WW2 SAAF Fighter Pilot: Cecil Golding
Hi and welcome to this site;
While doing video interviews with surviving ww2 SAAF fighter pilots and subsequent research on their whereabouts, I made contact with Cecil Golding thanks to his past fellow 1 squadron pilot Stewart "Bomb" Finney. Cecil agreed to be video interviewed and share his war-time stories.
The purpose of this site is to present these videos as well as surviving documents, photographs and memorabilia related to the ww2 history of Cecil. Also presented here are photographs of fellow pilots and other related historical information.
Cecil joined the SAAF in early 1941 and was selected for pilot training. After training he was transferred to No. 5 fighter squadron in North Africa, flying outdated Tomahawk aircraft in the SAAF's toughest hour of 1942. As a very young inexperienced pilot he was thrown into battle at a time where the German Luftwaffe had superiority in the air. In July 1942 he got shot down and wounded, claimed by the famous German fighter ace Jochen Marseille. His first tour thus ended hospitalized in Cairo and later sent back to the Union.
Cecil completed two more operational tours with 1 Squadron doing service in Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, Cyprus, Egypt and Italy, flying various versions of the Spitfire aircraft. In 1944 he was promoted to squadron leader of No 3 SAAF squadron and received the DFC award in 1945.
After the war Cecil had a long career in real estate business.
This is a living web site. Any input and/or participation will be much appreciated regarding additional information, correctness, information from relatives of members who served with Vivian in his squadron, photographs, stories etc. Please e-mail me. Most welcome will be photographs at No's 1, 3, 5 and 7 squadron when Cecil did service with them.
If you have a family member who served as a SAAF fighter pilot during ww2 and you want to find out more about his war service please contact me and maybe I can be of assistance.
Tinus le Roux
December 2011
Cecil sadly passed away on 29 May 2014. Sincere condolences to his family. His presence will be missed by many.
R.I.P. Cecil and blue skies forever!
Military Career
?/?/1939 SA Army Engineer Corps
?/?/1941 SAAF Ground Training
?/?/1941 Elementary Flying Training School, Wonderboom (Tiger Moths)
?/?/1941 S.F.T.S. Kimberley, (Hawker Hart, Hawker Hind)
?/?/1941 Commissioned as officer of SAAF
3/12/1941 Receive wings
25/3/1942 SAAF No 5 squadron operational service; Libya (Curtiss Tomahawk)
?/?/1942 Damaged Italian bomber Br 20
?/?/1942 Shot down a Messerschmitt Bf109 F
?/?/1942 Shot down Stuka Ju87
?/?/1942 Shared shot down Stuka 87
3/6/1942 Shot down Stuka Ju87
3/6/1942 Got shot down and wounded by Bf109
3/6/1942 Military hospital Tobruk
5/6/1942 Military hospital Cairo
?/?/1942 ?, Port Alfred, target training duty. (Oxfords)
7/4/1943 SAAF No 1 squadron operational service; Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, Italy (Spitfires)
23/9/1943 SAAF No 7 squadron operational service; Cyprus, Egypt (Spitfires)
8/6/1944 SAAF No 1 squadron operational service; Italy (Spitfires)
25/9/1944 SAAF No 3 squadron operational service; Italy
25/9/1944 Promoted to Captain as flight leader
27/12/1944 Promoted to Major as OC of No 3 squadron
during 1945 SAAF auxiliary squadron, temporary activities
early 1950's Demobilized
1941
1945
Cecil OC of SAAF No.3 squadron, 1945
Cecil's aircraft as OC of 3 squadron 1945, Italy. Thanks to Brent Best for this profile.
Links to interview videos of Cecil Golding, please click on link to open the video player:
1) Shot down and wounded in the desert, 3 June 1942.
2) Learning to fly the Tomahawk fighter aircraft.
3) Dive bombing with the Spitfire.
4) Hans Joachim's kill claim disputed
6) Missions to the Island of Kos 1943
