Ernest Melville Charles Guest



Flight Lieutenant Ernest Melville Charles Guest DFC (1920 – 4 October 1943) was a Rhodesian-born Royal Air Force pilot of the Second World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1942 having flown more than 1,000 operational hours. Posted to South Africa as a flight navigation instructor, he was unhappy and got himself transferred back to England on operational duties. He soon went missing in October 1943 after taking on six Ju 88s while on an anti-submarine sortie.

Early life
Ernest 'Melville' Guest was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, one of the twin sons of Ernest Lucas Guest, a prominent Rhodesian politician and soldier. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, he was nominated by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia to be a Royal Air Force cadet at RAF College, Cranwell. He was granted a permanent commission as Pilot Officer in the General Duties Branch on 9 October 1939 and promoted to Flying Officer on 9 October 1940. He was made Flight Lieutenant on 9 October 1941

Career
Shortly after he passed out of Cranwell, he came home on leave to attend the wedding of his elder sister, Gwen, and a telegram addressed to him was included by mistake in the congratulatory telegrams read out at the reception. It read: "Return to England immediately and report to Air Ministry". He was posted to 206 Squadron and flew a number of sorties over enemy territory. When Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, along with Crown Princess Juliana and other members of the Dutch Royal Family fled to England in May 1940 aboard the British destroyer HMS Hereward, Guest was in the air escort that accompanied her to safety.

He was later posted to West Africa with 200 Squadron, which was formed from a section of 206 Squadron. Later, he transferred to 61 Air School at George in the Western Cape as a navigation instructor. He was unhappy at George and soon sought to return to operational duty.

Guest returned to England and joined 53 Squadron, based at RAF Beaulieu in the New Forest, flying B-24 Liberator bombers on anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay. He had not been in England long when his and another aircraft were sent out on patrol. They were attacked by six Ju88s. The other aircraft sought the protection of the clouds but Melville decided to fight it out. He did not return. He was pronounced Missing in January 1944.

Honours
As well as two Mentions in Despatches,  he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1942: ""This officer has now completed over 1,000 hours operational flying. His qualities of endurance are phenomenal, his ability as a pilot is exceptional, and his devotion to duty is of the highest order. All his work has been done quietly and efficiently. He has set an excellent example to the younger pilots of the Squadron.""

Family
Guest and his wife Katherine Mary, of Pannal, North Yorkshire, had a son, Melville Guest, born November 1943, a few weeks after the death of his father.