Nipper

Description

Ernest Leslie ‘Nipper’ Joyce was New Zealand’s first night fighter ace who also later went on to become both a night and day ace. He achieved his night fighting milestones in a Hawker Hurricane with no radar assistance, relying on what a squadron colleague called the “Eyeball Mk1”. Nipper had an uncanny ability to find a night intruder and intercept him. Noted RAF pilot, historian and author Clive Rowley wrote: They did this without the aid of airborne radar, relying simply on skill, courage, a sixth-sense for finding the enemy, and an individual streak of sheer daring that was an essential ingredient for success.

Not only the tale of a fighter ace, this is also the story of a young man struggling to find some sort of normal in abnormal times. With years of separation from his family and fiancée in New Zealand, the loss of many friends and fellow-fliers and a growing sense of his own mortality, Nipper had his own internal ‘struggles’ to fight as he battled against the enemy in the skies of England, North Africa, Italy and Europe. 

This is Nipper’s story, but it is also the story of a desert Hurricane unit, 73 Squadron RAF. A large cache of Nipper’s letters and over 300 photographs he took, were retained and preserved by his mother, sisters and brother. This archive reveals a unique insight into a young, nineteen-year-old pilot trainee who grew into a ‘double’ ace and squadron leader. Nipper went on to fly three iconic fighters of WW2 in action: the Hawker Hurricane, the Supermarine Spitfire and the North American P51 Mustang. 

Nipper’s story has never been told, until now.