In February 1941 he was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) and within weeks he had pushed his total to 23 earning himself a bar to the DFC. He also received a promotion and became Officer Commanding of his squadron of Hurricanes. He no longer flew the Gladiator but had already set up an admirable record of kills in that aircraft. Tom's greatness as an air hero spread further to his character as well. The English pilots were initially resentful for this foreigner's superiority over them but Tom's leadership quickly gained him respect.

Tom was even known to actually give pilots dogfight lessons. The overwhelming German onslaught into Greece in 1941 forced an Allied withdrawal and it was then that a strange set of events ensued. Serviceable aircraft were evacuated and anything that could not be immediately moved was set on fire. This included the operations tent with all the squadron's records. Tom's records were included in the bonfire and the records at RAF HQ did not contain his bar on the DFC nor his promotion to OC of 33 Squadron. In fact all records of events between February and 20 April 1941, the day that Tom was shot down, were irreplaceably lost. EC Baker, a biographer, uncovered some of the Tom Pattle saga. Tom's aircraft fitter, U Ringrose, also kept a diary in which he logged Tom's sorties and kills.

From these sources the astounding performance of Tom Pattle is unveiled, a story that is easy to reject as exaggeration. The diary carefully notes that Tom was forced to scramble and lead his men five to six times a day, a fearsome task that must have drained his resources of energy. His mechanic's diary records the following: April 6 two ME109s; April 7-one CR42; April 8-two MEIO9s; April 10-one ME109 & one BF110; April 11-one HE 111 & one JU88; April 12 - one SAVIOA 70; April 14 - one ME109, two JU88s, one ME110 and one SAVIOA 79. On April 19 he destroyed three JU88s and three ME1O9s with two probables. By that evening the squadron was shifted to Athens. Tom was physically drained and suffered a high temperature brought on by influenza or malaria. Yet, according to his mechanic, Tom, even in this condition, shot down a further three planes of the Luftwaffe the following day. At 17h20 of that day, 20 April, Tom took his men for a final sweep and intercepted a raiding party of approximately 90 planes, which outnumbered them four to one. Two Luftwaffe planes attacked him from behind and in this engagement Tom was shot down and killed, his plane plunging into Eleusis Bay. A summary of this account indicates that Tom's final total was around 50! The recognized Allied WW ll top scoring pilot was Maj Richard Bong of the United States of America Air Force with a confirmed score of 40. Although Tom Pattle's record was never officially recorded, as South Africans we owe it to the memory of this man to keep alive his amazing achievement. This has already found recognition at Tom's home town Keetmanshoop where the local MOTH's shellhole is named after him. It is often claimed that the genuinely greatest of men never receive acclamation for their deeds, perhaps V. Roos has helped to make sure that Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle receives his fair share of praise, even if after nearly 60 years.

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• Ad Astra, article by V. Roos.
• Pattle Genealogy