Before settling in Rosscarbery in 1971 the late Anthony Bartley was one of the few to whom so much was owed by so many. The medals of the Battle of Britain fighter ace, once married to the Hollywood actress Deborah Kerr, are to be sold by Dix Noonan Webb in London on December 8. Squadron Leader Bartley, one of the founder members of 92 Squadron, is credited with at least 12 victories, eight damaged, a number of probables and possibles, and countless unclaimed.He cut his teeth over the beaches of Dunkirk, shooting down two enemy aircraft after his first dogfight on May 23, 1940.
On September 15, 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain he survived against the odds. His description of what happened that day makes exciting reading. ‘I heard a cannon shell explode behind my armour-plated seat back, a bullet whizzed through my helmet, grazing the top of my head and shattering my gun sight, while others punctured my oil and glycol tanks. A 109 flashed by. Fumes then started to fill my cockpit, and I knew without doubt that I had had it, so I threw open my hood, undid my straps and started to climb over the side. As I braced myself to bale out, I saw my enemy preparing for another attack, and knew it meant suicide to jump with him around. Escaping airmen over their own territory were fair game in some combatants’ log book, and a friend of mine had been shot down in his parachute. So, I decided to bluff it out, climbed back into my aircraft, and turned on my attacker.My ruse worked; he didn’t know how hard he’d hit me, but he did know that a Spitfire could turn inside a Messerschmitt, and I fired a random burst to remind him, whereupon he fled for home. By this time I was too low to jump, so I headed for a field and prayed. At a hundred feet, my engine blew up, and I was blinded by oil. I hit the ground, was catapulted out, and landed in a haystack, unharmed”. The seven medals he was awarded come up with an estimate of £100,000-£140,000.
After moving to Hollywood he formed European American Productions. He wrote and produced television films for Fireside Theatre, MCA and Douglas Fairbanks Presents. He moved to Rosscarbery in 1971 with his second wife Victoria. Born in India Bartley’s father was Sir Charles Bartley, an Irish judge who served in the Calcutta High Court.
