P/O R. H. Hillary
On 29th August, 1940, Richard shot down a Me109, and then his aircraft was shot up by cannon shells from another Me109. He became separated from the rest of the squadron, but managed to control the aircraft to Lympne, where he force-landed. He returned to Hornchurch unhurt.
On the morning of 3rd September, 1940, Richard claimed a Me109 but almost immediately afterwards was hit from astern with incendiary bullets from another Messerschmitt. His Spitfire (X4277) went down in flames just off the Margate coast. He baled out and was rescued by the Margate lifeboat, the J.B. Proudfoot. He spent many months in East Grinstead Hospital, in the burns unit. He had suffered severe burns to his face and hands.

While Richard was recovering in East Grinstead Hospital Burns Unit, under the care of the pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, he wrote the book 'The Last Enemy', which later became a classic, describing his memories of that time at Hornchurch during the Battle of Britain.