Brian Thynne Main Page

We have been extremely fortunate in having been contacted by Georgina Thynne, the daughter of Brian Thynne.  Squadron Leader Thynne was an early member of 601 having joined up in the 1920's.  In January of 1936 he took over leadership of the squadron and would act as Squadron Leader until promotion in 1940 would take him away to act as a controller.  So essentially, not only was Brian a key member of the squadron through the days of camp at Port Lympne with Sir Philip Sassoon, but he was also the instrumental force in preparing 601 Squadron for eventual combat in the Second World War.  It is evidenced in what Georgina has told me that her father truly loved this squadron that he saw pretty much through infancy and leading up to its noble and important role in the Battle of Britain and beyond.  It must have been bittersweet that he would not lead his Legionnaires through the Battle of Britain and the rest of the war in N. Africa and Italy, but men of his calibre were destined for promotion and imparting their great knowledge to others within the RAF, a practice that has continuously made it one of the finest fighting forces in existence.  It is also very fortunate for us that his love for the squadron precipitated his collecting a large number of photographs of his time with the squadron.  Georgina has very gererously and patiently scanned these in for us so that her father's love for 601 Squadron can continue in memory.  We are extremely grateful to Georgian Thynne for provding this unique and amazing look at the squadron, and honoured to have the chance to share them and carry on the memory of this special and great group of men.  There are some really special and amazing photoraphs within, divided by year(s).

All photographs on these web pages are the sole property of the Thynne family and used with permission by 601 Squadron re-created.  These photographs should not be reproduced without express written consent by the contacts provided on this website.

NOTE:  Names provided as captions are sometimes nicknames or Christian names.  Eventually I hope to identify all members of the squadron shown within, but in the interest of getting these online, I've put them up as Brian had them labeled.

Click the link to see photos for the years provided.

1929-33




1934



1935




1936



1937



1938



1939