At the time he was only 22 years old.
AIR COMMODORE FERDINAND MAURICE FELIX WEST VC CBE MC - A BIOGRAPHY
Born in London in 1896, "Freddy" West was the son of an army officer. When her husband was killed in the Boer War, Freddy’s mother, a French Comtesse, decided to move to Italy where her sister lived. Growing up in Italy, he learnt to speak fluent French and Italian as well as his native English. He entered Genoa University in 1913 and during the 1914 vacation he acquired a post in a Swiss Bank. However, shortly after starting work in Switzerland, War broke out and he decided to join the British Army. However, his was not as easy as it seemed, he was arrested in France because the French Police could not believe that an Englishman could speak such fluent French and that he was trying to escape the Country.
Eventually arriving in Britain, he was sent to the RAMC at Aldershot on the grounds that he understood Latin. Despite protests he remained in the RAMC and was sent to Ireland. But fortunately he had been recommended for a commission and in May 1915 he joined the Royal Munster Fusiliers. He arrived in France in November 1915. Following pioneer duties behind the line his Battalion moved to the front in February 1916. A meeting with a RFC pilot and a ten minute flight in early 1917, led to him deciding to apply for the RFC. Training as a observer at Brooklands, he was back in France by late April 1917 posted to No 3 Squadron, becoming a fully qualified observer in July 1917. After six months as an observer, he was posted back to Britain to undergo pilot training at Grantham.
When he qualified as a pilot, he returned to France together with his squadron commander from Grantham, Major Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who was to remain his CO in No 8 Squadron. 8 Squadron specialised in co-operation with tanks, but on 21 April 1918, whilst investigating the possibility of recovering a downed aircraft with Lt Richard Grice, he witnessed the shooting down of Manfred von Richtofen.
On 12 August 1918, the British Army was intending to start a major offensive, but it needed information about the enemy positions. Setting off at dawn West and his observer, Haslam spotted an enemy concentration through a hole in the mist. Almost immediately they came under fire and he was hit in the leg and his radio transmitter was smashed. Continuing to identify his location he remained under attack and only when he was sure of the enemy’s position did he attempt to break off and head for his own lines. The German fighter followed them and continued attacking, unable to make his airfield he landed behind the Allied lines and insisted on reporting his findings to a squadron officer despite being in excruciating agony. His left leg was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated and shortly afterwards he was invalided back to Britain, where on 9 November 1918 he learned that he had been awarded the VC.
Equipped with an artificial leg, he considered his flying career over, when he met a Swiss, Mr Desoutter, who had also lost a leg but had designed and built himself a vastly superior limb. West, having had one built for him, then approached the Air Ministry with a request to remain in the RAF as a pilot. Having been interviewed by Trenchard and been offered a post in the Foreign Office he was very pleasantly surprised to find his name amongst those listed in the London Gazette in August 1919 as one of those awarded permanent commissions in the RAF. Posted to Uxbridge, he was not allowed to pilot aircraft but often flew as a passenger and gradually talked his fellow staff officer into letting him take control eventually going solo and being returned to flying duties.
Following attendance at the RAF Staff College, he returned to operational flying with 17 Squadron at Hawkinge flying Woodcocks and then Grebes. A couple of adjutant posts then followed firstly at the CFS and then at Kalafrana in Malta, where he had the engineering officer modify the ruder controls to enable him to fly seaplanes in rough weather. Returning to England he was given command of No 4 Squadron after a period as an instructor at the School of Army Co-operation. In 1936 he was informed of what would be his first post as an Air Attaché when he was appointed the first British Air Attaché to Finland, Latvia and Estonia. Here he worked hard to interest the Finns in purchasing British aircraft and equipment in preference to German, but was successful when the Finnish Government placed an order for Bristol Blenheims.
Returning to the UK he took command of RAF Odiham, which later became No 50 Wing as part of the Air Component of the BEF. His return to operations came to an end at Christmas 1939 when feeling unwell he returned to Britain and was admitted to Aldershot Military Hospital being diagnosed as suffering from a burst ulcer. To aid his recovery he was posted to Italy as Air Attaché to Rome, but within six months Italy had declared war and he was moved across the border into Switzerland. He remained in this post throughout WWII and was responsible for assisting many escaped RAF aircrew return to Britain having made their way to Switzerland. He was also in a good position to collect intelligence about the enemy and was even targeted by the German Intelligence services resulting in him having to ‘hire’ himself a bodyguard.
In 1944 he was offered a post in the Far East by ACM Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, but turned it down, fortunately for him as Leigh-Mallory’s aircraft crashed into the Alps killing all aboard. With the end of the war in Europe, his term of office in Switzerland came to an end and he returned to Britain, retiring from the RAF and joining J Arthur Rank Overseas Film Distributors in January 1946. He was appointed Managing Director in 1947 remaining until 1958 retiring as Chairman. Subsequent directorships held included Hurst Park Syndicate, Continental Shipyard Agencies, Technical Equipment Supplies Ltd, Tokalon Ltd and Terravia Trading Services.
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Air Commodore Ferdinand Maurice Felix West VC CBE MC RAF was interviewed on the 27th May 1979 by the art historian Anna Malinovska. The interview is reproduced in Voices in Flight (Pen & Sword Books, 2006)
He died on the 8th July 1988.
