Age, Biography and Wiki

Raymond Hesselyn ('Hess') was born on 13 March, 1921 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Discover Raymond Hesselyn's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 42 years old?

Popular As 'Hess'
Occupation N/A
Age 42 years old
Zodiac Sign Pisces
Born 13 March 1921
Birthday 13 March
Birthplace Dunedin, New Zealand
Date of death (1963-11-14)
Died Place RAF Hospital Uxbridge, England
Nationality New Zealand

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 13 March. He is a member of famous with the age 42 years old group.

Raymond Hesselyn Height, Weight & Measurements

At 42 years old, Raymond Hesselyn height not available right now. We will update Raymond Hesselyn's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
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Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
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Raymond Hesselyn Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. So, how much is Raymond Hesselyn worth at the age of 42 years old? Raymond Hesselyn’s income source is mostly from being a successful . He is from New Zealand. We have estimated Raymond Hesselyn's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2023 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2023 Under Review
Net Worth in 2022 Pending
Salary in 2022 Under Review
House Not Available
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Source of Income

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Timeline

1998

Hesselyn is credited with 18 enemy aircraft destroyed, a half share in another, two probably destroyed, and seven damaged. After his death, his wife returned his medals to his parents; they were later sold to an Australian collector, and in 1998 came up for sale at auction in London, fetching £7,200.

1963

In 1954 Hesselyn was posted to Germany to serve as a plans officer with the headquarters of No. 83 Group at the RAF base at Wahn, Cologne. He then returned to the United Kingdom and was assigned to RAF Horsham St Faith as a recovery officer. A posting with No. 217 Signals Unit followed. In early 1960 he returned to the headquarters of Fighter Command in a staff role. Hesselyn's health began to decline in April 1963 due to what was initially believed to be a stomach ulcer, but was later found to be cancer; he died at the RAF Hospital at Uxbridge on 14 November 1963, aged 42. He is buried in the Hillingdon and Uxbridge Cemetery at Hillingdon.

1951

The following month he was granted a permanent commission in the RAF. After a period on staff duties at the headquarters of Fighter Command, in 1951 Hesselyn was posted as commander of No. 41 Squadron, the last fighter squadron to be based at Biggin Hill station. His final promotion, to squadron leader, came at the start of the year. In November 1952, he was posted to No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit, based at Pembrey in Wales. By this time he had developed a reputation as being a difficult commander, prone to losing his temper over minor issues, and continuing to excessively consume alcohol. At one stage while at Pembrey he was disciplined for performing aerobatics and low level flying over the airfield after performing a weather check in a de Havilland Vampire. He was disciplined again for an incident where he was careless with the discharge of a rifle while target shooting.

1948

In August 1948, he married Alfreda Ratten in a civil ceremony in London. She was a divorcee and was nine years older than Hesselyn. He was financially well off, with his book selling in excess of 50,000 copies. With co-author Brennan having died earlier in the war, all royalties went to Hesselyn.

1947

Hesselyn went to New Zealand in March 1947 to visit his family. He attended a number of functions in his honour but did not enjoy the attention and family members noted he kept late hours, struggled to sleep, and also drank heavily. In June, he formally resigned from the RNZAF and transferred to the RAF, being appointed to a four–year commission as a flight lieutenant. Back in the United Kingdom, he was posted to No. 56 Squadron, which operated Meteors. During his time there, he also attended a junior commanders course.

1946

After a period of recuperation following his release from captivity, in April 1946 Hesselyn was sent to No. 1 Squadron at Tangmere, where he was a flight commander. In September, he participated in a flypast involving over 300 fighters flying over London in celebration of Battle of Britain Day. Shortly afterwards, the squadron began converting to the Gloster Meteor jet fighter, having previously been equipped with Spitfires.

1945

At the end of his solitary confinement, Hesselyn rejoined his fellow captives. Appointed a personnel officer, he kept records on the POWs that were passed to the Air Ministry after the war. Stalag Luft I was liberated by the Russian Army on 1 May 1945, and two weeks later Hesselyn was repatriated back to England. As a result of his conduct as a POW, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, the announcement being made in the London Gazette on 28 December 1945.

1944

After his capture, Hesselyn was hospitalised at Beauvais for treatment of injuries sustained as he was shot down and was not transferred to Germany until the end of October. He was sent to the Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp, near Barth in the northeast of Germany. On 22 January 1944, Hesselyn and another man escaped from the camp. They had hidden in the ceiling space of the camp theatre in the late afternoon and that night sneaked out and, avoiding sentries, scaled a gate undetected by searchlights. They were caught the next day by policemen at Velgast, to the southwest of the camp, when attempting to enter a railway marshalling yard. Taken back to Stalag Luft I, the escapees were placed in solitary confinement for two weeks, with limited rations. In later life, Hesselyn alleged that he had also been castrated by the Germans as punishment.

1943

In early 1943 Hesselyn returned to No. 501 Squadron, his former unit, which at the time was based in Northern Ireland. In April, it was moved to Westhampnett and then onto Martlesham Heath. While at the latter station, Hesselyn occasionally flew with No. 277 Squadron, passing on his experience to its pilots. On 22 June, leading a section of Spitfires on an aerial search and rescue mission involving escorting two Supermarine Walruses, he was credited with damaging a Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter.

1942

Hesselyn volunteered for an overseas posting and in February 1942, he was advised that he was to be sent to Malta, where he would join the island's air defences during incessant Axis attacks. Along with several other pilots, he was dispatched to Gibraltar and then transferred to the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle from which they were to fly Spitfires to Malta. An attempt to fly off the carrier on 26 February had to be cancelled due to malfunctioning long-range fuel tanks but on 7 March he and 14 other pilots took off from the deck of Eagle and flew for 4 hours to the island. Troubled by a malfunctioning undercarriage, he was the last pilot to land. The arrival of the Spitfires was a significant boost to Malta's aerial defences, which previously comprised 21 operational Hurricanes.

1940

Born in Dunedin, Hesselyn joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1940 and completed his flight training the following year. He was sent to Europe to serve with the RAF. Initially flying operations on the Channel Front, he was later sent to Malta as a reinforcement for the island's aerial defences. Flying with No. 249 Squadron, Hesselyn's first 12 victories were claimed during the defence of Malta in the period from March to July 1942. Repatriated to England for a rest, he later collaborated with the Australian flying ace Virgil Brennan in the writing of Spitfires over Malta, a book about their experiences on the island. Returning to flight operations after a period of instructing duties, he flew a number of operations on the Channel Front with No. 222 Squadron before he was shot down and made a prisoner of war in October 1943. Liberated in 1945, he formally transferred to the RAF two years later and attained the rank of squadron leader before his death in 1963 of stomach cancer, aged 42.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Hesselyn was a corporal in the Territorial Force. When the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force was being raised soon afterwards he was offered a commission to join. He declined in favour of enlisting in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and was formally attested on 23 June 1940. Basic training was at Levin before he proceeded to Taieri to learn how to fly on Tiger Moths. By February 1941 he had gained his aircrew brevet. He had also acquired the nickname 'Hess'. Training continued and he had an accident when trying to land the Vickers Vincent he was flying and crashed into Lake Grassmere. His judgement was found to be at fault.

1922

No. 222 Squadron was rested for a few days and did not resume operations until 2 October, when the Hornchurch Wing provided cover for Consolidated B-24 Liberators attacking a target in occupied Holland. The next day, he flew his 69th and final operation with the squadron when the Hornchurch Wing went on a Ramrod mission, acting as high cover for several B-26 Marauders heading for Beauvais. The bombers were attacked by over 40 German fighters and No. 222 Squadron flew in to engage the enemy. In the dogfight that followed, Hesselyn shot down a Bf 109 which was seen to crash into a wooded area. He was then attacked by a Fw 190, which set his Spitfire on fire. He was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft, and on landing was made a prisoner of war (POW). Initially reported as missing it was not until towards the end of the year that it was confirmed that he was a POW. In the meantime, his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross had been announced. The citation read:

1921

Raymond Brown Hesselyn, MBE, DFC, DFM & Bar (13 March 1921 – 14 November 1963) was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War, credited with the destruction of at least 18 enemy aircraft while flying with the Royal Air Force (RAF) over Europe and the Mediterranean.

Raymond Brown Hesselyn was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 13 March 1921, one of three sons of George Hesselyn, a carpenter, and Majorie née Wilkie. Around 1923–24, the family moved to Oamaru, where Hesselyn was educated. He attended Oamaru North School before going on to Waitaki Boys' High School where one of his classmates was Fraser Barron, who would become a notable bomber pilot during the Second World War. In 1937, the family moved to Invercargill and Hesselyn briefly attended Southland Boys High School. Later in the year he took up an apprenticeship as a machinist at a joinery factory. At about the same time, he joined the Territorial Force, serving in the 1st Southland Regiment.