '''Geoff Barkway''' [[Distinguished Flying Medal|DFM]] was a member of the [[Glider Pilot Regiment]] who achieved fame as the [[aviator|pilot]] of the third [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa]] [[glider]] to land at [[Pegasus Bridge]] in the early hours of [[6 June]] [[1944]]. This remarkable achievement was described as ''"the greatest feat of flying of the second world war"'' by [[Trafford Leigh-Mallory|Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory]].<ref name="greatest feat of flying">
{{cite book
| last = Ambrose
| first = Stephen
| year = 2003
| title = '''Pegasus Bridge - D-Day: The Daring British Airborne Raid'''
| publisher = Pocket Books
| location = London
| id = 0-7434-5068-X
}}</ref> Shortly after the landing he was shot in the arm and later had it [[amputation|amputated]] when [[gangrene]] set in.
==Early life==
He was born in [[London]] on [[18 September]] [[1921]], and educated at [[Leyton Technical College]]. He became an [[apprentice]] [[fitter]] and [[turning|turner]] at [[London and North Eastern Railway]], then joined the [[Royal Signals]] [[Territorial Army]] in February [[1939]]. Mobilised at 17, he transferred to the railways branch of the [[Royal Engineer]]s. In [[1942]] he volunteered for training as a glider pilot, and, after completing a rigorous [[infantry]] training course, learned to fly powered aircraft and then gliders.
==Pegasus Bridge==
The glider that he flew landed in occupied [[France]] shortly after midnight. The two previous gliders had occupied much of the landing area and he was forced to swerve left then right to avoid number two flown by [[Oliver Boland]]. This resulted in it rotating right by 90 degrees, breaking in half and the nose ending up in a pond. Geoff Barkway was catapulted through the nose and momentarily lost consciousness. Recovering he returned to the aircraft and assisted in releasing some of his passengers who had become entangled.
Shortly afterwards he was unloading ammunition when he was shot in the right arm. When he came round in the [[café]] alongside the bridge, his arm was in a sling and he had lost a lot of blood. He was recovered to a [[Portsmouth]] [[hospital]], where he was to lose his arm as a result of gangrene.
==Post War==
Geoff Barkway was invalided from the Army in [[1945]] and, after a year's [[Physical_medicine_and_rehabilitation|rehabilitation]], obtained an [[Engineering]] [[academic degree|degree]] at [[Kingston Technical College]]. He then had a long career with [[London Transport Executive|London Transport]], which included responsibility for the operation of tests on Stages Two and Three of the [[Victoria Line]]. In [[1973]] he became a divisional engineer. After retiring in [[1981]], he became a consultant in underground transport systems in [[New York]] and [[Singapore]].
He married [[Eileen Underwood]], whom he had met when she was serving with the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service|ATS]], in 1945. They had two sons and two daughters.
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
* Obituary in the [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/06/17/db1702.xml Saturday Telegraph]
* Obituary in the [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2232861,00.html Times].
* Article in the [http://www.walthamforestguardian.co.uk/search/display.var.495026.0.doing_his_duty_for_king_and_country.php Waltham Forest Guardian]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkway, Geoff}}
[[Category:Glider Pilot Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Royal Corps of Signals soldiers]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers soldiers]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British World War II pilots]]