Ian Gleed already had three years of flying experience in the Royal Air Force (RAF) by the time the Second World War broke out in September 1939.
He proved to be an exceptional and brave pilot, with luck on his side at times. In February 1940, while test-flying a new Spitfire (Mk I s/n N3120), the aircraft broke up at 18,000 feet, sending an unconscious Gleed plummeting in free fall.
He regained consciousness midair, long enough to pull his parachute cord and land safely on the ground.
After recovering from his injuries, he took part in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his “great courage in the air” and for fulfilling his task with “energy and discretion”.
In 1941, after a promotion to Wing Commander, he also received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his “fine fighting spirit, combined with his masterly leadership and keenness […] and inspiring example”.
Wing Commander Gleed, known to his colleagues as “Widge”, was posted to RAF Middle Wallop in 1941 It was here that he started a secret relationship with Pilot Officer Christopher Gotch in 1942. Gotch recalled their relationship in 1997, remembering that after a few months Gleed “gave me a kiss which took me by surprise…”
The enormous amount of people power required during the Second World War meant that, in some areas, LGBTQ+ people were unofficially tolerated, giving some the opportunity to explore their sexuality, sometimes for the first time.
However, this was not universal and discretion was still required: being caught or being openly gay still posed a huge risk of a court martial, imprisonment, and dismissal for “gross indecency”. Approximately 1,800 servicemen were tried for indecency in the Army, the RAF and the Navy between 1939 and 1945.
Being caught wasn’t something either man wanted to risk, and they took great lengths to keep their relationship hidden. It came to end when Gleed was posted to another station.
IWM (CM 5005)
Gleed in his Spitfire at an airfield in Tunisia in April 1943, days before he was shot down.
In 1942, Gleed published a memoir, Arise to Conquer about his wartime experiences in the RAF. It provides vivid details of encounters with the German Luftwaffe and those aircraft he shot down, particularly during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The book is on display in the Battle of Britain section of the Second World War Galleries at IWM London.
Gleed was also persuaded to write in a fictional fiancée, “Pam”, after his publishers became concerned about his ‘bachelor’ status. He told his surprised family that he included a fictional fiancée for the readers, who he said, ‘loved romance’. It is unlikely that Gleed’s family ever knew about his relationship with Gotch.
After months of desk duties at RAF Bentley Priory – Fighter Command Headquarters – Gleed volunteered to lead a fighter wing as part of the North African campaign.
He was posted there in January 1943. Just a few months later, on 16 April 1943, he was shot down over Tunisia, aged 26. In May, the war in North Africa came to an end.
Gleed was buried in Enfidaville War Cemetery, alongside more than 1,500 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War.
The personal inscription on his headstone reads: “One who held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake”.