George Beurling's Gift

The best way to learn about George F. Beurling is to read his book "Malta Spitfire". This book was written in 1943 with the help of a man named Leslie Roberts. The book is an excellent account of George's life. Also his flying and fighting experience in Malta in 1942. One of George's best friends in 249 squadron in Malta is a man named Bob Middlemiss. Bob Middlemiss was shot down and wounded in Malta in June of 1942. Bob survived his injuries after being shot down. Before he was sent back to England to recover from his injuries. George Beurling gave him a gift. He gave Bob the insignia of the Regia Aeronautica. That he cut out of the rudder of an Italian Macchi C.202 fighter, flown by Faliero Gelli. Gelli was shot down by George on July 27th, 1942 and crash landed on the Maltese island of Gozo. He was a rare pilot to have survived a George Beurling attack. Bob Middlemiss kept this historic piece until 2006. When he donated it to the Canadian Air force Museum located in Trenton, Ontario. I was very fortunate and honored to have met Mr. Bob Middlemiss twice. This is how I found about about this story. I photographed this rare piece in 2006 after visiting the museum.