Face the Attack: The Three Battles of Sailor Malan
‘Face the Attack: The Three Battles of Sailor Malan’, is a 6 episode podcast series, with ongoing bonus content and updates, about the life and times of Adolph Gysbert ‘Sailor’ Malan, In the last world war of the 20th century, a farm boy from the rugged bushland of South Africa took to the bloody skies over Europe during World War Two and made history. Considered 'the greatest fighter pilot', embraced as a ‘hero’ and ‘King of the Few’ by the embattled island of Britain and its King, but considered a traitor by many in his own country. Born in 1910 in Wellington, South Africa, Group Captain A.G. ‘Sailor” Malan would fight three battles in his life. The first would end in victory against Germany in the skies over England and Europe. The second would end in defeat as he took on South Africa's apartheid government. The third would end in death as Parkinson's Disease cut short a full, promising, yet humble life at only 52. He would be denied a military funeral in his home country, be vilified by his own government for his opposition to them, and only be acknowledged in South Africa three decades after apartheid had come to an end and sixty years after his death. One of Sailor Malan's 10 Rules of Air Fighting was ‘to always turn and face the attack'. For him, this was not only true in a dogfight, it was true whenever injustice or adversity confronted you in life. 20+ years in the making, this series covers the remarkable life of man celebrated and mythologized by many, but ostracised and forgotten by the country of his birth. The series includes: First-person interviews with respected historians and experts, family members, friends & fellow airmen. Archival sound clips, film material, letters, and official records from South African and UK archives and museums. Considered the ‘greatest fighter pilot of them all, and ’ the ‘King of the Few’, he was a man with a keen sense of justice, fairness and deep humility about his role in many pivotal moments in the world and his own country’s history. He would only be recognised in South Africa 60 decades after his death. The creators of the podcast would like to thank the McGregor Museum for introducing us to Yvonne Malan, who not only allowed us to quote extensively from her Sailor Malan memorial lecture given in Kimberley and Simon’s town in 2023, but also introduced us to the majority of the participants for the one-on-one interviews in the podcast. Thank you to everyone who gave their time, insights and participation. Protea Rose Originals is Cliff Thompson and Nic Fieldsend. Narrated/written by Cliff Thompson, produced/engineered by Nick Fieldsend with additional sound design by Ben Creelman. Notes: Copyright 2024. Protea Rose Originals Inc. Licenses obtained for use.Unauthorized biography. With thanks to IWM, The National Archives (UK), McGregor Museum Kimberley, Getty Images, Associated Press, Alamy, Doug Tidy, Artlist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
‘Face the Attack: The Three Battles of Sailor Malan’, is a six-part, weekly series, about the life and times of Adolph Gysbert ‘Sailor’ Malan.
In the last world war of the 20th century, a farm boy from the rugged bushland of South Africa took to the bloody skies over Europe during World War Two and made history. Embraced as a ‘hero’, and ‘one of the Few’ by the embattled island of Britain and its King, but considered a traitor ...
Episode 1: The roots of it
In this episode:
Over decades, South African World War 2 hero Adolph Gysbert Malan has been portrayed as the handsome, cold-blooded, 'flyboy'. Indeed, he was straight out of Central Casting for a fighter pilot: good-looking, talented and successful at the job of shooting down the enemy - the epitome of the ace. But there has always been much more to his story.
Chewing on a stick of dynamite as a ...
War is declared in Europe, but in South Africa there is dissent as the country struggles to decide on its own involvement, leading to splits within the government. While some want to stay neutral, some want to join on the side of the Allies and others on the side of Germany. South Africans remember the violence that occurred when a similar decision was made to enter World War 1 and join the fight against Ge...
The Battle of Britain and beyond. We hear from Wg Cdr John Freeborn about his experience of air combat. Dr Helen Doe discusses air warfare tactics of the time and takes us through Malan’s “10 Rules For Air Fighting”. We revisit a few of Malan’s encounters from his combat reports, including his first nighttime victories on the night his son was born, and the shooting down of German ace Werner Molders.
Included is his ...
Keeping the Spitfire legacy alive, the National Spitfire Monument will be unveiled in 2025. Dr Yvonne Malan tells us about the National Spitfire Project and the Spitfire Society. She also tells of Sailor Malan's farewell to the Spitfire on his last trip to London.
Protea Rose Originals is Cliff Thompson and Nic Fieldsend.
Narrated/written by Cliff Thompson, produced/engineered by Nick Fieldsend with additiona...
'Sailor' wasn't the only member of his family to take part in the war, no wonder they became known as the 'Fighting Malans'. Meanwhile South Africans distinguish themselves in multiple theatres of the war. At war's end farewells and friendships are made and Malan is honoured.
But a new battle awaits in South Africa as the Nationalist Party comes to power and the apartheid laws are implemented. From controlling everyday life to s...
What was daily life like for a fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain?
As daughter of Wing Commander Bob Doe, historian Dr Helen Doe, has some unique insights on how the differences in squadrons, class and leadership styles affected everything from how pilots celebrated, dressed, functioned, and relaxed. As well as how leaders approached the LMF, “Lack of moral fibre”.
Pictured: Blackout board from The White Hart Inn...
Everyday life under the apartheid laws fluctuates between compliance and defiance and the effects impact individuals and families across South Africa.
As one piece of apartheid legislation, pass laws were designed to control day to day life, but became a potent symbol of mass opposition, one of the results being the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.
Malan is called back into the fray and the Torch Commando swells its ranks to ove...
Would IFF - Identification Friend or Foe - have had any impact on the Battle of Barking Creek? How did radar and Pipsqueak evolve as a result of this tragedy? And how did the German Luftwaffe respond to this emerging technology?
Nick Black - who gave us an in-depth retelling of the Battle in Episode 2 - takes a deeper dive into these questions.
Protea Rose Originals is Cliff Thompson and Nic Fiel...
Malan settles into family life at Benfontein, but the lasting emotional and psychological effects of the war take their toll. Dr Helen Doe tells us about how pilots would relieve the stress of combat and how it signalled the start of other troubling symptoms.
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, Malan begins a rapid decline punctuated with bouts of hope, optimism and defiance against his illness. He visits 74 Squadron and sits ...
Hear about some upcoming content, including unheard interviews, news and updates.
Protea Rose Originals is Cliff Thompson and Nic Fieldsend.
Narrated/written by Cliff Thompson, produced/engineered by Nic Fieldsend with additional sound design by Ben Creelman.
Notes:
Copyright 2024. Protea Rose Originals Inc. Licenses obtained for use.Unauthorized biography.
With thanks to ...
Sailor Malan faced his Parkinson's Disease like many of the challenges that confronted him, with a firm focus and stubbornness many of his friend's recall witnessing. As a follow up to episode 6, we wanted to take a deeper dive into Parkinson’s disease.
Given how important exercise is for those with this condition, you’re going to hear about an initiative called the Co-Pilot Project. It aims to connect runners living with Parkin...
As we know 'Sailor' Malan saw action over Dunkirk as the British tried frantically to evacuate men from the beaches. Day in and day out he would fly combat missions to destroy prowling German aircraft - and it was on one of these that he shot down his first enemy plane. Over Dunkirk and in combat for only one week, Malan and 74 Squadron flew constant, tiring and terrifying missions. By the end of Dunkirk, 74 had lost men, but they ...
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