Ray Holmes, English lieutenant and pilot (b. 1914)
Raymond Towers Holmes (20 August 1914 – 27 June 2005) was a British Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Second World War who is best known for taking part in the Battle of Britain. He became famous for an apparent notable act of bravery in which he reportedly saved Buckingham Palace from being hit by German bombing, when he used his Hawker Hurricane to destroy a Dornier Do 17 bomber over London by ramming. He was feted by the press as a war hero for his saving of the Palace. However, this has come to become regarded as a much disputed legend. Holmes became a King's Messenger after the war, and died at the age of 90 in 2005.