This Is Your Life: Robert Standford Tuck

Robert Roland STANFORD TUCK DSO, DFC (1916-1987)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Wing Commander Robert Roland Stanford Tuck, Royal Air Force fighter pilot, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre while on his way to BBC Television Centre to discuss the possibility of televising parts of his forthcoming biography, Fly For Your Life.

After a brief spell with the Merchant Navy, Robert joined the RAF in 1935, becoming one of the first qualified Spitfire pilots. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined No. 92 Fighter Squadron, where his victories in the early days of the Battle of Britain gained him his first Distinguished Flying Cross. Promoted to squadron leader with No. 257 Fighter Squadron in September 1940, Robert fought in combat over northern France, where he gained further victories and a second DFC, along with a Distinguished Service Order for 'outstanding leadership, courage and skill'.

On 28 January 1942, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire while on a mission, was forced to land in France, and was captured by the Germans. He spent two years in Stalag Luft III as a prisoner of war before successfully escaping in 1945. Robert retired from the RAF in 1949 and established a mushroom farm in Kent.

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