Updated 18 February 2022 with this comment
Je me souviens aussi parfaitement de lui. Nous avons eu l’honneur de l’accueillir dans notre petit village de Danvou-la-Ferrière où il est venu sur les lieux de son crash et a pu rencontrer la jeune fille qui l’avait hébergé 56 ans auparavant. Nous nous sommes aussi rendus avec lui au château où se trouvaient les SS et où il fut retenu. Il me semble qu’il était accompagné de son fils Patrick. C’était en octobre 2000
Translation
I also remember him perfectly. We had the honour of welcoming him to our little village of Danvou-la-Ferrière where he came to the scene of his crash and was able to meet the girl who had sheltered him 56 years before. We also went with him to the castle where the SS were and where he was held. I think he was accompanied by his son Patrick. It was in October 2000
Original post
You don’t have to buy the book They Say There Was a War.
John Samuel Slaney was a Hurricane pilot that was transfered to 247 Squadron after being sent to 535 Squadron. He then went on to fly Typhoons and he survived the war to tell about it.
He was a very lucky pilot because the average number of operations before being killed while flying operations on Typhoons was around 11 or 12 missions.
John Samuel Slaney shed a little light on how 535 Squadron was having fun flying alongside Havoc Turbinlites.
John Samuel Slaney wrote his memoirs…
Typhoon Pilot.
While searching for it I found this.
Slaney, John S. 87
Formerly of Greensburg
John Samuel Slaney, formerly of Greensburg, passed away peacefully at home in Canonsburg on Sunday, June 22, 2008, at the age of 87.
John was a highly decorated World War II RAF fighter pilot who spent the last year of the war as a POW. He was also a world-renowned metallurgist who retired from Latrobe Steel in 1986.
John is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; sister, Lillian Mandviwalla, of England; son, Patrick Slaney and his partner, Susan Rice, of Massachusetts; daughter, Victoria Ross and her husband, John Ross, of Pennsylvania; son, Ian Slaney and his wife, Martina, of England; grandsons, Patrick and Alexander Ross and their wives, Allison and Rebecca; grandsons, James and Philip Clark; and great-granddaughter, Brianna Ross.
John was a kind and embracing man who will be dearly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
John was born in Birmingham, England, March 1, 1921. At the age of 14, John quit school to provide income for his family after his father passed away. At 18, John attempted to enlist in the military, but was turned away because he was employed as a pattern maker, a trade deemed critical to national security. Later, though, with the cooperation of his employer, he was granted permission.
John joined the RAF as a fighter pilot, knowing that the average survival period was less than six months. John matured quickly as a pilot, fighting off the hazards of enemy fire and the high risks of flying single engine Spitfires, Hurricanes and Rocket Typhoons. He eventually advanced to the rank of flight lieutenant, completing 112 sorties between 1941 and 1944, before being shot down over enemy territory in Normandy on June 15, 1944, nine days after D-Day.
John finished the war as a POW in Stalag Luft 1 in northern Germany. On returning home to England, John learned that King George had recognized his brave and unwavering service in defense of England by awarding him the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross), the highest ranking medal bestowed on a surviving fighter pilot.
John then entered London University’s Royal School of Mines to study metallurgy. After graduation, he pursued a career that spanned the globe from South Africa to Canada to New York state and then finally to Western Pennsylvania. In the process, John produced a number of revolutionary products and processes, including several patents for high performance alloys. One alloy developed while working for Special Metals in New York was key to preventing catastrophic failure of jet engine turbine blades due to time-weighted exposure to extremely high temperatures. John’s new alloy was quickly adopted for every new turbine blade manufactured and all existing blades were recalled from the field. Now, more than 40 years later, not one turbine blade has failed in this manner.
Above all of John’s talents as a professional, perhaps the most memorable qualities to those who knew him were his kind, generous personality and passion for political change. John was a friend to all. He was always there to offer help to anyone in need, and he fought especially hard to eliminate discrimination, to support human rights, to save the environment, and to support the underprivileged. John was the kindest of fighter pilots. The family asks that in John’s memory, a donation be sent to the charity of your choice.
I know John will be missed…
RAF 23 Squadron 
Another terrific post, Pierre – what more can I say?
Did you read the obituary?
Who remembers John S. Slaney?
Every passenger on jet planes should!
I remember him well – he was my father.
I was born whilst he was a POW in Stalag Luft 1.
I remember him. He was my father.
Ian Slaney
Slight error in the biographic, he didn’t write his memoirs in a book “Typhoon Pilot”, there is however much more detail in “They Say There Was A War”. His most dramatic wartime experiences were with 245 Squadron which flew mostly from Westhampnett, (now Goodwood motor racing circuit). As a Flight Lieutenant he was second in command to Squadron Leader Jack Collins DFC and was leading 245 Squadron a few days after D-Day when he was shot down by ground fire at the lowest recorded hight in WW2. He was captured by the SS division he was attacking, and survived to return in mid 1945.
True hero!
So amazing to be in contact.
Another dimension is that a french archaeological society investigated his crash site and discovered the engine of his aircraft. They brought it over to the UK where it remained in my garage before being presented to the Imperial War Museum in 2007. Far more to this story…
Thanks again for sharing. I will update all this in a new post on the blog.
Je me souviens aussi parfaitement de lui. Nous avons eu l’honneur de l’accueillir dans notre petit village de Danvou-la-Ferrière où il est venu sur les lieux de son crash et a pu rencontrer la jeune fille qui l’avait hébergé 56 ans auparavant. Nous nous sommes aussi rendus avec lui au château où se trouvaient les SS et où il fut retenu. Il me semble qu’il était accompagné de son fils Patrick. C’était en octobre 2000
Merci beaucoup pour votre témoignage. C’est tellement apprécié. Je vais faire une mise à jour de l’article en ajoutant votre commentaire que je vais traduire ensuite en langue anglaise.
Vous avez raison, Patrick le fils de son second mariage était bien là, mais pas moi parce que je n’ai pas été informé de la réunion. Je suis son premier fils, né alors qu’il était prisonnier de guerre en Allemagne. Ian Slaney
Merci Ian pour la précision. Êtes-vous en mesure de lire les articles de journaux de l’époque qui sont écrits en français? J’ai des PDF des articles numérisés de Jacques Picard.
Pour faire suite au commentaire de Ian, c’est exact, c’est bien Patrick Slaney qui était là, j’ai retrouvé la carte de visite qu’il m’avait laissée, il était Vice President of Engineering à “lumeria”.
J’en profite pour dire qui si des membres de la famille Slaney venaient en Normandie, (enfants, petits-enfants arrière…) nous serions heureux mon épouse et moi de les accueillir et de leur montrer les lieux où John a touché terre. Nous sommes toujours très reconnaissants de ce qu’ont fait nos libérateurs.
Aimeriez-vous contacter directement Ian Slaney?
Why not?
Je viens de lui écrire.
Quelle reconnaissance!
Dans mon commentaire ne pas lire “se résumaient” mais “se trouvaient”
Je ferai la correction.
Vous aviez écrit se trouvaient. Plus haut dans les commentaires nous retrouvons un commentaire de son fils Ian.