‘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 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.

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 a 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.

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, Alamy, SA National War Museum, Associated Press, Doug Tidy, Artlist.

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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 baby, almost accidentally shooting his mother with a rifle, developing the keen eyesight that would help him pick out and shoot down enemy fighters in the skies over Britain and Europe - all before leaving home at 13 - and then as a young sea cadet dealing with hazing, bullying and poverty, Malan's youth would shape the man to come.

His mixed English and Afrikaner heritage would be central to both his own life and South Africa's path. We dig into the roots of the animosity between English and Afrikaner communities - the Anglo-Boer War with its scorched earth policies, concentration camps and ultimate outcome that would cement divisions and influence the many negative opinions of Malan. It would also influence South Africa's entry into both World Wars and fundamentally shape its politics throughout the 20th century.

As Malan enters the Merchant Navy at the age of 16, he prepares the ground for the nickname ‘Sailor’ that all would know him by, then he joins the Royal Air Force and becomes a key figure during the Battle of Britain. But this decision, combined with his Afrikaner heritage, would lead to him being branded by some as a traitor in his home country.

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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 Germany.

As Malan takes to the skies with 74 Squadron his reputation as a leader begins to grow. But disaster strikes and that reputation is questioned when he is involved in the deadly and highly controversial 'Battle of Barking Creek'. Along with a first-hand account from one of the participants, Nick Black takes an in-depth look at the incident that resulted in the first friendly-fire death of World War 2 for the RAF and the unfortunate first 'victory' for a Spitfire.

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