MALTA’S defiance in surviving a brutal bombardment by German and Italian forces in World War Two is the stuff of legend, with the island awarded The George Cross for its collective heroism.

But the crucial part played by a daring North East airman – Wing Commander Adrian ‘Warby’ Warburton – is relatively unknown, even though his gallantry bears comparison with the likes of Douglas Bader and Guy Gibson.

For someone who initially struggled to get to grips with flying, Warby went on to become one of the RAF’s finest and most decorated wartime pilots, with a speciality for the vital, but unglamorous, role of low-flying reconnaissance.

Indeed, Air Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd described him as “the absolute king of photographic reconnaissance, the pearl of the Mediterranean”.

While on holiday in Malta last week, I visited the National War Museum, in the island’s beautiful capital, Valletta, to learn more about the historic “Siege of Malta”.

The George Cross on display in Malta’s National War Museum (Image: Peter Barron)

Fascinated and moved by how islanders, supported by allied forces, held off the enemy against all the odds, I was inspired to go in search of a North East connection to Malta’s epic struggle.

Who better to ask for guidance than historian Geoff Hill, chair of the Middleton St George Memorial Association? Under Geoff’s leadership, the association is dedicated to honouring the memory of those who served at RAF Middleton St George, now the site of Teesside International Airport.

Geoff has amassed a proud collection of wartime memorabilia and stories, not just from RAF Middleton St George, but from other parts of the North East.

I, therefore, sent Geoff a message from Malta, asking if he was aware of any notable North East link to the island’s war effort.

True to form, he came up trumps. A reply swiftly winged its way back: “Adrian Warburton’s your man,” it said.

Wing Commander Adrian Warburton (Image: Geoff Hill)

Although his hometown of Middlesbrough isn’t mentioned, Warby’s heroism features prominently in Malta’s museum.

Exhibits linked to his exploits are on display, and he is described as a “having iconic status as a symbol of the island’s resistance”.

So, once the holiday was over, Geoff and I met over a coffee at Teesside International Airport this week to shed more light on Warby’s incredible story …

Born in Middlesbrough on March 10, 1918, Adrian Warburton was the son of a submarine captain, and christened aboard a sub moored inValletta’s Grand Harbour.

Peaceful…Valletta’s Grand Harbour, pictured last week (Image: Peter Barron)

After school, he became a clerk in a London accountancy firm but joined the RAF a year before the start of the war in 1938.

According to the excellent Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, he struggled to achieve the minimum standards, and only just passed his training to earn his pilot’s wings, in May 1939.

A year later, Warby was assigned to a crew delivering three Martin Maryland planes to Malta, but the low standard of his flying skills continued to be a cause for concern.

Born in Middlesbrough, a hero of Malta – Adrian Warburton (Image: Geoff Hill)

One of several botched take-offs was so bad that a wheel was wrenched from one of the new aircraft’s undercarriage, forcing an emergency landing.

However, those early deficiencies were overcome by a determination to make a difference. His confidence steadily grew, along with his reputation for particularly daring low-flying.

During one dogfight, a bullet hit him, and his aircraft’s engines caught fire. Somehow, he nursed the plane back to safety and even extracted the bullet on the way. This Boro lad was clearly made of iron!

As part of 431 Flight, Warby was tasked with a reconnaissance mission in Italy’s Taranto Harbour on November 11, 1940. Despite poor visibility, he flew extraordinarily low, enabling navigator John Spires to use a pencil and paper to mark the enemy vessels’ exact locations.

According to reports, they flew so low that the ships’ names could be read, and the precise intelligence led to several Italian sinkings.

“Adrian quickly earned a reputation as one of the RAF’s leading reconnaissance pilots,” states the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

“He took calculated risks and was audacious in his approach, but the quality of his information gathering and photography was enough for RAF higher-ups to overlook his protocol breaches and general individualistic approach to flying.”

He earned his first Distinguished Flying Cross in early 1941, shortly before he survived being shot down by an RAF Hurricane which mistook his Maryland for a German JU88.

He continued to perform heroics and a bar was added to his Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1941. The following year, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Warby was shot down again in November 1942, this time over Tunisia, but managed to crash-land and make his way back to Malta were he shot down a JU88.

His luck finally ran out in April 1944 when he was shot down while photographing targets over Germany. He was officially missing until 2002 when his remains were discovered, still in the cockpit of a P-38 Lightning, in a field in Bavaria.

Aged just 26 when he died, he is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery, in Germany. During his career, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and two bars, the Distinguished Flying Order and bar, and the Distinguished Flying Cross (US).

Adrian Warburton’s grave in Germany (Image: Geoff Hill)

“The defence of Malta was vital to the war effort because the island was of huge strategic importance, and Adrian Warburton was a local lad from Teesside who played a significant part,” says Geoff Hill.

“After an undistinguished start to his flying career, he went on to show the importance of reconnaissance to winning the war, and we should be very proud that he was one of our own.”

He may have been famed for flying low, but Adrian Warburton reached great heights in his short life that began in Middlesbrough.

Rest in peace, Warby.