* 20.09.1913, Hořice.
† 11.12.2001, Brunswick, Australia.
The Early Days:
On 20 September 1913, Vlastimil Veselý was born at Hořice, a small town some 75km north-east of Prague. He was the youngest son of Erazim Vesely, a surveyor employed by the State, and his wife Zofie. Their eldest son, also Erazim, had been born in 1909.
In 1919, the same year that his mother sadly died, Vlastimil started his education at the elementary school in Hořice. The family later moved to Náchod where he studied at the grammar school, from which he matriculated in 1932.
In his youth, Vlastimil was an active member of the Hořice Sokol Youth Sports Club and also had aspirations to become an aviator. To achieve that aim Vlastimil persuaded his father to sign the required consent forms so that he could apply to join the Military Aviation Academy at Prostejov.
Czechoslovak Air Force:
He was accepted into the Military Academy Prostějov on 1 October 1932 and was placed on an air observer training course. On 15 May 1933, on completion of that theoretical course, he had attained the rank of svobodník [LAC] and was posted for practical training to the 14th Observation Squadron of the 4th Air Regiment who were deployed at Hradec Králové. His training there was for nine months on dual-seater bi-planes and amongst his fellow trainees were Josef Hybler, Josef Hanuš and Stanislav Fejfar who would also later join the RAF.
On 15 September 1933, Vlastimil was posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Hranice for a pilot training course. He graduated from the Elementary Pilot School with an “exceptional” grade. Vlastimil was selected for fighter-pilot training from which he graduated 1 July 1935, receiving an “excellent” grade and was promoted to the rank of poručík [Lieutenant]. Amongst his fellow pupils on that course were future RAF pilots Jindřich Bartoš, Stanislav Fejfar, Josef Klobočník and František Fajtl.
In February 1936 he was posted to the 8th Squadron [Observation] of the 2nd ‘Dr. Edvard Beneš’ Air Regiment who were deployed at Olomouc airbase. That April, he was posted to the 3rd ‘M. R. Štefánik’ Air Regiment who were deployed at Vajnory airbase, Slovakia. Five months later he was posted to the 40th fighter squadron of the 4th Air Regiment deployed at Hradec Králové airbase. The following year, he successfully completed night fighter training and an instrument flying course at the training squadron of the 4th Air Regiment, where he remained as a flying instructor.
German Occupation:
Despite assurances given by Hitler at the Munich Agreement, that he had no further interest in territorial gains for Germany, just a few months later he extended his demands that the remaining regions of Czechoslovakia become part of Germany.
On the evening before the invasion, on March 14, 1939, Czechoslovak intelligence officers called a meeting where they announced that the threat of invasion was imminent and recommended measures which would prevent most important assets fall in German hands. However, no orders were handed down until too late. The Chief of the Czechoslovak Air Force General Fajfr and his deputy General Vicherek ordered that no aircraft were allowed to take-off. III Department of the Ministry of National Defence started organising the transfer of the aircraft to several airfields in Moravia with the intention to get the airfleet to Romania and Yugoslavia. None of these planned intentions came to be instigated.
The Germans occupied Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939. Under pressure, Emil Hácha, the Czechoslovak President had acceded to their demands and, in the early hours of that day, he had ordered all Czechoslovak military units to stand down, remain in their barracks and not resist the occupation. Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately: they were now the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren), while Slovakia in return for its allegiance to Nazi Germany, had become the ‘puppet’ independent state of Slovakia.
After the German occupation on 15 March 1939, the Czechoslovak military was quickly disbanded by the Germans, and all personnel were dismissed. For the military personnel and many patriotic Czech citizens, this was a degrading period. Many wanted to redress this shame and humiliation and sought the liberation of their homeland. Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately. But by 19 March 1939, former senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military had started to form an underground army known as Obrana Národa [Defence of the Nation]. One of their objectives was to assist as many airmen and soldiers as possible to get to neighbouring Poland, where Ludvík Svoboda, a former distinguished Czechoslovak Legionnaire from WW1, was planning the formation of Czechoslovak military units to fight for the liberation of their homeland. Within Czechoslovakia, former military personnel and civilian patriots covertly started to arrange for former Air Force and Army personnel to be smuggled over the border into Poland to join these newly formed Czechoslovak units.
To Poland:
Whilst the Protectorate authorities allocated Vlastimil a job as a clerk in a Municipal office in Prague, he never started that new employment as instead he decided to go to Poland to join those units.
On the night of 17/18 May 1939, with former Czechoslovak Air Force pilots Jan Klán and Tomáš Kruml, Vlastimil left on the night train to Ostrava and then to Morávka, a small village about 30km south-east of Ostrava and only 20km from the Polish border.
Vlastimil’s diary record of this escape: “After a strenuous march, we reached Kropáček’s, where we were 50 mtr from the Polish border. After a brief rest there, just to be safe, we decided to continue our journey as soon as possible – it paid off. We all happily crossed the Polish border at 10:45. We stopped for lunch in a hotel 200 mtrs from the border on Polish soil. There we met our colleagues. We learned later that German border guards had been pursuing us, but as we had the advantage of a head start, they were unable to catch us. We had been betrayed, and it was likely that, as we were only 200mtrs from the border our pursuers would cross over the border to detain us. We therefore decided to immediately leave the hotel, just to be safe. It was a very happy and correct decision.”
They made their way to Katowice and from there to Krákow, where they reported for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate there.
Polish Disappointment:
However, there they were informed that the formation of Czechoslovak military units in Poland were just rumours because the Polish authorities would not allow Czechoslovak military units to be formed on its territory for fear of provoking Nazi Germany.
Instead, they learnt that Vladimír Znojemský, the Czechoslovak Consul, had, via his counterpart in Paris, negotiated with the French Government that the escaped Czechoslovak military would be permitted to travel to France. But there was a condition: as French Law did not permit foreign military personnel on its territory during peacetime, the Czechoslovaks would be required to enlist in the French Foreign Legion for a period of five years – but with the assurance that in the event of war being declared, the Czechoslovaks would be released from the Legion and transferred into French military units. The alternative was that they would be sent back to the German Protectorate of Czechoslovakia, where their execution or deportation to a concentration camp would be the most likely outcome. Vlastimil and his colleagues decided that their best choice was to go to France.
They were accommodated at the ‘Dom Turystczny’, a cheap tourist hostel near the Czechoslovak Consulate whilst preparations were made for their onward journey to France.
To France:
Following the completion of those preparations, Vlastimil received his travel document on 20 May. The three pilots and 106 other escapee Czechoslovak military personnel then took a train to Gdynia, a port on Poland’s Baltic coast. There, on May 23, they boarded the Polish ocean liner SS ‘Batory’, which was en route to New York and making a stop at Copenhagen, then passing through the Kattegatand Skagerrak before going to the French port of Cherbourg, arriving there on 26 May 1939.
France:
Once in France, they first travelled to Le Bourget airfield, in the north-east district of Paris, where they were billeted pending acceptance into the French Foreign Legion. It was a slow process as the SS ‘Batory’ was the first ship bringing a significant number of Czechoslovaks to France and so only now had the French authorities began to actively address the emerging situation regarding the Czechoslovak escapees. During that period, they underwent medical checks and also took part in French lessons prior to being accepted into the Legion. Vlastimil was accepted into the Legion at the rank of sergeant. The escapees were then transferred the Legion’s base at Fort St Jean at Marseille. From there they travelled by a transport ship which sailed to Oran, Algeria, and then onto the Legion’s training base at Sidi Bel Abbès, where they were assigned to the 1st Battalion of their 1st Regiment.
L’Armée de lAir:
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany as their ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Poland had been ignored. With war now declared, the Czechoslovaks were released from their Legion service contract and transferred to French military units. On 3 September Vlastimil was released to the l’Armée de l’Air and transferred to their Colonial Air Force at their Meknes airbase, Morocco, for training. On 11 September, he was posted to Blida airbase, Algeria, for re-training on French equipment. His re-training was completed and on 1 March 1940, he was posted to GC I/9 where he joined Emil Foit who had been posted there on 9 November 1939. GC I/9 were deployed at La Senia airbase at Oran, Algeria and equipped with Nieuport Delage Ni. 622c.1, Dewoitine D.510C.1, and MS-406c fighter aircraft.
On 26 March 1940, GC I/9 redeployed to mainland France to Marignane airbase at Marseille. On 1 May he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. The inactivity of the ‘phoney war’ resulted in GC I/9 re-deploying back to El Aouina airbase, Tunisia, on 6 May.
The Germans invaded France on 10 May 1940 and the rapid advance of their Blitzkrieg quickly indicated that the collapse of France was imminent. Encouraged by the German success, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France on 10 May. That day, three more Czechoslovak pilots; Viktor Kašlík, Jaroslav Novák, and Oldřich Fiala were posted to GC I/9. The following day, in anticipation of Italian air raids, GC I/9 redeployed to Gabes El Hamma airbase, Tunis.
Despite flying only 5.20 operational hours, Vlastimil was the only Czechoslovak pilot who achieved combat success against the Regia Aeronautica [Italian Air Force] during the Battle of France. On 17 June, whilst on a patrol with Jaroslav Novák, Vlastimil was in combat with an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 three-engined bomber aircraft from the 36° Stormo bomber unit of the Regia Aeronautica, who were deployed at Castelvetrano airbase in Sicily. As he SM.79 was flying towards Sicily at about 16,000 feet, Vlastimil chased after it and fired at it; smoke was seen coming from its left engine. The combat took place at 11:12, over the Mediterranean Sea, north-east of Cape Bon, Tunisia. For this action Vlastimil was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French.
That rapid Blitzkreig advance resulted in the French retreating westwards virtually on a daily basis. By mid-June, the French authorities had by now realised that the war on mainland France was lost and sought to evacuate as much of their military to Algeria as they could. With the French capitulation imminent, as many l’Armée de l‘Air units as possible were withdrawn to Perpignan, La Salanque airfield, in south-west France, in preparation for the flight to airbases in Algeria. Some 250 aircraft from other units had already congregated there en route to Algeria.
Evacuation to England:
It was in Algeria that they learned that France had capitulated on 22 June. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, appealed to all the evacuated Czechoslovak airmen to come to Britain and continue the fight from there. The l’Armée de l’Air released the Czechoslovak airmen from their service so that they could make their journey to Britain. On 4 July 1940, they left Maison Blanche by train and travelled for four days to Casablanca, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. From here, on 4 July, under the command of štábní kapitán Josef Duda, they boarded the SS ‘Royal Scotsman’, which sailed on 9 July and took them to Gibraltar. There they boarded the ‘’David Livingstone’ which departed on 21 July 1940, in a convoy of 69 vessels At first they sailed westwards far into the Atlantic to avoid attack by Luftwaffe aircraft and then changed their route eastwards to the UK, arriving at Cardiff at 05:00 on 5 August 1940.
RAF:
After arriving at Falmouth, the Czechoslovak airmen were transferred to RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire for security vetting. The Battle of Britain was in progress and there was an urgent need for fighter pilots. As a trained pilot on 16 August 1940, Vlastimil was accepted into the RAF Volunteer Reserve, at the rank of P/O and 2 days later transferred to the Czechoslovak Airmen’s Depot at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton.
As when joining l’Armee del’Air the year before in France, the Czechoslovak airmen were given theoretical aviation training and language lessons, this time for British aircraft and the language was English.
On 5 September Vlastimil was posted to the newly formed 312 (Czechoslovak) Sqn along with 310 (Czechoslovak) Sqn, which were being formed at RAF Duxford and equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk I fighter aircraft. With British instructors, re-training for Hurricanes commenced immediately. 310 Sqn became operational on 17 August, which, due to the now low number of aircraft available to 312 Sqn, slowed down the re-training of 312 Sqn pilots. On 26 September, 312 Sqn redeployed to RAF Speke airfield at Liverpool which was part of 9 Group RAF Fighter Command. There, on completion of their retraining, their role was the defence of Liverpool and its docks.
Battle of Britain:
The squadron was declared operational on 2 October and Vlastimil made his first operational flight on 4 October – a scramble flying Hurricane Mk I H1822, taking-off at 10:50 and returning at 11:45 with no Luftwaffe encountered. He made a further three scrambles, also uneventful, this achieving 3hrs 45 min of operational flying during the Battle. On 27 October he was promoted to the rank of F/O.
After the Battle:
Due to lack of combat opportunity Vlastimil volunteered for night-fighters and on 8 February 1941 was posted to 96 Sqn, a multinational RAF squadron comprised of British, Commonwealth and now Czechoslovak aircrew. The squadron was deployed at RAF Cranage, some 30km south of Manchester and equipped with Hurricane Mk Is. The squadron’s role was the night defence of the industrial Midlands and the Liverpool docks. Fellow Czechoslovak pilots from 312 Sqn Josef Keprt, Josef Kloboučník, and František Chabera joined him there at 96 Sqn on 23 March with Karel Bednařík and Oldřich Kanňovský, from the Czechoslovak Depot joining them as air-gunners.
On the night of 23 February, 1941 Vlastimil was flying Hurricane Mk I V6886 on a night patrol taking off from RAF Cranage at 23:10. Whilst searching for Luftwaffe aircraft he flew several times through snow clouds at his patrol height of 8,000 ft. When returning from patrol, as he was descending into warmer air, thick ice began to form on both inside and outside of the cockpit canopy, making it impossible to see out. He opened the cockpit canopy in the hope that the warmer air would melt the ice, but with no success, while trying to clear the ice with his glove. He was now down to an altitude of 3,000 ft and flying blind through a snow cloud as he was approaching RAF Cranage. He flashed the id signal of the day wanting the airfield to switch on the landing lights, but whether it was not seen or the incorrect id signal had been sent, no landing lights were switched on. He was now flying through a snow storm and running low on fuel and so diverting to another airfield was not an option. He switched on the aircraft landing lights but this had little effect in the snow storm. He lowered the Hurricane’s undercarriage and flaps but the conditions made it difficult to accurately judge his descending height. He landed hard on the runway, collapsing the undercarriage legs on impact, causing the aircraft to continue down the runway on its belly for 30 mtrs until it stopped, which damaged the propellor and engine. Whilst the Hurricane was badly damaged, Vlastimil escaped unhurt.
During the latter part of February, the squadron was re-equipped with Boulton-Paul Defiants, similar in size to a Hurricane, but its only armament being four machine guns operated in a turret behind the cockpit, but with no forward guns mounted in its wings. For his air-gunner Vlastimil crewed up with Sgt Heycock, a young inexperienced Canadian air gunner.
On the night of 12-13 March 1941, Vlastimil – took-off in Defiant Mk I N1803, from RAF Cranage at 21:55 with Sgt Heycock for a patrol at 15,000 feet to cover the south-eastern aerial approaches to Liverpool. During the patrol, near Liverpool, Vlastimil sighted a He IIII and went into attack. From the 96 Sqn Operational Record Book of this incident:
F/O Vesely took-off from Cranage in a Defiant to patrol Cotton ast at 15,000 feet. While on patrol he saw a Heinkel III above him on the port side. He immediately told his air-gunner who saw the enemy aircraft about 50 yds away. He got the enemy aircraft in his gun sights, but the guns failed to fire. The pilot kept his Defiant in formation with the German bomber and flew alongside and slightly below it for nearly 100 yards expecting meanwhile that the AG would get the guns to fire, but they did not do so.
The pilot of the Heinkel then dived, F/O Vesely followed him down and manoeuvred so as to get to the enemy aircraft on the starboard side. He flew in formation with him once again and for about 50 yards.
The side gunner of the German bomber then got in two bursts of fire, the first hitting the pilot and his cockpit the second hitting the top of the gun turret, but without injuring the gunner. The pilot felt that he had been hit in the chest, shoulder and left arm, and lost consciousness. When he came to, he found the Defiant falling into a spin. Bringing the aircraft out of the spin he set course for base. Although badly injured in chest, shoulder and head he made a perfect landing without the aid of the floodlight. F/O Vesely was removed to hospital and is progressing well. The combat took place in full moonlight and perfect weather.
They had landed at 23;10. Vlastimil was taken to Wilmslow Hospital for immediate surgery His air-gunner Sgt Heycock escaped the incident without injury. The Defiant had been hit some 150 times, 30 of which were in the cockpit and seat. Vlastimil had been wounded by shrapnel in his chest, left shoulder and in the face. He was the first member of 96 Sqn to have been wounded in combat.
After a month recuperation in Hospital, Vlastimil returned to 96 Sqn on 31 May 1941 and remained until 23 August 1941. During that period he made just two operational flights totalling 2 hours 35 min.
To Czechoslovak Inspectorate General:
His next posting was to the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General (CIG) in London where he stayed until 1 December 1941. There he had an administrative role. His next promotion, to the rank of F/Lt was on 27 December.
68 Sqn:
Vlastimil then returned to operational flying. being posted to 68 Sqn who were deployed at RAF High Ercall, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and equipped with Bristol Beaufighter Mk.IF twin-engined fighter aircraft. He was assigned to the squadron’s B Flight – otherwise known as the Czechoslovak Flight as it was manned by Czechoslovak air-crew. Here he crewed-up with Sgt Zbyšek Nečas as his radar-operator/Navigator. The squadron’s role was the night defence of the industrial Midlands and the Liverpool docks. On 20 January 1942, came his next promotion to Acting S/Ldr.
On the night of 23/24 July 1942 due to an unfortunate identification error a Wellington bomber from 57 Sqn was shot down over the North Sea. On 21 August 1942 he was promoted to the rank of S/Ldr and appointed Flight Commander of ‘B’ Flight. On 1 November 1942 he was appointed Flight Commander of ‘A’ Flight. He remained with 68 Sqn until 1 April 1943, during that time he achieved 2 confirmed victories, 1 of which was shared, 1 probable and 1 damaged.
Return to CIG:
His next posting was back to CIG as a Liaison Officer with RAF Fighter Command at 11 Group HQ at Uxbridge. On 1 July he was promoted to the rank of S/Ldr. He remained with CIGe until 12 January 1944 and was then posted to the Empire Flying School, at Hullavington, near Chippenham for a flying instructor course. He graduated from the course on 15 April 1944 with the grade of Chief Flying Instructor. On the same day he returned to CIG to their Training Department. His next posting was in May 1945 when he was transferred to Paris and appointed Czechoslovak Military Attaché with the rank of Major.
During his RAF service he had flown 213.55 hours on single-engined aircraft (37.50 hours at night) and 568 hours on multi-engined aircraft (231.20 at night).
Post WW2:
He returned to Czechoslovakia on 1 October 1945. His next posting was to the Ministerstvo obrany [Ministry of Defence] in Prague. and on 15 May 1946, at the rank of podplukovník (W/Cmdr) he was appointed interim Commander of the 24th Bomber Regiment at Plzeň airbase.
Communist Putsch:
Following the Communist take-over in February 1948, the Czechoslovaks who fought for the Allies in WW2 were regarded as being tainted by capitalism and many were arrested, imprisoned and subjected to other persecution.
On 9 March 1948 he was placed on ‘waiting leave’ from the Czechoslovak Air Force and dismissed on 1 November. He was tipped-off that he was about to be arrested by the StB – Státní bezpečnost – the state secret service, and with his wife he escaped over the border into the American Zone of Germany on 8 November 1948.
Second Exile:
He returned to England, where he re-joined the RAF. However, regardless of their previous RAF rank, the escaped Czechoslovak airmen were now only offered the rank of AC2 whilst the RAF established what roles these escapees could undertake in the post WW2 RAF Service and were transferred to No 2 RAF Cardington, Recruitment Unit near Bedford. Usually there between two to four months, while the RAF were ascertaining their future roles in the RAF, the men, many of whom had been awarded DSOs or DFCs for their wartime service, were kept fully employed, and were required to undertake general service training, including taking instruction on service subjects, physical education, English lessons, but also to undertake menial tasks like sweeping floors, scrubbing tables, dishing up food and cleaning toilets at weekends for new recruits when civilian staff where not available.
He retired from the RAF, at the rank of S/Ldr, on 3 October 1968 and emigrated to Australia. where he died on 11 December 2001, aged 88, at Brunswick Heads, NSW.
Medals Awarded:
Distinguished Flying Cross 28.07.42.]
Air Force Cross [10.06.54.]
1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp
Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany clasp
Defence Medal
War Medal
General Service Medal
Válečný kříž 1939 and bar
Za chrabrost před nepřítelem and 4 bars
Za zásluhy I.stupně
Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB
Croix de Guerre avec toile de bronze
Remembered:
Australia:
Brisbane:
On 26 May 2019, a Memorial Plaque was unveiled at the Czechoslovakian Club in Queensland, Brisbane, commemorating the Czechoslovak RAF airmen, who, post WW2, emigrated to Australia, and died there. Vlastimil Veselý is commemorated on that memorial plaque.
Czech Republic:
Hořice v Podkrkonoší:
He is named on a Memorial Plaque by the Cesta Legií monument at Hořice v Podkrkonoší.
Prague 1 – Klárov:
In November 2017, his name, along with the names of 2533 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague 1.
Great Britain:
Capel-le_Ferne:
He is commemorated, along with the other 2940 Battle of Britain aircrew, on the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall at the National Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent:
Hawkinge:
Vlastimil is remembered on the Czechoslovak Battle of Britain pilots memorial at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge, Kent. It was unveiled on 28 October 2025, to commemorate the 88 Czechoslovaks who flew in that battle.
London – Battle of Britain Memorial:
He is also commemorated on the London Battle of Britain Memorial:
Article last updated: 31.10.2025.
