CLIFT Tommy Fl Off 257 Sqn

Fl/Lt TOMMY CLIFT

Tommy joined 257 Sqn on the 9/11/1942. He and Selwyn Khin were
inseparable friends during and after the war. He also flew regularly with Poppa Ambrose as his No.2. His colleagues reputed him to be an exceptionally nice man.
At the end of Sept 1943, 257 Sqn’s Typhoons were equipped to carry bombs and then carried out regular sorties dive bombing in Le Touquet and Dieppe. On the 29th Jan 1944, P/O Clift claimed joint destruction of a JU88. In April 1944,much to the squadrons dismay, they had to give up their comfortable billets at RAF Warmwell and make their homes under canvas at Need’s Oar Point
From July 1944, the squadron was stationed in France but the Burmese pilots were released for well deserved rest at TEU Boscombe Down and returned to the squadron on the 15/12/1944.
After the war, his wife Mrs K M Clift then aged 27 travelled out to Rangoon on the 22nd July 1947 with her two children under 3 years old. She was a resident of Hampton Hill, Middlesex. Tommy Clift joined the Burma Air Force and attained the rank of Sqn Ldr/Commander of Mingalardon Air Force Base in 1949. From Dec 1949 to Mar 1950, he returned to RAF Brize Norton to attend the Mosquito aircraft conversion course. The Mingalardon Air Base HQ was then formed on the 16th June 1950 and Tommy was promoted to Major and then later to Brigadier General.
He was a member of the revolutionary Council in 1962 when the military under General Ne Win took over in a coup d’etat in March of that year. Tommy soon fell out with the power hungry General and escaped to Thailand, where he joined the resistance led by the ousted minister U Nu.
Later he lived in Bangkok.