FAMILYHISTORYFROMPEN&SWORDBirth,MarriageandDeathRecordsDavidAnnalandAudreyCollinsTracingYourChannelIslandsAncestorsMarie-LouiseBackhurst

TracingYourYorkshireAncestorsRachelBellerbyTracingYourRoyalMarineAncestorsRichardBrooksandMatthewLittle

TracingYourPauperAncestorsRobertBurlisonTracingYourHuguenotAncestorsKathyChater

TracingYourLabourMovementAncestorsMarkCrailNapoleonicLivesCaroleDivall

TracingYourArmyAncestorsSimonFowlerAGuidetoMilitaryHistoryontheInternetSimonFowler

TracingYourNorthernAncestorsKeithGregsonTracingYourDeadAncestorsCeliaHeritage

YourIrishAncestorsIanMaxwellTracingYourScottishAncestorsIanMaxwellTracingYourLondonAncestorsJonathanOates

TracingYourTankAncestorsJaniceTaitandDavidFletcherTracingYourAirForceAncestorsPhilTomaselli

TracingYourSecretServiceAncestorsPhilTomaselliTracingYourCriminalAncestorsStephenWadeTracingYourPoliceAncestorsStephenWade

TracingYourJewishAncestorsRosemaryWenzerulFishingandFishermenMartinWilcox

TracingYourCanalAncestorsSueWilkesTracingYourLancashireAncestorsSueWilkes

CONTENTS

AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsandWebsitesIntroductionABriefHistoryoftheAirForcesFeaturedinthisBook

Chapter 1 Early Flying Experiences in the Royal Naval Air Service –ReginaldBone

Chapter 2 A Military Medal with the Royal Flying Corps – DavidProsserHepburn

Chapter3AirWarintheArcticCircle–BertramGuyBlampiedChapter 4RoyalFlyingCorps,AuxiliaryAirForce andSecondWorld

WarFlyingInstructor–WilfredBennettBealeChapter5BattleofBritainPilot–GuyMarslandChapter6FromtheNorth-WestFrontiertoSingapore,FortyYearsinthe

RAF–ErnestEdgarChambersandMaryCraigChambersChapter 7AnAustralianAirGunnerwithBomberCommand–Victor

CharlesReidChapter8AGallantPathfinderCrewChapter9AWRENintheFleetAirArm–JanetPegden

A

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

sever,Ioweagreatdealofthankstoanumberofindividualswhohavehelped me with the researching of this book. Andrew Salmond Smithintroducedmetothestoryofhisgrandfather,DavidProsserHepburn,andthemysteryofhisMilitaryMedal,andkindlyallowedmetoreproducehisphotograph; Will Hepburn was very helpful and gave me additionalinformation about his father’s life, as didhis grandson,DavidHepburn;MargaretGregorykindlyallowedmetousetheresearchthatIdidforherinto her uncle, Vic Reid; Martyn Ford-Jones, Official Historian of 15Squadron, generously permitted me access to his own researches andprovidedthephotographs;thelateMartinKenderintroducedmetoJanetBoddy (formerly Pegden) and Peter Hart of the ImperialWarMuseumgaveme access to the interview he’d donewith her; RosemaryHorrellshowedmethepapersofher latestepfather,GroupCaptainBone,manyyearsagoandsparkedmylonginterestintobothhisfascinatingcareerandaviation generally; Roy Hemington at the Commonwealth War GravesCommission provided information from its records; veteran medalresearcherPaulBailliekindlyfoundthemedalcitationforWilfredBealeand Bill Cleland’s crew in the AIR 2 records; the late Guy Blampiedprovided me with transcripts of his Russia diaries, photographs of thecampaign and gave me much information in the course of severaltelephone calls to him at his homeonGuernsey.Dr JohnSalt helpfullytrawledrecordsinHorshamforinformationontheME109shotdownbyGuyMarsland. Ian Piper kindly provided a photograph of Tom Beale.BarbaraChambers showedmehermother’s and father’s service recordsandphotographsand introducedme toherbrother,Colin,who,with thebenefitoflongRAFservicehimself,wasabletopassontomemanyofthe stories his father had told him.HelenCleland introducedme to herhusband,Bill,whosadlypassedawayduringthewritingofthisbookandtohisbomb-aimerand lifetime friend, JackWatson,who loanedmehislogbookandmemoir (fromwhichI’vequotedextensively).ThestaffatThe National Archives have been, as ever, friendly, professional andknowledgeable.

My wife Francine has had to live with my interest in some of thepeople featured in the book for well over twenty years and has

accompanied me on visits to archives, museums, obscure airfields andmonuments, the French coast and the Somme battlefields carrying outresearchwithoutawordofcomplaint.Icouldnothavedoneitwithoutherandampleasedtobeabletodedicatethisworktoher.

ABBREVIATIONSANDWEBSITES

ListofAbbreviations

AAF AuxiliaryAirForceFAA FleetAirArmIWM ImperialWarMuseumORB OperationalRecordBookOTC Officers’TrainingCorpsRAF RoyalAirForceRFC RoyalFlyingCorpsRNAS RoyalNavalAirServiceTNA TheNationalArchivesWAAF Women’sAuxiliaryAirForce

UsefulWebsites

Discoveryfacility,TNA http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/

Flightmagazine http://www.flightglobal.com

ImperialWarMuseum http://www.iwm.org.uk

LondonGazette http://www.london-gazette.co.uk

RoyalAirForce http://www.raf.mod.uk

TheNationalArchives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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INTRODUCTION

hen I was first asked to write this book, I wasn’t, initially, sure Iwantedtodoit.I’dspentmanyyearsresearchingRAFrecordsgenerallyformybookTracingyourAirForceAncestors(PenandSword,2007)andwasn’t sure there wasmuch I could add. Once I thought about it a bitmore, however, I realised that someof thepeople I’dmentioned in thatbook deserved a more in-depth treatment if their stories were to beadequately told, and I had several other people I’d started researchingwhose Air Force lives deserved more work. The range of peoplerepresented covers, I hope, many of the aspects of the air forces frombefore the First World War through to the 1970s, giving interestingexamplesofthetypesofpeoplewhoservedandthejobsthattheydid.Byusingawide rangeof sources Ihopealso to showother researchers thekind of stories that can be built up and I would urge anyone who isresearching an Air Force ancestor to write them up for the benefit ofothersaswell. Ifnothingelse, I trust the storiesof themenandwomenhereareinterestingandinformativeandasmuchapleasuretoreadastheyhavebeentoresearchandwrite.

A

ABRIEFHISTORYOFTHEAIRFORCESFEATUREDINTHISBOOK

lhoughthefirstproperaeroplanewasflowninDecember1903bytheAmericanWrightbrothers, itwasonlyafteravisitbyWilburWright toFrance in 1908 to demonstrate the aircraft that inspired imitators reallybegantobuildothermachines.In1908anAmericannamedSamuelCody,working for the British Army, flew an aeroplane of his own design atFarnborough.Hisexperimentscontinueduntilhisdeathinanaircrashin1913 but by that time his models were being superseded by machinesdesigned and built abroad. Flying schools sprang up across the countryand a generation of youngmen,many of them army and navy officers,learnt to fly.Bleriot’s cross-Channel flight in1909 sparkedworries thatthe Channel was no longer a defence Britain could depend upon andnewspapersandthepublicdemandedamilitaryresponse.On1April1911the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was formed with an airshipcompanybasedatFarnboroughandanaeroplanecompanyatLarkhill.

TheAirBattalionexisted foronlyayearbecause in1912 theRoyalFlyingCorps (RFC)was formed, a joint venture between the army andRoyalNavy,withaMilitaryandaNavalWing.Theworld’sfirstmilitaryflying school, theCentral Flying School,was established atUpavon onSalisburyPlain,witha jointnavyandarmystaff.Aschemewascreatedwherebyarmyandnavyofficers could learn to flyat theirownexpenseand,onqualifying,wouldreceive£75tocoverthecosts.ReginaldBone,the naval officer we meet in Chapter 1, qualified as a pilot under thisschemeaftertransferringfromtheSubmarineServicetotheNavalWingoftheRFC.Thearrangementworkedwellforawhile,butin1914theRNcreatedtheRoyalNavalAirService(RNAS)asaseparateserviceand,formostoftheFirstWorldWar,thetwoservicesremainedseparate,thoughtheydidcooperatewitheachother.

OntheoutbreakoftheFirstWorldWartheRFC(nowpurelyforthearmy)wenttoFrancewith4squadrons,63aircraftandapproximately900men. A rapid training programme was established to produce pilots,observers and ground crew so there were 12 squadrons by September1915and27squadrons,withover600aircraft,bythestartoftheBattleof

theSommeinJuly1916.DavidHepburnservedwithtwoRFCsquadronsduringtheSommeengagementandwonhisMilitaryMedalthere.

Aircraft gradually became specialised as fighter, bomber orreconnaissance models, and the squadrons specialised accordingly.Developmentsinengines,cameras,clothingandweaponrymeantthattheaircraftof1918weretechnologicallymuchmoreadvancedthantheonesoriginallysenttoFrancein1914.AswellastheirsquadronsinFrance,theRFCsentmenandaircrafttotheMiddleEast,ItalyandtheBalkans,withspecialmissionsalsobeingdeployedtoRussiatotraintheirFlyingCorps,andtoCanadaforrecruitmentandtraining.

Therewasaconstantracebetweentheopposingflyingserviceswithperiodswhen one or the other was in the ascendancy. At times, a newpilot’s life expectancy on being sent to the Western Front could bemeasured in days. New training techniques (see Chapter 4 featuringWilfred‘Tom’Beale)graduallyimprovedthesituation.

WiththedepartureoftheentirefightingstrengthoftheRFCtoFrancein August, defence of Britain passed, by agreement, to the RNAS.Fortunately for the youngRNASpilots in their poorly armedmachines,theexpectedZeppelinraidsdidnotmaterialiseuntilearly1915.

InOctober1914anRNASsquadronwassent toDunkirk tosupporttheRoyalNavaldivisionthatwasoperatinginBelgiumandthisgrewintoalargeRNASpresenceofseveralsquadronsthatbecame5GroupRNAS.

During 1915 RNAS aircraft flew and fought at Gallipoli, on theTurkishcoast,andpatrolledtheBritishcoastforGermansubmarinesandraidingaircraft.With thestartof theZeppelinattacks theyalsomountednight patrols but were generally unable to intercept the high-flyingairships.

During1916,aswellastheirair-defenceresponsibilities(takenbackby theRFC later in the year), theRNASbegan strategic bombing raidsfromFranceagainstGermansteelworksintheRhineland.Theyhadsomesuccess but the terrible casualties suffered by the RFC during the laterstages of the Somme fightingmeant that theywere diverted for serviceunderthearmy.SeveralRNASsquadronsflewwiththeRFCinafighterroleandtheRNASproducedtheirowncropoffighteraces.

By1918RNASunitswereservingintheMiddleEast,intheAegean,inFranceandinItaly.Theyhadaircraftoperatingfromanumberofships,includingseaplanecarriersandplanes launchedfromplatformsmounted

onbattleshipsandcruisers.Thefirstaircraftcarrieraswewouldrecogniseittodaywasclosetocompletion.

FollowingtwoseriousGermandaytimeairraidsonLondonin1917,inwhichtheattackerswerevirtuallyunmolested,anenquiryunderFieldMarshalSmuts recommended theamalgamationof theRFCandRNAS.On 1 April 1918 they formally amalgamated to become the Royal AirForce(RAF).

On 11 November 1918 the RAF comprised 188 squadrons, 22,000aircraftandnearly300,000officersandmen.Itwasrapidlycuttojust33squadrons.HughTrenchard,whohadcommandedtheRFCinFranceformostofthewar,wasappointedtoheadit.

Trenchard was determined the fledgling service would survive andgrow.HecreatedaTechnicalSchoolatHaltonandanOfficersSchoolatCranwell.Allofficerswereexpectedtobeabletoflyandotherrankswerecarefullyrecruitedviaadvertisementsintechnicaljournals.Everyonewasexpectedtospendatleastpartoftheirserviceoverseas.

Trenchard, pointing to a cheap and successful RAF campaign inSomaliland against ‘native’ forces, suggested the RAF be given a freehandinIraq,whichwasinastateofalmostperpetuallow-levelrevolt.In1922commandinIraqwasgiventoanRAFofficerwith8squadronsofaircraft, supported by a few British and Indian troops, local levies andarmoured cars. When rebellion occurred, the RAF (after droppingwarnings)wouldbombhostiletownsandvillagesandstraferebeltroops.Though there was some debate at home about the ethics of attackingdefencelessvillages,thesavinginBritishlivesandmoneywasgenerallyrecognised.

Theothermainpostingfor theRAFbetweenthewarswasIndia.AtanyonetimetherewereusuallyeightornineRAFsquadronsserving inIndia and, as in Iraq, they played their role in keeping the peace or inassistingthearmyinaseriesofsmallwars.Ernest‘Jerry’Chambers(seeChapter6)servedinthefinalcampaignsbeforetheSecondWorldWar.

Duringthe1920sand1930stheRAFplayedanimportantpartinthedevelopmentofaviation.Long-distanceflightsweremadetoCapeTownand theFarEast.TheRAF in IraqpioneeredAirMailbycarryingmailfromCairo toBaghdad. TheAuxiliaryAir Force (AAF)was formed in1924toprovideareserveoftrainedpilots(seeChapter4,Wilfred‘Tom’BealeservedinanAAFunitinthe1930s).

Duringthe1930stheprospectofanotherEuropeanwarloomedandapolicyofexpansionwasbegunin1933.Newstationswerebuilttohouseanexpandedserviceand in just2yearsanother2,200pilots and20,000otherrankswererecruited.NewaircraftwerecommissionedtoreplacetheRAF’s ageing aeroplanes. Among the new planes were the HawkerHurricane and Supermarine Spitfire and a new generation of heavybombers, such as the Stirling and Halifax. On the outbreak of war theRAFhad157squadronswithnearly2,000front-lineaircraft,thoughonly270 were Hurricanes and 240 Spitfires. At the height of the war some110,000officersand1,050,000otherrankswereservingintheRAF.

At home, there were three main fighting commands. FighterCommand was formed in July 1936 under Air Marshall Sir HughDowding,anditsmainrolewastheairdefenceofBritain.Dowdingbuiltasuperborganisationwith fightergroupsdefendingspecific regionsandsector control operation rooms controlling groups of fighters by voiceradio. Close links with the Observer Corps and radar stations, BalloonCommand and anti-aircraft defences created a sophisticated defencesystem.DuringtheBattleofBritainitwastheresilienceandflexibilityofFighterCommand’sorganisationandcommunicationsandthehardworkand ability of the men and women at ground level who managed theaircraft and aerodromes and maintained the communications and kept‘The Few’ in the air. Their contribution to the battle should not beoverlooked.GuyMarsland(seeChapter5)flewHurricanesthroughoutthewholeof1940andparticipatedinthefinalstageoftheBattleofBritain.

Bomber Command carried the war to Germany. The RAF’s ownwebsiteexplainsthereasonsforthefour-yearcampaign:

to disrupt industrial production of weapons, to wear down theGerman people’smorale and to force the GermanArmy andAirForce (the Luftwaffe) into having to defend against the bombingover awide area.Repeated attackson theGermanhomeland alsocausedthediversionofindustrialwarproductiontodefensiveratherthanoffensiveweaponsandequipment.ForcingtheGermansontothe defensivewas a critical factor in the liberation ofEurope andthedefeatofNaziGermanyin1945.

BothVicReidandBillCleland’sPathfindercrew(seeChapters7and8)flewnumerousdangerousmissionswithBomberCommand.

Coastal Command was responsible for land-based, long-rangereconnaissance of the sea lanes, aswell as for land-based bombers andtorpedo bombers of the RAF flying in support of the RN. Their flyingboats (originallymainly Short Sunderlands and laterCatalinas) escortedconvoysandmadeindependentreconnaissanceandantisubmarinepatrols.As the Battle of the Atlantic raged Coastal Command used long-rangebombers to carry the antisubmarine war into the very centre of theAtlantic. Their Beaufighters and other aircraft ranged far and wideattackingenemyshippingwithcannon,rocketsandtorpedoes.

Inadditiontothesemainfightingcommands,therewereothersupportcommands: Training Command and Maintenance Command (withobvious roles), Balloon Command, which ran the barrage balloons thatdefended cities and other targets, Ferry & Transport Command, whichmovedaircraftandequipmentand troopsbyair,andashort-livedArmyCooperationCommand,whichcontrolledtheRAFsquadronsthatworkedcloselywith the army.OutsideBritain therewere individual commandscoveringdifferentgeographicalareas.Itwasperfectlypossibletoserveinmore than one commandduring a career –GuyMarsland, for example,served in Fighter Command but also in South East Asia Command,TrainingCommandandCoastalCommand(seeChapter5).

AfterthewartheRAFcontinuedtohaveaworldwiderole,nowflyingmainlyjetaircraft.GuyMarslandservedwithanRAFMissiontoGreeceinthelate1940sandJerryChambers(seeChapter6)servedinEgypt,theFarEast,Cyprus,Libya andGermanybefore he retired in 1972, just asmajorcontractionstoBritain’sdefencecommitmentsabroadreallybegantobite.

TheFleetAirArm

From1918to1937theaircraftcarriedbytheRN’saircraftcarrierswereflown and controlled by the RAF; originally called ‘Naval AirContingents’,in1924theirtitlewaschangedto‘FleetAirArm’(FAA).Inaddition to the carriers, FAA officers and men manned the individualaircraft thatwerecarriedbybiggershipsofthefleet.TheRAFprovidedmostof thepilotsfor theFAA,althoughnavyofficersweresupposedtoplayasignificantrole,buttheircareerstructuredidnotencouragethemtotake the time to learn to fly and to serve in something that was notconsideredreallyapartoftheRN.

In1937,afternearlytwentyyearsofdebate,itwasdecidedtoreturntheFAAtotheAdmiraltyandthistookplacewitheffectfromMay1939.Navalofficerswerenowencouragedtotakeanactivepart, thoughwhenwar was declared in September 1939 the FAA had still not trainedsufficienttechnical‘groundcrew’andhadtoborrowfromtheRAF.TheFAAwentintotheSecondWorldWarwithsixoperationalcarriersthoughonlyone,theArkRoyalwasatrulymodernship.

During the course of SecondWorldWar the FAA fought in everyocean,loanedpilotstotheRAFduringtheBattleofBritain,helpedtosinktheGermanraiderBismark,flewofftinycarrierstoescortconvoysintheBattleoftheAtlanticandattackedtheItalianBattleFleetinitshomeportofTaranto, torpedoingthreeItalianbattleshipsandcripplingthefleet. In1945,asthetideturnedagainstJapan,FAAplanescarriedouttheirlargestever air raid against oil refineries at Palembang on Sumatra and othercarriersandaircraftsupportedAmericanoperationsagainstOkinawaandtheJapanesemainlanduntilJapan’ssurrenderinAugust1945.

AttheendofSecondWorldWartheFAAhad52operationalcarriersand3,243pilotsandhadearneditsplaceasapermanentarmoftheRN.WhenJanetBoddy (seeChapter9) servedwith theFAAin the1950s itwasgraduallymovingintothejetage.

AGeneralNoteonSources

Specificnotesonsourcesofinformationforindividualsaregivenineachchapter, but it’s worth saying something generally. Researchers areblessedwithavastnumberofofficialandunofficialsourcesfromwhichboth general and specific information can be gleaned. An increasingamountofinformationisalsoavailableonline,bothintermsofsomeearlyservicerecordsandofficialsquadronhistoriesandagreatmanyunofficial,but generally excellently researched, private websites on squadrons andairstations.Havingsaidthat,theairforcehasbeensadlyneglectedbythetwobiggenealogywebsites,AncestryandFindmypast,soyouwillhaveto do a lot of digging through original paperwork –which tomymindadds to the fun, but will involve travelling to The National Archives(TNA)atKew.

For theFirstWorldWarperiodandearlier, service records forRAFofficersareinTNA’sAIR76serieswhichisavailableonlineviaTNA’swebsite at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Records for ordinaryairmenare inAIR79,which isnotonlinebut is (despiterumours to thecontrary)prettymuchcomprehensiveformenwhoservedwith theRAFbeforetheearly1920s.ThefewsurvivingrecordsfortheWomen’sRoyalAirForceintheFirstWorldWarareavailableonTNAwebsite.Servicerecords from after the early 1920s will have to be applied for and theprocessisexplainedintheChapter5.

ThemainrecordscoveringRAFstationsandsquadrons(anindividualwas generally appointed to one or the other, especially early in theircareer) are available at TNA in AIR 28 series (stations) and Air 27(squadrons).MostAIR27recordshaverecentlybecomeavailableonlineatTNA’swebsite.OtherrecordsthatmayhaveusefulinformationareinAIR1series,whichcontains justabouteverything fromtheFirstWorldWar for the RFC and RNAS; Air 25, which contains records of RAFgroupsandwhichprovideahighlevelappreciationofwhatwasgoingon;andAIR29,whichcontainsrecordsofthemultitudinoussupportunitsoftheRAFfromtrainingschools,embarkationunits,maintenanceunitsandthe RAF Regiment. Surviving combat records from the Second WorldWar for all categories of RAF aircraft are in AIR 50 series and areavailableonlineviaTNA’swebsite.

The RAFMuseum at Hendon has a splendid collection of donated

material, as does the ImperialWarMuseum (IWM) and both also haveextensivecollectionsofphotographs.

There are far too many excellent books on individuals, squadrons,battles,aircraftandstationstobegintomakeacomprehensivelist.YourlocallibrarycanprobablyobtaincopiesoftherareronesviatheexcellentInterLibraryLoansService;don’tbeafraidtousethesebooks,ifonlyasastartingpointforfurtheroriginalresearch.

Thewholeperiodcoveredinthisbookisoneofmass-mediacoverage.Localandnationalnewspapershavealwaysknownthataeroplanesmakegoodcopyandtheyshouldbeconsultedforstorieswithlocalconnections.Thereareextensivecollectionsoffilmonaviation–theIWMhasmanysuch films and their catalogue is worth checking via their website athttp://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search.

Therearealsohundredsofofficialandunofficialwebsitesdevotedtoaviation matters. First and foremost is the RAF’s own website athttp://www.raf.mod.uk, which has numerous pages devoted to theservice’shistoryandunits.

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Chapter1

EARLYFLYINGEXPERIENCESINTHEROYALNAVALAIRSERVICE–REGINALDBONE

eggie Bone first flew in 1912 and was still working in the aviationindustryfortyyearslater,aperiodspanningtheearliestramshackleBleriotmonoplanes,onwhichhelearnedtofly,andthejetengine,onwhichheworkedinthe1950s.Thoughhiscareerwaslongandfascinating,hereweconcentrateonhisearlyexperiencesasapilot,derived, inpart, fromhisunpublishedmemoirs.

Reggie was born in Dorking in 1888, the son of an East Indiamerchant. His older brother, Archie, was intended to take over thebusiness (though he actually joined the Indian Army) so Reggie waseducatedprivately,intendingtojointheRN.Hepassedtheexamsandin1904becameacadetonHMSBritannia.ForerunnerofthemodernNavalCollege, Britannia was an old wooden three-decker anchored atDartmouth and aboard her he learned the basics of seamanship andleadership. Described as ‘zealous, hard working, slow in study’, heobtainedFirstClass results inSeamanshipandTorpedoes,SecondClassinGunneryandThirdClassinPilotage.

Qualifying as a midshipman, he served on the armoured cruisersDonegal andDevonshire and pre-Dreadnought battleshipsHMS RussellandHMSMajestic,thenthedestroyerFoamintheMediterranean.

Reggie realised the Submarine Service offered opportunities for akeen, young officer to get early responsibility and promotion and,volunteeringforit,waspostedtoHMSDolphin,theSubmarineSchoolatGosport.Havingcompletedhisbasictraining,hewasappointedassecondofficeronsubmarineC1basedatSheerness.

ReggieBone(instripedscarf)withtheFirstCaptainandcrewofsubmarineC1,1913.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

Whileservinginsubmarines,Reggieconceivedtheideaoflearningtofly. Though initially reluctant to support aviation, the Admiralty hadagreedtoreimburseretrospectivelythesumof£75providedthecandidatepassedtheirBrevet(pilot’slicence).Thiscannilysavedthemtheexpensesof pilots who didn’t pass the test. Learning to fly was undoubtedlydangerous; aircraft were primitive, training techniques were basic andtherewasseriousriskoffatalaccident–ofthefirst100pilotsqualifyinginBritain,11weresubsequentlykilledinaccidents.

ReggiebecameapupilattheEastbourneAviationCompany,asmallsouth-coast school, established in December 1911 by Bernard Fowler,who’d taught himself to fly and become Chief Instructor. Though theschoolwasonlysmall(turningoutjustsixqualifiedpupilsin1912),ithadagoodreputation.OneoftheinstructorstherewasJJHammond,aNewZealanderwho’d learned to fly at theBristolAviationCompanySchoolonSalisburyPlainandmadethefirstseriousflightsinAustralia,whereonhisfirstflightheflewacrossSydneyHarbour.Themainworkshopoftheaerodromewasaconvertedcorrugatedironchurchwithoffices,apupils’changingroom,asittingroomforpupilsandamechanics’messroom.InMay 1913 theywere equippedwith threeBleriotmonoplanes, aBristolbiplane and their own aircraft, the EACmonoplane, and were buildingthree Henry Farman seaplanes ready for the summer season. Flightmagazine described it as, ‘A splendid aerodrome, plenty ofmachines, afirst class instructorwhoseheart is in hiswork, every convenience, andjolly companions … I think learning to fly is indeed a pleasure atEastbourne’.FromReggie’spointofview,basedashewasatSheerness,Eastbourne was probably more convenient than the larger schools atHendon.

Initialtrainingcomprisedlearningtocontroltheaircraftonthegroundand Reggie’s first few lessons were in steering the aeroplane, an oldBleriotmonoplane.Hewas thenexpected tomake some short ‘hops’ togetusedtobeingafewfeetofftheground.

Flightmagazine,whichreportedonmostaviationschools, recorded,on22June1912,

OnWednesday lastweek,LieutBone andGasslerwere both out,the former putting in some good rolling practice and the latterexcellentshortflights.Thursday,FridayandSaturdaywereall too

rough for outdoor work, but on Sunday the weather improvedconsiderablytowardstheevening,whenLieutBonewasabletoputinsomemorepractice.Heshowedamarkedimprovementtowardstheendoftheeveningandwasdoinghopsingreatstyle.

On 29 June Flight recorded: ‘On Saturday evening the weatherconditionswereperfect,andLieutsBoneandBrownandMrGasslerputin some good practice. Sunday evening saw them all out again, whenLieut Bone took his first flight, which nearly ended in disaster to theAnzani.’Reggiedescribedtheincident,

AtEastbournetheequipmentwastheBleriotmonoplanewhichwasdifficult to keep straight while running on the ground. Inconsequencethepupilsfirstprocesswaswhatweretermedstraightrolls in an old aircraftwhichwas no longer considered fit to fly.One evening I was doing my straight rolls on a 25 hp AnzaniBleriotwhen an unexpected gust liftedme50 ft off the ground–pointingat the localgasworks. Ihadhadno instruction in theairandallIknewwaswhatIhadheardinconversation.Icontrivedtomake a half circuit and made a faultless landing, at which theenginecoughedandstopped.

Though Hammond ran from the clubhouse shouting and swearing andthreatened never to have him at the school again, Reggie was able toplacatehimandcontinuehistraining.

On7JulyFlightreported,

On Wednesday last week the wind was too strong for practice, butThursdaymorningwasdeadcalmandthemachineswereoutat4am…LieutBonemadehisfirstflightmostsuccessfullybutlandedoutsidetheground,fortunatelydoingnodamage.Intheevening…LieutBonemadeseveralshortflights,butdidnotmanagethemachinequiteaswellashedidinthemorning.

On Friday practice again commenced early… Lieut Bone made ashort flightbut foundthewindrather trying.MrFowler thenhad the50hpGnome-Bleriotout.Bythistimethewindhadfreshenedconsiderably,andintryingtostartwiththewindonhisbeam,themachinesideslippedandcamedownononewing,smashingthewholeofthelandingchassisas

wellasthepropellerandwing.Furtherpracticewasrenderedimpossiblebythewind.Intheevening…LieutBonelandedratherheavilyandputoneof theAnzanisoutofaction.OnSaturday…LieutBonewasdoingshort straights. Sundaymorning saw Lieuts Bone and Brown out againandMrGassleroutagain.

On9SeptemberFlightreported,

On Friday evening … Lieut Bone was doing straights on the 25 hpAnzani.Saturday turnedout abeautifulday, and thepupilsgot in someusefulpractice.LieutBonetriedthe28hpforthefirsttime,andafteroneortworunswasabletodostraightsingoodstyle.[OnSunday]MrBonewasdoingstraightsonthe28hpinexcellentstyle.

On12OctoberFlightreported:

On Saturday, Lieut Bone took on the 28 hp Anzani, flew on circuit,landing well. Next day [Lieutenant Murray] made several solos in theBristoldoingrightandleftturnswithperfectconfidence.LieutBoneandMessrsGasslerandFogginwerehardatitinthe28hpAnzani.

Tuesday Mr Foggin flew in the morning, and in the afternoon MrHammondflewovertoBexhillwithMrBone,whileMrFowlerwasoutamusingspectatorsintheevening.

The onset ofwinter and naval commitments seem to have preventeReggiefromflyinguntilAugust1913,whenhereturnedtEastbournetotest for his Brevet (pilot’s licence). On 16 AugustFligh recorded: ‘OnThursdaymorning,Fowler hadLieutBoneRNanMrBeavis upon theEACbiplanebyturns.LieutBonethenwentuwithGassler,andMrFillwasdoingstraightsonthe35hpBleriot.On28August:

OnWednesdaymorning,Gasslerhad theEACbiplaneout, takingupinturns,MessrsBlevisandThornleyandLieutBone.

Friday,FowlerhadMrThornleyuptwice,LieutBoneuptwiceandMessrsBevisandHuntonce…GasslerhadthebiplaneoutandtookupLieutBoneandMessrsThornley,Bevis,HuntandWood.LieutBonethendidacoupleofcircuitssolo.

Saturday morning… Lieut Bone accomplished his brevet infinestyle,landingpracticallyonthemarkeachtime.

The basic test to secure one’s Brevet involved a series of take-off and

landings followed by a figure of eight flight round a marke course,followedbyalandingonamarkontherunway.Aerobaticwerevirtuallyunheardofandtheexamonlytestedbasicflyingcompetency.

ReggiewasawardedRoyalAeroClubAviator’sCertificate627dated16 August 1913. His appointment to the Central Flying School for acourse of additional instruction commencing in September 1913 wasannouncedbytheAdmiraltyon15August.Reggierecallsinhismemoirs,

AfterIgotmyBrevetIappliedtotheCommodore(S)totransfertotheRNAS,whichwasstronglyresisted.HiscasewasthattheNavyhadexpendedmoneyintrainingmeforsubmarineworkandthatImust remain in submarines.Mycasewas thatwhen Ivolunteeredfor submarines in 1909 therewas no flying to volunteer for. Thedisputeendedinmybeingtakentothe2ndSeaLord’sOfficeattheAdmiralty, where I won my case that one could not retain avolunteer againsthiswish. Iwent to theCentralFlyingSchool atUpavonafortnightlater,inSeptember1913.

A reportby theSchoolCommandantdetails the instructiongiven tothepupils.Workingingroupsofseven,theofficersspentthreeweeksinthe workshops studying the mechanics of various Gnome, Renault andAnzani engines, the mounting and dismounting of engines, theconstructionofaeroplanes,thedismantling,repairandtruingupofaircraftandtheexaminationofaeroplanesfordefects,alongwiththeircorrection.A total of sixty-two lectures were attended, covering theory of flight,meteorology, internal combustion engines, aerial navigation and use ofmaps,careofaeroplanes,hintsonflying, rulesof theairandaerodromeand aerial reconnaissance. Other lectures concentrated on subjects of apurelymilitary nature, such as observing artillery fire, troop formationsandtypesofwarships.

Officersflewanaverageof23hours23minutesovertheperiodofthecourse and the average standard of efficiency obtained in handling thevarious types of machine was very high, themajority of officers beingproficientinmorethanonetypeofmachine.Mostflyingwascarriedoutnear to dawn or dusk, when wind conditions were considered mostfavourable.Manyyearslater,theauthorhadthepleasureofhearingfromthesonofLieutenantWilliamson,whorecalledhow,asasmallboy,hismotherhadtakenhimtoUpavontoseehisfatherandotherpilotswaiting,

atdawn,forthewindtodropsotheycouldtakeoff.

Short tractor (propeller at the front) seaplane approaching the beach at Great Yarmouth, withReggieBoneatthecontrols.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

Attheendofthecoursetheofficerssatpracticalexamsinflying,mapreading,useofthecompass,enginesandsignallingonabuzzer.Writtenexamswereintheoryofflight, internalcombustionenginesandstrengthofmaterials,formationoftroops,aerialreconnaissanceandmeteorology.Allbuttwoofficerspassed(one,MajorGCMerrick,havingbeenkilledinaflyingaccident).TheCommandantnotedonReggie’sservicerecord,‘Verykeenofficer.VGknowledgeofinternalcombustionengines.Goodpilot.’

AfteramonthattheRNASstationontheIsleofGraintrainingtoflyseaplanes, Reggie was posted to the air station at Great Yarmouth,recentlycreatedandbasedonthebeachsouthofthetown.Seaplaneswereslid down the beach into the sea for take-off and, on occasion, tooktownsfolk for short flights at the price of a shilling! In March 1914Reggie,flyinginaMauriceFarmanLonghorn,camedownabout40milesfromYarmouthnearthevillageofSaxmundham,tearingoffhistailplaneandelevatorsonatreestump.Aratingfromthestation,sentouttohelp,recordedarescuemissionthatrecallsaKeystoneKopsmovieandshowstheflimsyandmakeshiftnatureofearlyaeroplanes,

Four of us were dispatched in a Crossley tender with lengths ofspruce toeffect repairs.Passing throughResinglandvillageat topspeed, we knocked down an old man carrying a crosscut saw,veered round and demolished a blacksmith’s shop, bending thefrontaxleandrenderingthetenderuseless.Theoldmanwaspickedup,takenhome,wellsoakedinbrandy,andputtobed,whileoneoftheparty’phonedforassistance.MrCourtneyarrivedinacloudofdust with his racing car, and ordered us to transfer the tools andmaterialtohiscar.Thatmeantfiveofusinatwo-seaterracerwitha smooth body. We had two punctures before reachingSaxmundham – adding to Mr Courtney’s amiability. Luckily thetimber was broken off exactly the required length in the smithycrash,whicheasedtempersconsiderably,andwiththehelpofafewtreebranches,andofanice farmwenchwhomachined the fabricforus,wecompletedthejob.MrBonetookoffinaploughedfieldwithabouta50yardrunandsailedbetweentwotreeswithwing-tipsalmost touching.Afterexperiencing threemorepunctures,wearrived at Yarmouth, having changed our car again for a private

conveyance.WealwaysthoughtthatMrBonehadthelaughonusonthattrip,butthattake-offofhiswasworthgoingalongwaytosee.

MauriceFarmanpusher(thepropellerfacedbackwards)withagroupofonlookersonthebeachatGreatYarmouth.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

On 1 April 1914 Reggie was making take-offs and landings in aSopwithseaplaneNo.60 from thebeachat theair stationwhendisasterstruck.TheYarmouthMercuryrecorded,

YARMOUTHSEAPLANEWRECKED

One of the Yarmouth seaplanes was, on Wednesday afternoon,beached in amuch damaged condition at Caister-On-Sea. Duringthe afternoon Lieutenant Bone made two or three ascents in thevicinityoftheNavalAircraftStation.OnthelastoccasionallwentwelluntilhewasneartheStNicholasLightship,whentherewasanominoussoundofsomethinggoingwrong.Themachinewas thenallowed to drift, the engine having been switched off andLieutenantBonewastakenaboardtheFlyingCorps’motorlaunch.Itwasafterwardsascertainedthatoneofthefloatsoftheseaplanehadbeenstovein.

LieutenantBonestateditwasjustanordinaryaccident,whichmightoccuratanymoment,asseaplanesareonlyintheirinfancy,butinacoupleofyears,whentheyareperfected,itwouldprobablynot be known. A seaplane, he explained, has to rise against thewind,andwhentheengineisturnedontogaintherequisiteimpetusto soar, the floats, which on this seaplane are of three-plywood,havetoencounter theblowsof thewaves,andin this instancethematerialyieldedtothecontinualthumpingtowhichitwasexposed.Itwouldhavebeenpossibletorisewithadamagedfloat,butifthepilot had to descend with one in this condition it would becomewaterloggedandcapsize.Hewasnot,hesaid,inanydanger,andiftheworsthadhappened,hewouldhave swum to the shore.FromthespotwherethemishapoccurredtotheplacewherethemachinewasbeachedatCaister,heestimatedwasadistanceoffourmiles.This was one of the risks incidental to seaplanes in their presentstate of development, in which they differ from aeroplanes andmachinesusedforflyingfromland.

Onesteamerpassedhimwhilehewasinthedisabledmachinebeforehelpreachedhimfromthelaunch,andofferednoassistance.This,however,maybeduetothefactitwasnotrealisedonboard

thattheseaplanewasindifficulties,therebeingnocontrivanceforshowingasignalofdistress.

InMay1914Reggie (mistakenlynamedasBeaumannbyFlight) flewaMaurice Farman biplane toNorwichwhere the pioneer aviatorMrBCHucks and his assistant Marcus Manton were demonstrating the newtechnique of looping the loop. FlyingBleriotmonoplanes, the twomenflewupsidedown,racedeachother,loopedtheloopandperformedotherdaring feats. Reggie himself drew some attention, and according to theEasternDailyPress,‘Thearrivaljustafterthreeo’clockofabiplanefromYarmouthNavalAviation Station caused a flutter of excitement. ItwaspilotedbyanofficerwhohadcometowitnessMrHucks’exhibition.Itspassageoverthecityattractedagreatdealofattention.’

In July 1914 aircraft fromYarmouth flew down to Spithead on theSolent toparticipate in theannualNavalReview.Basedat thenaval airstation at Calshot, they flew over the fleet review, including a flight atnight with the whole fleet lit up. It was while at Calshot, Reggie laterrecalled,thatthenavalairmenwerefirsttoldthattheNavalWingoftheRoyal Flying Corps was to separate and become the Royal Naval AirService.On the return flight toYarmouthReggie sufferedhis last crashbeforetheoutbreakofwar.TheWhitstablelocalnewspaperreported:

A Naval airman, Lieutenant Reginald J Bone, with Mr Henry, awireless operator, was proceeding in naval waterplane (no. 141)fromCalshot,SouthamptontotheIsleofGrainairstationandwhenaboutamileandahalfoffTankertonwasplanningdownwhen,notknowinghewassoclosetothewaterowingtotheglareofthesunlight misleading him, the water plane struck the water with suchforce that it turned over andwas completelywrecked.Before thecatastrophe theNavalLieutenantwas flying at only tenor twelvefeetabovethewater,butthinkinghewashigherhedidnotturnoffhisengine.TheLieutenantandhispassengerwereunderthewaterquite longenough,according toaneyewitnessof theoccurrence,buttheycameupsafelyandwererescuedbyarowboatfromoneof the yawls. The naval waterplane No. 77, which was a shortdistance away, came up and Lieut. Bone and Mr Henry weretransferredtothisandthewaterplanebroughtthemontothebeachatTankerton.Naturallythegreatestexcitementprevailedamongthe

hut occupiers and others on the beach and soon a large crowdassembled, only to be swelled to greater proportions as the newsspread throughout the town. Lieut Bone sprained his ankle andbruisedhiskneein thefall,buthiscompanionescapedunhurt.DrEtheridge attended to the Lieutenant, who later lunched at theresidenceofDrandMrsEtheridge.

WhileReggiewasbeingentertainedby thedoctor, theplanewas towedashore.AtorpedoboatfromSheernesssentseamenashoretoremovethewirelessandothervaluableitemsimmediately.Themachinewasguardedovernightbythepolice,whichdidn’tpreventspectatorsfrommakingoffwith parts of the wreckage. Attempts to get one of the wings awayprovokedgreatamusementamongspectatorsasthefoursailorstryingtocarryitfelloverseveraltimesinthemud.Eventually,theimportantpartsofthewreckweretakenawayinthetorpedoboatthenextday.

Onhis return toYarmouthReggie flewpatrols along theeast coast,includingashortspellatKillingholmewherehiswastheonlyaircrafttodefend the oil tanks there against possible Zeppelin attack – whichfortunately nevermaterialised. It’s also likely that hewas the officer inchargeatYarmouthwhenthetownwasshelledbyGermancruiserson3November 1914. The air station had no service able aircraft and wasreduced to sending armed sailors to the beach to repulse a possiblelanding.

Reggie was then posted to HMS Empress, a cross-Channel ferryconverted to carry seaplanes. The ship was part of a flotilla of threeseaplane carriers (the other twowereEngadine andRiviera) detailed tocarryoutoneofthemostdaringraidsofthewar.TheAdmiraltyknewtheGermanshadaZeppelinstationatCuxhavenontheNorthSeacoastandon Christmas Eve 1914, accompanied by an escort of destroyers andcruisers of theHarwichForce, the flotilla set out for theGerman coast.The pilots, including Reggie, had been briefed by their intelligenceofficer, Erskine Childers (author of the spy novel The Riddle of theSands), andwere to fly toCuxhavenandbomb the shedsandgasholderbeforeflyingbackovertheGermannavalbasesatthemouthoftheJadeandWeserriversforreconnaissance.Atdawntheseaplaneswereswunginto the water, their wings (which had been folded) were opened andfixed, theirenginesstartedandonebyonetheyliftedintotheair–with

twoexceptions,oneofwhichwasReggieBone’sShortseaplaneNo.122which suffered complete engine failure! His aircraft was hauled backaboardandEmpressmadeway,withtheflotilla, towardstherendezvouspointwiththereturningaircraft.ErskineChilders,whodidactuallyflyintheraid,latercommentedthatReggiewastheonlypilotwho’dstudiedhisplansproperlyanditwasashamehehadn’tbeenabletotakeoff.

InhismemoirsReggierecalledanotherraidsoonafter,

ThisshipwassenttoDunkirktotakepartinsomeraidsdesignedtogive thepublicconfidencewhichhadbeenshakenby theGermanadvanceof1914.WeweredespatchedtoattacksomebuildingsonthelandwardendofthemoleatZeebruggebutweweretoldnottogo over the target at less than 5,000 feet.When I told Samson Idoubtedifwecouldmakethataltitudehisreplywas‘That’suptoyou’. Our four seaplanes became separated on the way bysnowstorms.When I approached theMole at Zeebrugge at about3,000 feet the AA fire was heavy and accurate. My instrumentboard was smashed and a piece of hot metal lodged in myhandkerchief – worn in the left hand cuff. At this point I mustconfess that it occurred to me that I was disobeying the orderedheight over the target and I turned aside and bombed a tram atBlankenberghfromalowaltitude.

TheDutchpaperscarriedaparagraph24hourslaterthatIhadhitthetramandkilled105Germansoldiers.In1918whenIwasonaCommissiontoBelgiumIwent toBlankenberghandgotconfirmationof thisfromlocalpeople.They even showedme themarks on a train standardwhich hadbeenmadebythesplintersofmybomb.Onthisraidwelosttwosplendidyoungsters,DesmondO’BrienandTommySpencer.[Thedateoftheraidwas16February1915andDesmondO’Brienwassonofthe14thBaronofInchinquin,CountyClare.]

After this rather disastrous affair I was transferred to No. 2 WingRNAS which was forming at Eastchurch under Courtney. It was astrenuousperiodsincetheseniorofficersweredoingdual(instruction)allday and had to stand by to pursue Zeppelins – sometime into the earlyhoursof themorning.TheGovernmenwerealarmedat theeffectonthepublicofourfailuretochecktheseraidsandwereanxioustohavesomesort o communique to issue e.g. ‘ou pilots went up in pursuit etc’ The

difficultywas that theZeppelinscouldrisequickly toaheight thatmostdefendingaircraftcouldnotreach…AtEastchurchwehadsomeoldBE2candourweaponwas to carryFrench incendiarydart called ‘Fleches’which had to be dropped on the Zeppelin from above. One night aZeppelinwasreportedoverDoversteeringtowardsSheernessandtwoofus–Pierseandmyself–wentupinpursuit.Afterpatrollingforabouttwohours over Sheerness and having seen nothing we both returned toEastchurch. It must be remembered that we had no radio to give usinformation;asIapproachedtheflarepathIsawPierselandingalongsideit–notonit.FornoparticularreasonIdidthesamething.Wewerebothlucky because the Zepp had passed over Eastchurch while we were onpatrolandhaddroppedavery largebombaccuratelyonto the flarepathmakinganenormouscrater.Hadwe landedon the flarepathwe shouldhavecrashedintothiscrater.

FlightLieutenantReggieBoneatDunkirkearly1915.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

ShortlyafterthisepisodeItookoneofthesquadronsofNo.2Wing,Dunkirk.WeoperatedagainsttargetsatZeebruggeandbehindOstendandagainst airship sheds in Belgium – near Brussels. On one occasionmysquadronwas detailed to attack an airship shed atGontrode. TwoweretwinenginedpusherCaudronsandthethirdwasmyNieuport.JustbeforedepartureIdiscoveredthatoneoftheCaudronshadnomachinegunandso I gave him the one frommyNieuport. Shortly after take-off I foundmyself over Dixmude with two German aircraft at my level and oneabove.ThiswasanawkwardsituationsoIattackedoneoftheGermansatmylevelandhewentverticallydowninacloudofexhaustsmokebecausehewas terrified of aNieuport. I thenwent out to sea betweenNieuportandOstend–crossedovertheDutchfrontierbehindZeebrugge–bombedthe airship shed atGontrode and setmynose for home.Flying into thesettingsunIfoundthatIcouldnotseemycompassatall.Iwasforcedtosteerby the setting sun.Mydetourvia theDutch frontier hadmademeveryshortofpetrolandIwasdelightedtofindmyselfoverthecanalthatrunsoutatNieuport.MyenginestoppeddeadwithinafewmomentsandIforce landed on the beach 2 miles behind Nieuport. Arthur Longmore,whowas incommandof theRNASatDunkirkcameoutwith thepartybringingmepetrol.

A flight of French-built Caudron two-seater bombers at Dunkirk, 1915. Reggie commanded amixedflightofCaudronsandNieuportfighters.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

French-builtNieuportfightersatDunkirk,1915.NotetheLewisgunonthetopwingfixedtofireoverthepropeller.ItwasinanaircraftlikethisReggiewonhisDSO.(CourtesyofMrsRosemaryHorrell)

AfterhisperiodatDunkirk,Reggiewasappointedtocommandatinynewstation at Detling, just outsideMaidstone. German air raids against theKentcoasthadbecomeanunfortunatefeatureofthewaranduntilnowthedefences had appeared incapable of protecting the coastal towns.On19March1916Reggiebecame,atleastmomentarily,quiteacelebrity,asherecalledinhismemoirs,

AtthistimeGermanaircraftweremakingdaylightraidsonoureastcoasttowns–therewasnoradartogivewarningoftheirapproachand theydid not remain any length of timeover their targets andwereoff to seaagainbeforeanydefendingaircraftcouldgetnearthem.DuetomyexperienceatDunkirkIfeltthatSundayatlunchtime was a probable moment for an attack. I therefore got somesandwiches and a thermos of coffee and flew from Detling toWestgate-on-Seawherewehada smallRNASairfield. I thengotmy Nieuport lined up into wind and was eating my lunch whensomeGerman aircraft bombed the townofMargate close by.MyenginewasquicklystartedandIsetoffinpursuit.Theproblemwasto keep a German aircraft in sight since my climbing speed wasonlyjustabovetheircruisingspeed.HoweverImanagedtodothisalthoughittookmealongwaytowardsZeebruggebeforeIgotuptotheheight.FinallyIgotupunderhistailandfiredagoodburst–at which he went down in an almost vertical dive. I saw theseaplane alight and he eventually taxied back to Zeebrugge. ThepilotwasemployedafterthewarinDeutschHansaandhetoldmethathewashitintheankle.ThiswasthefirsttimethatanyBritishaircraft had made contact with a raiding German aircraft … theauthoritiesweresogladtohaveaCommuniquethat theyawardedmeanimmediateDSO,whichIprobablydidnotdeserve.

Deservedor not, a tremendous fusswasmadeofReggie’s success.TheIsle of Thanet Gazette reported (andmistakenly that he’d been born inThanet) that on his landing he was cheered by assembled naval andmilitarymen,joinedbylocalcivilians.HewascheeredagainwhenheleftWestgatebycartogotoalocalhotel.OntheMondayeveningfollowinghis fightheandagroupofRNAScolleaguesattendedaperformanceattheMaidstonePalaceTheatrewhere hewas recognised and received anovationfromtheaudience.

The raid had been the largest so far, with six German seaplanesbombing Dover, Deal, Margate and Ramsgate. Dover and Deal werebombed before the defending aircraft were even aware an attack wastakingplaceandthreeseaplanesdroppedatotalofthirty-threebombsonthetowns.Just10minuteslater,at2.10pm,threemoreseaplanesattackedRamsgateandMargate,droppingfifteenbombs.TheaircraftReggieBoneeventually interceptedwasone thathadbombedDeal, aFreidrichshafenFF 33b from Zeebrugge. The crew sustained minor injuries and theseaplanewaseventuallytowedhome.Reggie’sofficialreportsaidthathehadmadeadivingattackfromtherear,underfirefromtheobserver,madea secondpass inwhichhe thoughthe’dwounded theobserver and thenclosedinto20ftfiringaseriesofshortburstsuntilthemachinewentintoasteepdivewiththeenginesmoking.

Thoughtheotherdefenders(somethirtyaircrafttookoff)didn’tmakecontact,aRFCaircraft,whichwascrossingtheChannel,gotonthetailofanotherseaplaneandforceditdownbadlydamaged.Newsofthissuccessdidn’treachBritainuntilnextdaysoReggie,quiteunwittingly,madeallthe headlines. Given that the Germans had killed fourteen people(including four children on their way to Sunday school) and injuredtwenty-six, the authorities desperately needed good news and Reggieprovided it.All the localpapers reportedhissuccess,asdid thenationalpress – including the mass-circulation Daily Mirror, which had hisphotographonthefrontpage.

A posed photograph, taken after he won his DSO, which appeared in several magazines andhistories.(Author’sCollection)

ReggieBone’sLaterCareer

Following his DSO Reggie worked as a test pilot, commanded SouthShields Seaplane Station then was posted to the RNAS in the Aegean,commanding B Squadron, then the Mudros Repair Base. Returning toLondoninlate1917,hewasLiaisonOfficerbetweentheAirMinistryandtheRAFintheAegean.InApril1919,hewasCOoftheRAFContingenton HMS Nairana in Russia, eventually commanding the whole RAFContingentofSyrenforce(seeGuyBlampied,Chapter3).

AftersixmonthsasRAFLiaisonOfficerwiththeGovernmentCodeandCypherSchooladvisingonRAFciphers,hewasattachedtoHQof3GroupatGranthamthenservedtwoyearsasDirectorofRAFRecruiting,being involved when Lawrence of Arabia tried enlisting as anaircraftsmanundera falsename.From1923 to1925hecommanded theflying boat base, RAF Calshot, on the Solent. He then went to India,commanding the RAF Depot at Drigh Road, with responsibility formaintaining all RAF machinery in India. Here he again encounteredLawrenceofArabia,whoworkedinthestoresandwrotemaliciouslettersabouthimtoLondon.Promotedtogroupcaptainin1929,hebecameAirAttaché inParis.Having flown theChannelon the sameeveningas theairship R101, he inspected the burnt outwreckage after it crashed nearParisandidentifiedthehideouslyburnedbodiesofhisgoodfriendSeftonBrancker, Minister of Civil Aviation, and other officers he’d known.Retiringin1934,heworkedasacivilianintheAirMinistry,thenbecameDirector ofCivilAviation to theEgyptianGovernment.Recalled to theRAF in September 1939, he was Station Commander, RAF PembrokeDock, finally retiring in 1941. Until 1945 he was RAF LiaisonOfficerwithCivilDefenceintheMidlands.

InBirminghamhemarriedayoungwidowwhosehusbandhadbeenkilledonARPduties,‘inheriting’hersmallfamily.HewasCivilAviationAttachéintheFarEastinthelate1940sandlaterworkedonjetenginesatLucasEngineering.Hediedin1972.

ResearchingReggieBone

ThoughReggiewrotehismemoirsinlaterlife,hisaccountisverypatchyintermsofexactdetailsofhiscareerandsomebitsonemightexpect tohavebeenmentionedaren’t– there’snoreferencetohisabortivepart inthe Cuxhaven raid, for example. Dates are rarely given – and aresometimeswrongwhentheyare!Ifnothingelse,thisprovesallmemoirsshould be treated with a certain amount of caution and checked andverified with other sources. I also had to piece the story together fromroughdrafts,typescriptsandcorrespondence.

With such a long and interesting career the sources to be used aremanyandvaried.Someareavailableonline,forexample,hisWho’sWhoentry is athttp://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U152445/BONE_Group_Captain_Reginald_John?index=1&results=QuicksearchResults&query=0,whichgivesbasicdetailsof his career.HisRN service record covering his service between 1903and 1919 is in ADM 196 series at TNA and can be searched for anddownloaded via the Discovery facility on the TNAwebsite. There is abrief obituary in The Times(the digital archive can usually be accessedfree via your local libraries website) and there are occasional otherreferences to him in its pages. TheLondonGazette gives details of hisappointments, promotions and awards. As an early aviatormany of hisflights are recorded in Flight magazine, available athttp://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html, and it also includesreferencestootherpointsinhiscareerandhastheoccasionalphotograph.

Becauseof thenoveltyandpopularityofflyinginitsearlyyearsthelocalpressoftenmentionedincidentsofnoteandthelocalnewspapersforMargate, Maidstone, Great Yarmouth and Eastbourne all containreferences to him. Thus far these are only available at either the localrecord office or library or the British Library newspaper collection atColindale. Hopefully, these papers will be via the Internet in the nearfuture aspart of theBritishLibrary’sprogrammeofputtingnewspapersonline.TheawardofReggie’sDSOmadeallthenationalpress,includingafront-pagespreadintheDailyMirror,whichalsofeaturedaphotograph.

Reggie’sRAFservice record, sinceheservedafter1919, is retainedby theRAFandheld atRAFCranwell. I have a copy as I receivedhisnext of kin’s authority to access it in the early 1990s, but it should be

available tomembersof thepublic,withsomedeletions,provided itcanbeprovedhediedmorethantwenty-fiveyearsago(acopyofhisobituaryinTheTimesisactuallyonthefile).

Most other records are available at TNA in Kew. There are briefdetails of his RNAS career in ADM 273/3/21 and ADM 273/31/69.Detailsofhiswork in theRNASandearlyRAF,up to theendof1919,are in AIR 1 series, which is a huge and complex series but containsalmostallsurvivingaviationpapersfromtheFirstWorldWarandbefore.

The IWMhas someof thepapersofErskineChilders, includinghiswell-writtenandinformativediary,whichprovedinvaluableforcheckingdetails of Reggie’s time on HMSEmpress and his abortive part in theCuxhavenraid.

Because of his wide and varied service and reasonably high rank,Reggie is mentioned frequently in books and magazines, though notalwaysbyname.AstheCOheisreferredtointhelettersofTELawrencecoveringhistimeatRAFDrighRoad.There’sanaccountofhisshootingdown the German seaplane in The Air Defence of Great Britain byChristopher Cole and E FCheesman (Putnam, 1984).He ismentioned,though not by name, in W E Johns’ memoirs when he describes theenlistment of T E Lawrence into the RAF at the Henrietta StreetRecruitingOfficein1922.

D

Chapter2

AMILITARYMEDALWITHTHEROYALFLYINGCORPS–DAVIDPROSSERHEPBURN

avid Prosser Hepburn was born in 1885 in the Carluker area ofLanarkshire, the third of nine children. It’s known that he attendedEdinburghUniversity, studying chemistry, and, presumablywhile there,served in the 4thVolunteerBattalion,Royal Scots, otherwise known astheEdinburghRifles, a rather select (at least as far as its officerswent)volunteerunit.Theunithadoriginallybeenformed,in1867,asacorpsof‘total abstainers’, which may help explain David’s known almost totalabstinencefromdrinkinlaterlife.

When he enlisted, on 28 January 1916 (the date suggests hevolunteered),hegavehisoccupationaschemistwhichmayhavebeenafactorinhisjoiningtheRoyalFlyingCorpsasarigger,thosegroundcrewwhoworkedonthebodyoftheaircraft.Manyriggershadprevioustradesinwoodwork,wiringandupholstery(necessaryskillswhenworkingwithcanvasandwoodenaircraftheldtogetherwithwire),butriggerswerealsoresponsibleforpaintinganddoping(applyingthehardenertothecanvas)so a knowledge of chemistry could be useful. Alongside the riggersworked the fitters,menwithmechanical skillwhowere responsible fortheengines,gunsandothermechanisms.

Basicmilitary trainingwouldhavebeencarriedout atFarnborough,long-timehomeoftheRFCwithtradeinstructiongiventhereatthesametime. The syllabus for the slightly later school for riggers and fitters atReadingshowsthatriggersweregiveninstructiononalltheRFCaircraftofthetime.Following training, he was posted to the newly forming 70 Squadron,whichwasdes-tinedtogotoFrancetotakepartintheairfightingovertheBattleof theSomme in the summer andautumnof1916.The squadronwasbeingsenttoFrancespecificallytodealwiththesingle-seaterFokkermonoplanefighter,which,withitsnewinterruptergearallowingthepilotto fire his machine gun through his propeller, was causing heavycasualtiestotheRFCsquadronsovertheSommebattlefields.Theywere

to be equippedwith the brand newSopwith 1½Strutter,which had thenew interrupter gear allowing its own Vickers machine gun to fireforward,aswellasaLewisgunfortheobserver.

Alan Bott, who served as an observer with the squadron, laterdescribed theconfusion that surrounded themove toFrance inhisbookAn Airman’s Outings with the RFC June – December 1916. Thoughwrittenfromthepointofviewofayoungofficer,itreflectsthedelaysandconfusionsthatmusthaveaffectedthewholesquadron.It’salsoclearthatBott changed the dates,much in theway that he changed the names ofindividualsandplaces.

DavidHepburnlookingverysmartinhisRFC‘maternity’jacket;thefrontflapcoveredthebuttonstopreventthemgettingcaughtinmachinery.Heisn’tyetwearinghisMMribbon,suggestingthisphotographwastakenearlierin1916.(CourtesyofAndrewSalmondSmith)

June opens with an overhaul of officers and men. Last leave isdistributed, the doctor examines everybody by batches, backwardwarriors areworrieduntil theybecome expert, the sergeant-majorpolished themenon thegrindstoneofdiscipline, theC.O. indentsfor a draft to complete establishment, an inspection is held by anawesomegeneral.Except for themobilisation stores everything iscompletebyJune10.

ButthereisstillnosignofthewantedstoresontheDate,andJune16findstheunitstillinthesameblinkinghole,whereverthatmay be the days drag on, and Date the second is placed on apedestal…. The Adjutant, light duty, is replaced by an adjutant,general service. Mobilisation stores begin to trickle into thequartermaster’s reservoir. But on June 27 the stores are far fromready,andJuly6ismiragedasthenextDate.Thistimeitlookslikebusiness.Thewarequipment is completed, except for the identitydiscs.OnJuly4alargedetachmentdeparts,after12hoursnotice,to replace casualties in France. Those remaining in the nowincompleteunitgrowwearilysarcastic.Morelastleaveisgranted.Thecampisgivenovertorumour…

A band of strangers report in place of the draft that went toFrance,andinthemtheNCO’splantespritdecorpsandthefearofGod.Themissingidentitydiscsarrive,andafourthDateisfixed–July21.Andthedwellersintheblinkinghole,havingbeenwolfedseveraltimes,aresceptical,andtreatthelatestreportasabadjoke.‘Mydearman,’remarks thesubaltern-who-knows,‘it’sonlymorehot air. I never believed in theother dates, and I don’t believe inthis.Ifthere’sonedayofthethreehundredandsixty-fivewhenweshan’tgo,it’sJulythetwenty-first.’

And at dawn on July 21 the battalion, battery, or squadronmovesunobtrusivelytoaportofembarkationforFrance.

Theofficersof70Squadronwerehand-picked,because theSopwith1½ Strutter was a new aircraft and the best two-seater available at thetime. The ground crew were good too; Bott describes them as ‘highlytrained and themechanics have already learned their separate trades asriggers, fitters,carpenters,sailmakersand the like…thequalityof theirskilled work is tempered by the technical sergeant-major, who knows

most thingsaboutanaeroplaneandthequalityof theirbehaviourby thedisciplinarysergeant-major,usuallyanex-regularwitha lively talent forblasting’.

Anucleus flight underCaptainCruickshank left Farnboroughon21May and flew to Fienvillers via St Omer, followed by B Flight underCaptain Sanday which arrived on 26 June, followed by C Flight underCaptainSalmondon30July.

DavidHepburnembarkedforFranceon19June1916andonarrivalin France was presumably assigned to B Flight. The aerodrome atFienvillerswasjustnorthoftheRiverSomme,16mileseastofAbbeville,on 24 June 1916. The squadron was commanded by Major G A KLawrenceDSO,MC,describedbyCaptainSandayas‘oneofthebrightestof personalities, admired, respected and beloved by every officer andman’.

Abriefhistoryofthesquadronin1916byLtColonelWDSSandaydescribesthefighting,

Heavy reconnaissance work started immediately, with dailyoffensivepatrolsof3½hoursduration, and thisworkwas carriedoutduringthewholebattleoftheSomme.ThetwoFlights,AandB, carried out all theArmy reconnaissancework during July andAugust, working East to Mons, Maubeuge, Hirson, Basigny etc,andoffensivepatrolsEastofLouaiandCambrai.

Heavy fighting took place throughout the whole battle, andalthoughtheSquadronhadnearly100casualties, theHunaviatorswere kept well behind their lines. At no period, since or before,were theysonoticeablyundercontrol. Itwasa rareoccurrence toseeahostilemachineonoursideofthelines.

ThewholeconceptofkeepingtheRFContheoffensive,inthefaceofmounting casualties,was controversial, but the aimwas simple: to keepenemyaircraftwellbehindtheirlinesandsounabletowatchthebuild-upof Allied troops pending offensives on the ground and to keep theirartillery from having accurate spotting. Though casualties were high,particularly amongnewpilots, it does appear to haveworked.Thehighrate of casualties also seems to have been accepted among the officerswhofoughtandflew,asevidencedbyCaptainSanday’srecollections,

In A Flight, Capt Manley, with Lt Saint, was severely woundednear Cambrai, early in July, but managed to return to hisaerodrome.Hewasaverygallantyoungofficer,whomethisdeathinacollisionintheairinthesummerof1917,whileservingwith19Squadron.

BFlight started their first reconnaissancewith bad luck,CaptVeitchandLtWhittygettingadirecthitfroman‘archie’justeastofArras.Itwasaverycloudydayandthejourneyhadtobemadeat a very low altitude. Capt Sanday and Lt Hilmore reachedCambrai and obtained a very successful report, although CaptSandaywaswoundedbyshrapnelintheankle,whileflyingat2,000feetoverthetown.

DuringthemonthofJuly,theGermansappearedtobeafraidoftheSopwiths,andonlyputheartintotheirattackswhentheycouldseparateamachinefromtheothers.

Up until the end of September B Flight was fortunate to lose onlythree aircraft, in part because it kept formationwell so that itsmachinegunscouldoffermutualsupport.Twoaircraftwerelostduetodirecthitsfrom German anti-aircraft artillery and one, flown by Lieutenant Blainwith Lieutenant Griffiths as observer, suffered engine failure and camedownbehindGerman lines.Bothofficerswerecaptured,but, after threeattempts,Blainmanagedtoescape,onlytobekilledlaterinanaccidentatRAFMartleshamHeath.

CFlight came out to France inAugustwithCaptain Salmond,whowas shot down and captured shortly afterwards. Command of the flightwas taken over by Captain Cochrane Patrick, who had two observerskilledwhileflyingwithhimonsuccessivedays.

Accordingtoanotherbriefhistoryof70Squadron,betweenMayandOctober 1916 the squadron lost 14 pilots and 14 observers recorded asmissing, 7 pilots and 5 observers wounded and 6 observers killed. Itclaimed40enemyaircraftbroughtdown.

On 9 September Sopwith two-seater No. A/1911, flown by 2ndLieutenantEJHendersonwith2ndLieutenantGNCousansasobserver,took off to fly an offensive patrol over the Bapaume–Fins–Bois deBourlon sector of the front. Close to the French lines just south of theRiverSomme itself the aircraftwas ambushed by threeGerman aircraft

andhitthroughthepetroltank;LieutenantHendersonwasforcedtomakea crash landing close to the lines. Lieutenant Cousans was killed butHenderson was able to reach the French lines and was returned to thesquadron.Thecombatreporthesubmittedreads,

Presumably threeH.A.diveddown fromaboveandbehind.Burstof fire from firstmachine shot through aileron control and petroltank, stopping the engine. Fire from second machine killed theobserver who was retaliating, firing upwards about 8 shots.Machineglidingdownwiththewind, thirdH.A.firedintoitfromaboveagain.Afewshots firedfromunderneathbyH.A.MachineglidedoverFrenchlinesshotatfromenemytrenches,andlandedinFrench linesabout½milebehind front line trenchat5.20p.m.atSoyecourt.Crashedmachineowingtolackofrightaileroncontrol.Got observer into trench 10 yards away and he was pronounceddead by French Medical Corps. Went to Brigade Hdqrs totelephone,andwasnotallowedtogobacktomachineforanhour.GotbacktothemachineandremovedLewisgun.WalkedbacktoFoucancourtandthencetoDivisional&ArmyCorpsHdqrs.

A handwritten note from Major Lawrence, the Squadron CommandingOfficer,wasaddedtwodayslater,

2ndLtHenderson, having telephonedhis information, returned tothe machine, which was in an exposed position, in the dark andremovedtheLewisgunandVerypistol.Heendeavouredtoremovethe Vickers gun but could not do so owing to lack of tools. HecarriedthegunandpistolbacktoadugoutnearFRAMERVILLEandherehesleptinthefield.

The aircraft had come down close to the lines near the village ofSoyecourt,acoupleofmiles southof theRiverSomme, ina sector thathadonlybeencapturedby theFrench in anadvancea fewdaysbefore.The trench line lay along the edge of the village and theGermans hadpulledbacktoanewlineacrossashallowvalleyabouthalfamiletotheeast.

AFrenchpostcardshowingtheFrenchtrenchesatSoyecourt,probablytakenaboutthetimeDavidHepburnwasthererecoveringtheaircraft.

Though the squadron had lost other aircraft, some of them behindGerman lines, the Sopwith was a new aircraft with valuable newtechnology, including the interrupter gear. The next day a group ofairmen,includingDavid,wassentfromtheairfieldtotryandsalvagetheremains of the aircraft.One of the few stories that the family has fromDavidwas that enemy shrapnelbouncedoff the roofof the tender lorrythat he and his comrades were despatched in to attempt the recovery.Crawling out from the French trenches and under fire from snipers andmortars,theymadeseveraltripsandwereabletobringbackmostoftheimportant (andexpensive)partsof thewreckage.ThewholegroupwererecommendedfortheMilitaryMedal,therecommendationreading,

On10thSeptember1916theseNCO’sandairmechanicsweresentto SOYECOURT in the French line to salve a wreckedmachinewhichlayintheopen800yardsfromthefrontline,inviewoftheGermantrenches.

Byworkingalldayonthemachinetheysalvagedthewholelotof it, making six journeys across 400 yards of open ground (towherethemachinewasleft).

DavidHepburn’s commendation for hisMilitaryMedal, noteHughDowding’s signature on theright.(TNAAIR1/1031/204/5/1433)

Theywereunderintermittentsnipingandtrenchmortarfirethewholeday.

By their resolution and indifference to danger they savedmaterial of considerable value (to the government, though theFrenchMilitary Authorities declared that owing to its position itcouldnotbesaved).

TherecommendationwassignedbyLieutenantColonelHCTDowding,Commanding 9WingRFC,who laterwent on to headFightCommandduringtheBattleofBritain.

Thoughthewreckagewassavedtheaircraftitselfwasstruckoff,thedamagetotheaircraftconsistingof‘Alllongeronsbroken.Enginebearersbroken.Steel enginebearersbadlybent and shot.Undercarriagebroken.Three planes wrecked and fourth shot about. Tail plane and elevatorshot.’, from the RFC report on ‘Casualties to Personnel and Machines(WhenFlying)’inAIR1/845/204/5/374.

Davidtoldhistaletothelocalnewspaper,

AfineyoungIrishofficerwasbroughtdownnear theFrenchfirstlineandwetwowentouttogetthemachineback.Wewereshelledandsnipedallday.TheFrenchandGermanartillerywerehavingagreatduelandwewereinbetween.TheHunsalmostsucceededinblowingupourautomobile trailer.Theythought theyhaddoneusaway but we returned to the open at night from our holes in theearthandtookthemachineaway.TwoFrenchofficersguidedusbyaroadnearnoman’sland.

On 12 September Davidwas transferred to 19 Squadron RFC, alsobasedatFienvillers.ThesquadronwasflyingBE12aircraft,single-seatertractor aircraft (the propellerwasmounted at the front)with 140hp air-cooled engines. They too were armed with a synchronised Vickersmachine gun firing forward through the propeller and a Lewis gunmounted to fire backwards; they also mounted bomb racks capable ofcarrying eight 20lb or two 112lb bombs and carried a camera.CommandedbyMajorRodwell,19Squadronwasalso flying insupportof the Somme battle which had been raging for over twomonths. Thesquadronhadonlyrecentlysufferedterriblelosseswhen,on26August,aformationoftenmachineshadsetouttobombtherailwayatHavrincourt

Wood where German troops were believed to be detraining. Havingbombedtherailway,theaircraftwerereturningwhentheyranintoahugethunder storm that had suddenly got up; finding it impossible to climbaboveit,theydecidedtotryandflythroughitonacompassbearing.ThefirstfivemachinesenteredthestormbutnosoonerhadtheydonesothanastrongflightofGermanaircraft fellon theremainder. Inspiteofstoutresistance, they were overwhelmed and all forced down, two takenprisoner,twokilledoutrightandonemoredyingwhileaprisonerofwar.

AFrenchpostcardshowingtheFrenchtrenchesatSoyecourt,1916.

OnarrivalDavidwaspostedtoBFlight,commandedbyCaptainIHDHenderson,withLieutenantsChild,GBABakerandFCSelous(sonof the famous big-game hunter). It was to be the start of a short butintensive period of fighting as the Battle of the Sommemoved into itsthirdphase,usually referred to as theBattleofFlers-Courcelette. Itwashopedthat thefirstuseof tanks(thoughonalimitedscale)wouldbreaktheGermanline.Thoughtherewereinitialadvancestheydidn’tmaketheanticipated breakthrough and the main battle continued as a series ofsmaller attackswithmore limitedobjectives.The followingquotation istakenfrom‘AShortHistoryofNo.19(Fighter)SquadronRAF’inAIR1/689/21/20/19,

The 15th September, the opening day of the third phase of theSommebattle,wasmarkedby the first appearanceof tanksat thefront.TospeciallyselectedpilotsofNo19Squadronwasallottedthetaskofacontinuousandveryclosepatrollowoverthetrenches,from the time the attack started, in order to report direct everymovement of our advance, and, particularly, the position of thetanks.Beforedawnon thisday the firstpilot,CaptainHenderson,went up on the special contact patrol.Before he returned anotherpilot,SecondLieutenantFHBSelous,wassenttomaintaincontactwiththetroopsandheinturnwassucceededbyLieutenantGBABaker.Eachpilot ashe returnedwithnewswasatoncedriven toRFC HQ and thence to GHQ to report direct. The first machineflownbyCaptainHendersoncamebackriddledwithbulletsandonhisreturnfromthesecondtrip,whenhereportedhavingseenoneof our tanks capture a village at the head of a column of men,severalwiresandstrutsofhismachinehadbeenshot throughandhisenginedamagedbyabullet.Duringthefewdaysthepushlastedneitherpilotsnormachineswerespared.Inadditiontothecontactpatrols, the squadroncontinued itsoffensivepatrolsandbombing,and in order to keep pace with the demand for machines thepersonnel worked night and day shifts for the repair of thoseaeroplanesdamagedbyAAandmachinegunfire.

As long as the push lasted and the weather held, theseoperationswere continued night and day and everyoneworked attheirhighestpressure.ThestrainontheNCOsandmechanicswas

veryheavy.Therewasthehandlingofthemachines,thestartingupoftheirengines…andthefittingofbombsandguns.Morethanatany other timeweremachines damaged by anti-aircraft and othergunfire,andsobadlyweretheyneededthattheyhadtoberepairedatoncewithoutwaitinguntilotherscouldbedelivered.Thismeantworkingnightanddayshifts,withseveralmenonboth.Tothiswasaddedthenightflying,whichcalledformoretimeandenergyfromthoseonthegroundthananyotheroperations.Anymanwasluckywhoobtainedafullnight’srestduringthefourdaysfollowingthe15th.

TheBE12wasnot thebestaircraft tobefightingagainst fasterandbetterarmedGermanfighters,soinNovember1916thesquadronwasre-equippedwith theSPADaircraft,describedinonehistoryas‘thefastestscoutintheair’.TheSpadVIIhada150hpHispanoSuizaengineandwasa single-seater fighter armed with a synchronised Vickers machine gunthathadalreadyseenservicewiththeFrenchairservice.ThefirstSPADarrivedinearlyOctoberandbyDecemberthesquadronhadsixmachines.All theofficerswere senton special coursesatStOmerand to thenewAerial Musketry Range at Camiers. Presumably, the riggers and fittersalsoundertookinstructioninworkingwiththenewaircraft.Accordingtoone history, ‘although occasional line patrols were carried out, test andpracticeflightsontheSpadsconstitutedthemainworkofthesquadroninthefirsttwomonthsof1917’.

ForotherrankssuchasDavidtheworkandday-to-dayactivitieswereprettyroutine.Aschedulefromearly1917givesreveilleat6am,breakfastat6.45am,paradewithbelts,pistolsandammunitionpouchesat7.30am,dinner at 12.15pm, parade forwork (NCOs andmen under the rank offlightsergeanttoparadeinjeancombinations)at2pm,teaat5pm,guardmountingat6.30pm,rollcallat9pmandlightsoutat9.15pm.Workafterteawhennecessaryandasordered.Parade inmarchingorder at7.30amfirstandthirdSundayinthemonth.

On 20 February 1917 David, who the family believe could speakFrench,alongwithanotherrigger,CorporalTizard,waspostedtoParisaspartoftheBritishAeronauticalSuppliesDepartment.

The British Aeronautical Supplies Department, based in Paris, hadformerly been known as the British Aviation Commission, a jointWar

Office andAdmiraltypurchasing commission forbuyingFrench aircraftandequipment.On1January1917ithadbeentakenoverbytheMinistryofMunitionsbut themilitaryofficersandmenservinginit remainedonthestrengthoftheBritishExpeditionaryForce.

LittleisknownaboutDavid’sindividualservicewiththeBASD;hisservice record shows him as having been admitted to the DetentionHospital, Paris, with a sprained ankle on 4 May 1917 and beingdischarged six days later.He also had a short spell in the 8thCanadianGeneralHospital inAugust1918sufferingfromdiarrhoea.AccordingtohissonWilliam,hewas,atonestage,affectedbyanoutbreakoffleasorsome other insect that broke out among themen, butwas cured by theapplication of ‘Tue Tout’ (‘kills all’), a French patent medicine heobtainedfromapharmacy.Hisfamily,rathertantalisingly,seemtothinkthatbecauseofhisfluentFrenchhewasemployedclandestinelyatsomepointactuallyspyingonFrenchmensuspectedofspyingfortheGermans,butthereisnothingI’vebeenabletofindasyettoconfirmthis.Probably,thebulkofhisworkremainedofatechnicalnature,checkingthequalityofpurchases,thoughtherewereafewaircraftbasedintheParisareaandhemayhaveworkedonthose.

Accordingtohisson,hewenthometoScotlandin1919tomarry,butwas not sent back to Paris and was discharged from the RAFwhile athome;certainlythislatterisborneoutbyhisservicerecordwhichshowsthat he was transferred to the RAF Reserve on 15 February 1919 andfinallydischargedfullyon30April1920.HemarriedMargaretDunnandthey had four children:David Prosser,WilliamDunn,Margaret ProsserandHelen.HewentontobecomeateacherandeventuallyheadmasterofMuirheadSchoolinUddingston,nearGlasgow.

ResearchingDavidProsser–ServiceRecordsNeverLie?

At the start of the research into David Prosser there was not muchinformationtogoon:aphotographofhiminRFCuniformshowingthathe was an ‘other rank’ and his name. At one point his grandson hadowned a newspaper clipping saying that he’d been awarded a MilitaryMedal for salvaging an aircraft under fire, but this had been lost.Fortunately, a relativewasable to locate their copy in the courseof theresearch.

Records forRFC (and laterRAF)other ranks are held in ledgers in

TNA series AIR 79. They’re not available online and are in servicenumber order but a recent (andmost welcome) exercise by the staff atTNAhasindexedtheentireseriesbythenamethatappearsontheservicerecord.DavidHepburn’sisindexedunderhisfullnameofDavidProsserHepburn and the reference isAIR 79/213/19723. The document isAIR79/213 (this is what you’d request on TNA’s system) and 19723 is hisservice number within the file. Please note that AIR 79 contains therecordsofvirtuallyallFirstWorldWarairmenwiththeexceptionofmenwho became officers, continued to serve after themid-1920s or (in thecaseofafewmenwhoservedwithRFCBalloonUnits)weretransferredback into the army. There are even service records for men who werekilledduringthewar.

The London Gazette is the Government’s official newspaper,publisheddaily,whichrecords,amongotherthings,theawardofmedals.It would undoubtedly have recorded (gazetted) the award of aMilitaryMedal to David Prosser. The London Gazette is available online athttp://www.london-gazette.co.uk and has a search facility for locatingrecords.Ithastobesaidthat thisisa temperamentalfacilityandquiteadegreeof patience and experimentation are necessary to find anyusefulinformation.Itdoeshelpsometimesifyouhaveaservicenumberas thesystem recognises numbers better that it recognises names. In David’scaseIeventuallyfoundhimbysearchingonDPHepburnandthegazettedatewas9December1916.Usingthisasacut-offdateandsearchingAIR1forhonoursandawardsintheyear1916IlocatedhisrecommendationinAIR1/1031/204/5/1433‘HonoursandAwards1916Mar–1918Dec’.ThoughIwaslucky,andhittherightfilefairlyquickly,therearefifteenfileswith ‘Honours andAwards’ in the title for 1916 alone, so it couldhavebeenalongsearch.

DavidProsser’sservicerecordseemedclear-cut;hetransferredto19Squadron on 12 September 1916 and stayedwith them until late 1918,when hewas transferred to an unspecified unit in Paris. Normally, onewouldn’tqueryaservicerecordbut19Squadronrecordsareremarkablycomplete, unlike many similar squadrons. The squadron record bookssurvive in AIR 1 (between AIR 1/1486/204/37/1 and AIR1/1488/204/37/12).

TherecordbooksconfirmedDavid’spostingto19Squadronandthaton arrival he was posted to B Flight and confirmed the date that his

MilitaryMedalwas awarded, so it seemed reasonable to check the datethat his service record said he was posted to Paris (without saying towhichunit),5September1918.Tomysurprisetherewasnoreferencetothis on or around the date in question, nor could I findmention of hisperiods in hospital, even though other airmen’s hospitalisations wereclearly recorded. Ina situation like this there is,unfortunately,onlyonecourse of action – to plough through the record books until somethingpops up; luckily, in this case, it was relatively early as on 20 February1917therecordbookstates:

The undermentioned having proceeded to 2 AD on transfer toBASDParis20/02/17arestruckoffthestrengthofNo19Squadronwitheffectfromthatdate

No8292CplTizardSRiggerNo197231A/MHepburnDSRigger

OnexaminationofanumberofAIR79recordsitbecomesclearthattheyarenot ‘original’ recordsbutwerecompiled retrospectivelyby theRAFafter the war, from original RFC documentation that was, presumably,destroyed.Anygapsorerrorsintherecord,shouldtheyoccur,havetobefilled from other sources. Corporal Tizard’s service record erroneouslysaysthathewasfirstpostedtoBASDon22July1917butthesquadronOperationalRecordBook(ORB)saysitwason20February.

TheremainsoftheFrenchtrenchesatSoyecourtastheyaretoday.(Author’sphotograph)

Records for theBASD (which aremainly about either officers’ payandallowancesoramountofequipmentpurchased)areeitherinAIR1orinMUNseriesbutgivelittleinformationaboutday-to-dayactivitiesortheworkofindividuals.

Though most of the Somme trenches were filled in again after thewar,byluckasectionof themremainedinprivatehandsontheedgeofSoyecourt village. Though badly neglected, so that all that remain arelines of what appear to be deep ditches surrounded by circulardepressions,allovergrownwithtreesandshrubs,theyarestillthere.TheyweredonatedtotheFrenchnationbytheirownerastheBoisdeWallieuxin 1998. Some explanatory boards in French and English explain thecontext and history of the site and paths allow you to walk around it.Photographsshowwhatthetrencheslookedlikein1916andit’spossibletowalkoutintowhatwasno-man’s-landtogetsomesmallideaofwhatitmusthavebeenlikeforDavidHepburnashecrawledouttorecovertheaeroplaneandwinhisMilitaryMedal.

B

Chapter3

AIRWARINTHEARCTICCIRCLE–BERTRAMGUYBLAMPIED

ertramGuyBlampied(generallyknownasGuy)wasbornonGuernseyon17December1899.InitiallyeducatedatElizabethCollege,Guernsey,hewasapupilatQueen’sCollege,Taunton,betweenSeptember1911andEaster1917, andbecamea sergeantmajor in theirOfficerCadetCorps.He volunteered for the RNAS and was posted first to the Royal NavalCollege atGreenwich for his basic officer training then toVendôme inFranceforhisbasicflyingtraining.HetransferredtotheRAFon1April1918whentheRNASandRFCmergedtoformthenewservice.HesawserviceontheseaplanecarrierHMSCampaniawiththeGrandFleetandattheRAFstationatTorquaybeforehewaspostedtotheshipthatwastotakehimtofightinoneoftheRAF’smorecurioussmallwars.

GuyjoinedHMSNairanaintheFirthofForthon11March1919andinearlyMaywassent,alongwiththeotherpilots,totheIsleofGraininKentforflyingtraining.NairanawasloadedwithstoresandfourFairey3cseaplanesandsailedforMurmansk,innorthRussia,arrivingthereon28May.

The campaign Guy was to fly and fight in was a peculiar one.Following theRussianRevolution in 1917, andparticularly afterRussiasigned a peace treaty with Germany in March 1918, Britain had beenconcernedthatGermanymightseizethehugestocksofwarmaterialthathadbuiltupat theRussianportsofMurmanskandArchangel.With theinitialapprovaloftheBolshevikgovernment,BritishtroopshadlandedinMurmansk inMarch 1918 but relations had deteriorated and byAugust1918,whenBritish andAllied troops forcibly seizedArchangel,Britainand Russia were virtually at war. The armistice with Germany inNovember 1918 came too late for there to be any consideration ofwithdrawingAlliedtroops;theWhiteSeawasfrozenovercompletelyandtroops were dug in over 100 miles from the ports in Archangel andMurmanskwithnochanceofgettingaway.The troopshungon throughanarcticwinterandinthespringof1919planswerelaidtogetthemout.

Thisinvolvedsendingoutareliefforcethatwouldholdthelineandallowthetroopstobewithdrawn.ThepoliticalsituationhaddevelopedoverthewinterandRussiawasnowinthegripofaviciouscivilwarbetweentheBolshevik(Red)governmentinMoscowanddisparategroupsof‘White’Russians, including a White government at Archangel. Inevitably,perhaps,thereliefforcewasseenasinterveninginthecivilwarandthiswasencouragedbyelementswithin theBritishGovernment,particularlyWinstonChurchillandLordCurzon.Itwasfinallydecidedthatthereliefforce would, itself, be withdrawn in September 1919 and, in themeantime,White Russian forceswould be recruited and trained to takeoverfromthem.

Itwasacampaignfoughtinthicklyforestedcountrywithfewroads,tracks, towns or even villages.Maps, where they existed, proved to behighly inaccurate. As well as the country, the RAF Contingent had tocontendwith extremes of temperature and, asmuch of the fightingwascloseto,orwithin, theArcticCircle,continuous24-hourdaylight.ManyflightsthattookoffinwhatonemightexpecttobehoursofdarknessflewindaylightequivalenttolateafternooninBritain.

GuyBlampied,havingbathedinLakeOnega,standsinfrontofhisFairey3cseaplaneNo.N9235.(CourtesyofGuyBlampied)

OntheirarrivalatMurmansktheRAFmenweretoldthattheyweretoproceed,byasingle-trackrailway, tosupportarecentadvanceby thearmywhichhadpushedforwardto theshoresofLakeOnega,some500miles(byrail) tothesouth.ThespringthawmeanttheicethatnormallycoveredthelakewasexpectedtobegonebytheendofthefirstweekofJune and their seaplanes were urgently needed to deal with the SovietLakeFlotillabasedfurthersouthatPetravadosk.Guy’sdiarytakesupthestory, June 2nd: Had a flight in Fairey 3c, our new seaplanes in themorning.Gotonalright.AdvancepartytoleavetonightforLakeOnega.Shipcamealongsidepierat3.30.Verybusygettingstoresonshore,andtwoseaplanesontrain.WeleftMurmanskatmidnight,7officersand30hands.

3rd: Our party, McNab, Harvey, Ross-Smith, Sinclair,Lettington,Smithson&myself.TrainarrivedatKolaat1amandstoppedtill5pm.WentforawalkwithMacinafternoon.

6th: Arrived Medveja Gora at 12 o’clock. The second trainarrivedat5pm.Seaplanesputonsidingnearbeachandwegotthefirstmachineintheairat8pm.Crowdsdowntowatch.

Fairey3cN9235takingofffromthebeachatMedvejaGorawithGuyatthecontrols.(CourtesyofGuyBlampied)

Bolshyfrontlineisabout5milesaway.‘Aquickjobofwhichweareallveryproud’.

7th:Verybusydaywithflyingandsettlingdown.Wearestilllivinginthetrainforthetimebeing.

8th:hadreconnaissanceflightwithThursfieldtoShchungaanddistrict.

Shortly aftermidnighton the8/9 June theSovietLakeFlotillamade itsexpected appearance, reconnoitring the bay inwhich the air stationwassituated.HainesandEadeswereonpatrolwatchingforenemyvesselsbythe lightof themidnight sunand they immediatelyattacked theRussiansteamerswitha112lbbombandthree20lbbombsbeforebeingforcedtoreturntoMedvejaGorawhentheirLewisgunjammed.Nowalerted,twomoreaircraftquicklytookoff,includingGuy,pilotingN9235,andbegantoattacktheflotilla.TheyweresoonjoinedbyHainesandEadeswhohadrefuelled and rearmed their aircraft and the three seaplanes strafed andbombed the ships, straddling one steamer with two 20lb bombs. Anti-aircraft firewasheavyandaccurate,oneaircraftbeinghit just3in fromthe observer, but the observer’s Lewis guns poured a concentrated fireonto theships’bridgesand theirgunnersand the flotilla turnedand fledsouth at 10 knots. The small Allied naval flotilla joined the chase anddrove theBolsheviks off.GeneralMaynard, commanding officer of thewhole force, later wrote, ‘The enemy were seemingly unprepared forattack from the air andno soonerwas the first bombdropped than theyturned about, dispersed and steamed off at full speed.’ Guy’s diaryrecords,‘10thMacmademeofficerinchargeofbeach.Verynicejob.’

RAFfittersworkingonaFairey3cseaplaneatMedvejaGora.Acanvashangarisbeingerectedontherightandtheseaplanestationisbeingbuiltinthebackground.(Author’sCollection)

Over the next few days the RAF Flight made a series of raids onSovietpositionsaroundSiding10,whereitappearedasupplydumpwasbeingestablished.Guyflewfivemissionsinthreedays,ononeoccasionscoringanearmissonamovingtrainwitha230lbbomb,thenpursuingitup the linewhile his observer,LieutenantThursfield, strafed itwith hisLewisgun.On11JuneIsaacandEadessucceededinbreakingthelinebyflying along the track at tree-top height and releasing a delayed actionfusedbomb.From30fta230lbbombcreateda20ft-diametercrateranddestroyedalengthoftrack.

While his colleagues continued round the clock patrols and attacks(beingclosetotheArcticCircletherewasnearly24-hourdaylight),Guywasputinchargeofagroupofprisonersofwarasaworkingpartyonthebeach,

IwasputinchargeofthebeachworkandfortunatelywewereabletogetapartyofRussianPOWs,whowereselectedasbeingveryanti-bolshevikandwantedtoworkforusand,indeed,wereterriblydistressedwhenweleft inSeptember.Weusedtocollectasmanyaswewanted eachday…a small party came regularly eachdayandwereput inchargeof the largergroups.Lateronsomeof thespecially good ones were entrusted with all kinds of work. ARussian POW caused some consternation one day when aninspectingArmyOfficerfoundhimloadingLewisgunammunitiontrays. The Russians helped clear the beach and were splendidworkmen and very efficient with any woodwork; fortunately wehad an unlimited supply of wood. They cleared the site of treestumps,putdownplanking,builtgantriesovertherailwaylines,putdownslipwaysintothewaterandlaidduckboards.

TheseniorRussianprisonersofwarwhoworkedunderGuyontheseaplanestation.(CourtesyofGuyBlampied)

Inadditiontohisworkonthebeach,Guyflewmanymissions,onlyafewofwhichmeritedmention inhisdiary.On17Junehe flewaphotoreconnaissance mission with Lieutenant Ross-Smith, the unit’sphotographer,overthelinebetweenSiding10andKapaselga.At8,000fttheycameunderanti-aircraft firewhich theydescribed in their reportas‘Exceptionallyinaccurate…theshellsburstseveral thousandfeetbelowthe machine.’ Guy later wrote that, Our flying duties consisted ofbombing, photography and reconnaissance and as it was light all nightflyingoccurredatany time.DuringJuneandJuly thegroundstaffwerehard put to keep themachines flying… I flew four differentmachinesuntil21stJune(IsupposetheoriginalfourwehadinNairana)andthen2more9237and9238appear,Ipresumefromtheoriginalequipmentsentoutwithus,anditisnotuntilAugustwhenwehadlargereinforcementsthatothermachinesappear….Mostofthebombingwasdonewith230lband 112lb bombs, the observer frequently took a few 20lb bombs withhimtothrowovertheside.On 21 June Guy was returning from a raid on Dianovi Gori when hisobserver,LieutenantRoss-Smith,spottedseaplaneN9238drifting7milesofftheshore,havingsufferedenginefailureanddescendedontothelakewhere it was in danger of drifting onto a lee shore. Having alightednearby,GuyandLieutenantRoss-SmithwereabletothrowalineacrossandtowedtheircolleaguesbackupthelakeuntiltheywererelievedofthetaskbyanAmericanmotorlaunch.

On23JunethemainattackwaslaunchedagainstSiding10supportedbytheRAFseaplanes.ThestationatSiding10wasattackedwithbombsandmachinegunsandspottingwascarriedoutforthearmy’sartillery.Bythe28thSiding10had fallenandAllied forceswereadvancing towardsKapaselgatothesouthandonthe29thGuyandRoss-Smithbombedthestationtherewith20lbbombs,crateringtheareabetweenthestationitselfandthetrack;by6.30pmtheywerebackatbase.

Guy’scolleagues,Haines(left)andEades,whodestroyedaSoviettrainwithabomb.(CourtesyofGuyBlampied)

Later in the evening Lieutenants Haines and Eades were in the airsouthofKapaselga and spotted a train steamingdown the line.Using arefinementof their technique forattacking the line, they flewat tree-topheightalongthelengthofthetrainand,oncetheygotaheadofit,droppeda 230lb bombwith a 2½ second fuse.As the train passed overhead thebombexploded,demolishingthefuelwagonandleavingtherearhalfoftheengineinthecraterwiththerestoftheenginederailed.At1amGuyandLieutenantHarveyweresenttoreconnoitrethewreckage.Guy’sdiaryrecords, ‘Went over Kapaselga with Harvey at 2,400 feet and machinewashitbyaBolshymachinegun.Hit inpetrol tankandradiator,hadtolandintrees.’Helaterwroteamoredetaileddescriptionofhisadventures,

TheshortageofseaplaneswasnothelpedwhenIwasshotdowninN9235on30thJune,ona reconnaissance flightoverKapaselga. Iwas turnedoutofbedatabout1am…thewindwasblowingonshoresoItookstraightoffanddidnotgainsufficientheightbeforeflyingoverenemyheldforestsoIwashitbymachinegunfire…onepetroltankwasholedbutImanagedtoswitchtotheotherandkeeptheenginegoing.Itheatedupasoneradiatorhadbeenholed…soIhadtolandinthetrees.NeitherLtHarveymyobservernorIwere hurt and we walked through the forest heading north(fortunately the sun was up to guide us) and after six hours wereachedLobskaGor.Wefoundafarm…sawthefarmeranddrewapictureofahorseandcart,whichheproducedanddroveusbacktocampwherewecouldrewardhimwithplentyofrations.

Thediaryrecords:‘July1st:layinbedtill teafeelingOKbutwasbadlybitten by mosquitos. Major Stewart Dawson and a party (includingHarvey)went through thewoods tomachine togetspares.PartydidnotstaylongaswastooclosetoBolshys.’

FollowingHainesandEades’sdirecthitenemytrainstravelledalmostexclusively at night, preventing the rapid movement of Bolshevikreinforcements.TheSovietnavyalsocameinforattentionfromtheRAFwhen,on1July,LieutenantsLettingtonandRadfordscoredadirecthitonapaddlesteamer,causingherboilerstoexplodeandhercrewtorunherashore.

Overthenextfewdays,accordingtohisdiary,Guywasforcedtorest,thoughhehadashortflightonthe4July.Onthe7th,

ThewreckageofGuy’sseaplanebeingrecoveredintheforest.(CourtesyofGuyBlampied)

JimmyNoonan(RiggingOfficer),5handsandIwentuptoSiding9 in evening to get spares. Walked through woods and got tomachine at 11.30 (2 hourswalk).Mosquitoes very bad. 8th: Leftmachineat5.30amtowaitatSiding9 till1.30for train.Went toKapaselga station and sawholemadebybombdroppedbyRoss-Smithandmyself–‘JollyRoger’blewup.

The Jolly Roger was the flagship of the Allied naval flotilla, a petrol-driven vessel armed with several machine guns. Her petrol engineexploded,killing fiveofher crew; fortunately, twoRAFseaplaneswereabletoalightonthewateralongsidetheblazingwreckandtheremainingcrewjumpedoverboardandclungtotheirfloatsastheytaxiedashore.Inthiswaysevenmenwererescued.ThelossofthelargestAlliedvesselonthelakemighthaveprovedamajorblow,butthissituationwassoftenedby the arrival, by rail, of several SubmarineChasers tomake up a newflotilla.Guy’sdiaryrecords,‘12thJuly:LastnightoftheoldLakeFlotilla.CommandnowtakenbyCommanderCurtisRN.Hadafinerag,endedbyRAFtakingalltheLakeFlotillaonacartintothelakeat3am.’

GuywasstillverybusyinhisroleasBeachOfficer,particularlyasavisitofinspectionwasscheduledfromtheCommanding-Officer-in-Chief,GeneralMaynard.‘19thJuly:Notfeelinguptomuch.Docgavemesomepills.GOCisinspectingtheunit tomorrowsoBolshysarebusycleaningup.20th:GeneralMaynardinspectedunitat11amandwasverypleased.MakeandMendforrestoftheday.Stillrathergroggy.’Possiblybecauseofhiscontinuingillness,theMajordecidedthatGuycoulddowithaspellbackonHMSNairanaandhewassentbytraintothesmallportofKemwhere he rejoined the ship. For a few days at least he enjoyed playinghockey on the quay, pictures in the ship’s hangar, boat races andswimming.NairanareceivedinstructionstoproceedtoArchangeltopickup some new aircraft that had been delivered there by the new aircraftcarrier HMS Argus. Though Guy was specifically told he couldn’taccompanyNairana,hisdiaryrecordshe‘Wangledoutofit’andhesailedwith her on 31 July,making the trip in 11 hours, ‘31st July:AnchorednearArgus.Hadtoget6Shortsaboard,adifficultjob.Manageditfinally,puttwoonthequarterdeck.WentouttoArgustogettrolleysandturnedinat1.30.’

NextdayNairanasaileduptheDvinaRivertopickupanotherShort

seaplanefromabarge,‘2ndAugust:Gotonemachineoffbargeandontoflight-deck.Working all night andupuntil 3pm.Elope (Archangel) andSyren(Murmansk)storesallmixedup,hadtobesortedout.Turnedinat4o’clock.Ship left forPopoffat5pm.’Guy laterexplained tome that,‘WeunderstoodthatUKdockerswouldnotloadsuppliesforRussiaanditwas only when it was known that the force would be withdrawn thatsupplieswereforwarded.’

By August the decision had been made in London that all Britishpersonnelwere tobewithdrawn fromnorthRussia beforewinter set in.GeneralRawlinsonarrivedfromLondontocoordinatetheMurmanskandArchangelfrontsandbroughtfreshtroopsforonefinaloffensive.This,itwasplanned,wouldputtheBolsheviksoffbalanceandcreateabreathingspacetoallowWhiteRussiantroopstotakeoverthefrontline.NewRAFreinforcementsalsoarrived,includingCaptainGerryLivock(laterGroupCaptain G E Livock). After some problems with the train (an aircraftbeing carried became entangled with telegraph wires), Guy and hiscolleaguesarrivedbackatMedvejaGoraatmidnighton4/5August,‘5thAugust: Found old Nairana unit washed out and a Wing started(SeaplanesandAeroplanes).Arottenaffair.CarriedonwithRuskies.CplWhelanleftforship(CplWhelanwastheNCOwhowenttotheRussianPOWcamptocollecthowevermanyboloswewantedforthatday).’

During Guy’s absence a combined operation with the Lake FlotillahadresultedinthegreatestsuccessofthecampaignsofarforNairana’ssmall detachment. On 3 August an amphibious assault was launchedagainstTolvoya,aBolshevikstrongholdontheShungapeninsula,withacolumnofWhiteRussian partisans advancing down the coast, theLakeFlotilla attacking from the seaand four seaplanes flying in support.Theaircraft cornered the Soviet flotilla in Tolvoya harbour, bombing andmachine-gunning them until two ran themselves ashore, their crewsescaping into the forest, and two tried to run for it, pursued by theseaplanes,beforetheywereeventuallycapturedbytheAlliedflotilla.AtastrokethemainSovietnavalthreatinthenorthernlakehadbeenremoved.The captured vessels were pressed into service with the Allies. Thelargest,theSilni,wasa300-ton,twin-screwedsteamermountingtwo3inguns,one3-pounderandsixmachineguns.Asmallerdestroyer,withtwo3in guns and twomachine guns, an armed tug and several bargeswerealso captured. It was a considerable victory and owed much to the

professionalismofNairana’spilotsandobservers.WiththecaptureofTolvoya,emphasisshiftedtoattacksonthemain

Soviet base further down the lake at Petravadosk, with air raids beingmade against shipping and the dock facilities.On 7AugustGuy flew abombingmissionagainstthetownwithRoss-Smithashisobserver,whospottedthatan importantrailwaybridgeover theRiverSuna,whichhadpreviouslybeendamaged,wasclosetobeingrepaired.NextdayCaptainPark succeeded in dropping a 230lb bomb on the repaired section andcompletelywreckedit.

On9AugustLivockwasmadeCommandingOfficeroftheseaplaneflight.Over thenext fewdays reinforcements arriveddown the railway,including someaeroplanes tooperate froma landing strip carvedoutofthe forest.Among these aircraftwere a number ofSopwithCamels andthe crates they came packed in were quickly seized by the more-experiencepilotsandriggedoutasaccommodation.On11AugustGuy’sdiarynotes,‘SubandIstartedriggingoutCamelcase’;on12Augusthewas ‘WorkingonCamel case in spare time’.On15August, ‘Sub and Islept in theCamel case for the first time.Wehad rigged thebunksoneabove the other so as to leave more room.’ On the 17th Guy was stillworkingwithhisBolshevikprisoners,’had100Bolshy’sdownat7’octounload a trainwhich had arrivedwith four Bessaneau hangars’.On the22ndGuyandhisprisonerstookdownanoldhangarandbeganclearingup to erect thenewBessaneauhangars andnextdaywere cuttingdowntreestocreateextraspace.Healso‘Fixedupoldpetroltankandpipesforwashbasininourhut’.

In addition to thiswork (andnot recorded inhisdiary),Guy flewareconnaissanceandbombingmissionagainstSiding8on17Augustandonthe22ndflewtwomissionsoverBolshevikpositionsaroundKoiKori.The Sopwith Camels and other land-based aircraft, originally sent outbecause of worries about Bolshevik fighters, found themselves withoutany aerial opposition and spent their time strafing and bombing landtargets. The officers who had come out with these aeroplanes were allvolunteers (including Lieutenant A Gerrard, who had won a VictoriaCrossflyingaCamelinItaly),menwhowerehopingtogetapermanentcommissionintheRAF,whichwasalreadybeingrapidlyrundownafterpeacewithGermanyhadbeensigned.SomanymencameoutthatWingCommander Bone was obliged to send some home as surplus to

requirements.There was some fraternisation with the local population. Guy later

recalled,‘WesawverylittleofthelocalpopulationatMedvejyaGora,butI rememberaveryhappy relationshipwith theRussiansatPovonyetz,atowna shortwaydown the lakeon theeast sidewhich Ivisitedseveraltimes in the motor boat.’ Diary entry for 1 September: ‘Allan, Smith,Livock, Isaac and I went over to Povonyets. Had a fine time. Slept atMartinoffs. Saw Gladys, Shuna and Mora.’ The Martinoffs were veryfriendlywith theairmenand their threedaughterswerecertainlyagreatattraction.Manyyearslater,Livockwastorecall,inhisautobiographyTothe Ends of the Air, how their meetings, in which communication wasonly possible through sign language or through an interpreter, were asourceofsomeamusement.Ononeoccasiontheinterpreterhidbehindacurtain while the airmen and girls attempted to converse. When heemergedhethreatenedtotranslateallthevariousasideshe’dheardand,tothe RAFmen’s surprise, the girls proved to be evenmore embarrassedthantheywere!Asthecampaigndrewtoacloseandwithdrawalbecameimminent,strenuouseffortsweremadetopersuadethefamilytoevacuatewiththeAllies,buttheypreferredtotaketheirchanceswiththeReds,inspiteofthelessthanveiledthreatsthatwerealreadybeingmadeagainstthem.

Guy’sdiaryfor3Septemberrecords,‘LangloiscrashedthedualShortwhichwasusedfor instructing theRusskies.Repairedduring thenight.’One of the tasks of the reinforcements was to train friendly ‘White’Russians in flying in thehopeofcreatinga flyingcorps for theRussianArmythatwasbeingleftbehind.LivockwasputinchargeofthetrainingflightafterarowwithWingCommanderBoneaboutweatherconditionsprior to a raid, and with the assistance of Lieutenant Isaacs set abouttryingtoinstructtenRussianofficersinthehandlingofseaplanes.Thoughtheyweresupposedtobepilotsalready,onlyone,LieutenantKorsakoff,appeared to be fully trained. By the time the RAF Contingent wasevacuated in late September four of theRussianswere considered fullytrained,with twomorehavingbeen instructedasaeroplanepilotsby theunitatLumbushi.

Thediaryentryfor8September,‘FlyingattackonKoiKori(failed).’Attacks againstRedArmypositions atKoiKori hadbeenbeing carriedout by both aeroplanes and seaplanes for over threeweeks by the time

Guymentioned it specifically in his diary.Aspart ofLordRawlinson’sevacuation scheme it had been agreed with the local White Russiancommander, General Skobeltski, that the front line should be pushedforwardtothelineoftheRiverNurmisandthatflankingcolumnswouldseizeKoiKoriandUssunapriortothehandingoveroftheline.Though,whenIaskedhim,Guycouldn’trememberwhyhe’dmentionedthatraidspecifically it is perhapsmore than a coincidence that on the same daythereoccurredoneoftherareoccasionsofBritishtroopsrefusingtoobeyorders, when a battalion of Royal Marines retreated in the face of theenemy. The battalion, which consisted of medically unfit and untriedtroops, had been diverted to Russia from what they expected to beceremonial duties inGermany.Rushed up to the front, they ran into anambushintheirfirstaction.AfewofficersandNCOsfoughtadesperaterearguard action against a Bolshevik attack, while themen fell back inconfusion. The whole battalion was hurriedly sent back to Murmansk,whereCourtMartialproceedingsfoundmanymenguiltyofmutiny,withsentencesrangingfromtwoyears’hardlabouruptothedeathpenaltyforthirteen men. It was only when questions were asked in the House ofCommons that sentenceswere commuted and themen released, havingservedonlyasmallpartoftheirsentences.Noonewasexecuted.

ThefollowingdiaryentrieswereallmadeinSeptember:

9th:Maliniski went on his first solo on Short. Got on quite OK.FirstRusskietoflysolo.

10th:TheRusskieCOColBarbaswentsolo.11th:GenRawlinsoncamedowntoMed.Boneflewhimdown

toVelikayaGuba.12th:TookM.B.[motorboat]outineveningtotestgasbombs

whichwearetouse.

GeneralRawlinson had located a supply of gas bombs during a visit toArchangel and decided to use them to clear the stiffening Bolshevikresistance being encountered during the final offensive. There is someevidence in files at TNA that its use was not popular among the RAFContingent–WingCommanderBoneissuedasternorderthatanyordersrelatingtoitsusemustbestrictlyadheredto.Aseriesofraidstookplaceagainst Lijma, Suna and sidings in the vicinity of Petravadosk, andmembersoftheRussianFlyingCorpstookpartinsomeofthese,mainly

flying as observers. Colonel Barbas and Lieutenant Kuschii flew withPark and Maliniski actually flew as pilot, with Lieutenant Allen asobserver, to reconnoitre Siding 4. On the whole, however, there was ageneralfeelingamongtheRAFthattheRussianslackedthestomachforrealfightingandspenttoomuchtimebemoaning‘thegoodolddays’.

Supported by the seaplanes and Camels, which flew numerousmissions dropping gas and explosives, the Allied forces pushed southbeyond Siding 4 to the line of the River Nurmis and on 18 Septemberbegan handing over their positions to theWhite Russians. Only at KoiKorididtheyfailtomeettheirobjectives–theheroicresistancethathaddefeatedtheRoyalMarineswaskeptupinthefaceofeverythingtheRAFcoulddeliver.

Accompanied by Livock, Jones and Ross-Smith, Guy made a finalvisit to Povonyets and theMartinoff family on 20 September, returningthenextday.ItwasnowtimefortheRAFContingenttobeginevacuatingMedvejaGoraand returninghome.The followingentriesweremadebyGuyinhisdiary:

24thSeptember:Allan andBoulmer left in afternoon.Livockandhis party in the evening. This is the first lot of RAF to leave.Prasnik[Russianforparty].

25thSeptember:Nairanaunit supposed to leaveat12o’clock.Putofftill6pm.Finallyleftatmidnight.5boxtrucksandOfficerscoach.SleepingwithJimmyNoonan,JinmanandIsaac.Stephanovveryupsetatourleaving.

StephanovwastheRussianPOWwhoGuyhadputinchargeoftheotherprisonerswhenworkingattheairstation.Withtheprospectofbeingleftas a prisoner of theWhites – andwith theReds presumably planning anewoffensive,it’shardlysurprisinghewasupset.

The last flightbyaBritishofficer fromMedvejaGora tookplaceastheunitwaswaiting to entrain.CaptainPark flewa reconnaissance andbombingmissiondowntheLijmainletwithLieutenantMatory,aRussian,ashisobserver.Enemyshippingwasobservedunloadingwhatappearedto be massive reinforcements. A major Soviet offensive appearedimminent.

The trip backwas notwithout incident.On arrival at Popoff on the26ththeydiscoveredthatNairanahadgonetoKandalakshabutwouldbe

backnextday.Guyrecordedthefollowingcomments:

27thSeptember:Shipnotin.Nobodyseemstoknowanything.Hadto turn out of our coach, spentmost of the daymoving our gearbetweenOfficer’sClubandtrains,whichweresupposedtogobutdidn’t.

28thSeptember:WentuptoKemat12.30.Turnedoutoftrain.Ageneralmess-up,gotaboxtruckfortheOfficers.At11.30turnedin.

29thSeptember:Left forKandalashkaat5am.Prasnikall theway. Arrived at K at 9.30. Rawlinson’s train there, also Bone,Dukes,Smithson.Ourtrucksmovedontopierinnight.

30thSeptember:GotourgearontwotugsandleftforNairanaat10o’clock.Shipanchored8milesdowngulf.MachinesflyingastherehadbeenaBolshyrisinginthesurroundingdistrict.

Thecauseofall thedelaysandconfusionwasa rebellionbyagroupof‘RedFinns’who’dbegunattacking trainsandburningbridges.Livock’sparty had resorted to a show of force to get their train throughKandalashka‘fingeringourrevolversliketoughcineactorsinawesterninthefaceofacrowdofmostunpleasantruffians’(GLivock,TotheEndsoftheAir (HMSO,1973; ISBN0112901514)).Shortly afterwards abridgenorth of the town was burned down, cutting off theNairana unit whowereduetobeevacuatedviaMurmansk.Fortunately,Nairanawasabletomakeherwaybyseatopickthemupandthenmovedtosupportalandingpartythathadbeenputashoretosuppresstherebels,butwhichhadbeenbadly cut up. One boat, with eleven members of the Highland LightInfantry aboard,wasmissing and intelligence suggested that somewerebeingheldprisoner.Ashowofforceagainst thevillageofKolvitzawasdecided upon,withHaines andEades flying low over the village and aMonitorshellingthearea.Theireffortswereinvain,however,anditwaslefttotheWhitestotryandnegotiatetheirrelease.

On6OctoberNairanareachedMurmansk,spentadaytakingoncoaland sailed for Britain on the 8th. During their period in Russia herseaplaneshadflown616hoursofcombatandcommunicationsmissions,dropped1,014bombswithacombinedweightof28tons,321gasbombs,25,000 propaganda leaflets and fired 47,500 rounds of ammunition.Reconnaissance missions had photographed over 250 square miles.

WorkinginclosecooperationwiththeLakeFlotillatheysank,capturedorseverelydamagedatleasteightSovietvesselsandbypersistentbombingof railways and bridges forced almost all enemy traffic to run at night.IsaacandHayesbothgot theDistinguishedFlyingCross for continuousgoodworkandbothGuyandLivockwerementionedinDailyOrdersasbeingduetoreceivetheOrderofStAnne,2ndClass,withcrossedswords–aRussianmedal.Unfortunately,themedalsthemselvesneverappeared.

NairanaputintotheRiverForthon12October.FollowinghisreturntoBritain,GuywaspostedbrieflytoHQCoastalAreaandwasdischargedfromtheRAFon26December1919.HereturnedtoGuernseyandwas,formostoftherestofhislonglife,involvedinfarmingandthebreedingofGuernseycattle.HemarriedNancyWhite,his lifelongcompanion, in1926.

OntheoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWarhevoluntarilyreturnedtothe RAF as an administrative officer, being posted first to HQ No. 32BalloonBarrageGroupdefendingPortsmouthandthen,on18May1940,to HQ No. 50 (Training) Group at Reading, which controlled nineElementary Flying Training Schools in the area as well as three AirObserverNavigationSchoolsandsomesupplementaryflyinginstructors.He was appointed as a personnel officer and remained with the groupthroughout thewar, rising to therankof temporarysquadronleader.Hisadministrativeduties tookhimon regular toursof the schools thatcameundergroupHQandhisattendanceisnotedatanumberofadministrativeconferences.

ThegroupORBnotes,inJuly1943,‘GardeningisnowcarriedoutatallunitsintheGroup,withtheexceptionofHolwellHyde.SixstationsintheGroupenteredfortheRAFUnitGardenCompetition,andthegardenswerejudgedbyS/LBGBlampied(P2)ofthisHeadquarterson14th/15thJuly.’ It isnice tosee thatGuywasable tocontinuehis lifelongloveofgrowingandgardeningevenduringthewar.

In 1944Guywas presentedwith a Certificate ofGood Service andattended a fortnight-long junior commanders’ course. He was finallypostedtoNo.100PersonnelDespatchCentreforreleasefromserviceon20October1945.

Eventhoughhewasanadministrativeofficer,hetoldmehewasableto fly regularly, usually in Magister Trainers, as a way of ensuring hereceivedflightpay.

Guy was closely involved for most of his life with the RNLI onGuernsey, where he was awarded the Institution’s Gold Badge in 1972andwaselectedanhonorarylifegovernortenyearslater.Heturnedouttoassist the lifeboatmen on almost every call that was made and wouldremainonstationuntiltheboatreturnedsafely;in1983hewroteabook,Mayday!Mayday!,abouttheGuernseylifeboatservice.

Guy held numerous positions of authority on Guernsey includingbecoming a Jurat of theRoyalCourt, the highest honour bestowable byhisfellowislanders.HewasawardedtheOBEin1970.

ResearchingGuyBlampied

IfirstgotintouchwithGuywhenIwasresearchingReggieBoneintheveryearly1990s.Inthehopeofcontactingpeoplewho’dservedwithhiminhis later career, I placeda short advert inoneof theRAFmagazinesaskingpeopletocontactme.Ireceivedseveralrepliesfrompeoplewho’dservedwithhiminIndiainthe1920sandatPembrokeDockin1940butIcertainlywasn’t expecting anything from his service inRussia in 1919.Over thecourseofanumberof lettersandphonecallswebecamequitefriendlyandhekindlysentmetranscriptsofhisdiaryandsomeoriginal,unpublishedphotographs.Havingadiarytoworkwithwasinvaluable,buttherewereanumberofsourcesofmaterialIusedtocheckdetailsandfillintheoccasionalgaps.

Guy’sservicerecordfortheFirstWorldWarperiodisintheAIR76series at TNAwhich is now available online via TNA’swebsite in theDiscoverysection.InGuy’scase,giventhatheservedagainintheSecondWorldWar, his record should, in theory, be retainedby theMinistryofDefencebutfortunatelyitisreleased.Ihadgreatpleasureinsendinghimacopywhentheserieswasreleasedin theearly1990s.TheFirstWorldWarrecordis inAIR76/42andcanbesearchedfor inTNA’swebsite’sDiscoverysectionanddownloaded(forafee).

AsheservedintheRNASpriortotransferringtotheRAF,Guyhasabrief service record in ADM 273 series, in ADM 273/21 on p. 182.Though the record isn’t online, the series is well indexed in TNA’scatalogue.

Records for theRAF component of theNorthRussiaExpeditionaryForceareinAIR1seriesbutyou’llneedtocastyoursearchtermswidetofindeverything.Searchingfor‘Syren’producesonly10files,‘Murmansk’1 file, ‘North Russia’ 22 and ‘Nairana’ 7 files, some of which arereferences to the same file and some of which don’t relate to the RAFMurmanskcontingent–butitpaystomakeavariedandthoroughsearch.GiventhattheRAFwaspartofacloselycooperatingcombinedoperationwiththearmyandthenavyit’salsoworthbroadeningyoursearchintotheWOandADMseriesaswell.

In1973Guy’scolleagueandcommandingofficer,GerryLivock,whohadhadadistinguishedRAFcareer,publishedhismemoirTotheEndsoftheAir.ThisgivesanotherperspectiveonthenorthRussiacampaignand

confirmssomeofthedetailsinGuy’sdiary.TotraceGuy’sRAFserviceintheSecondWorldWarIturnedtofour

sources: the London Gazette online, which remains a useful sourcenotwithstandingitsknownpitfalls,theRoyalAirForceListandtheRoyalAir Force Confidential List, which is in AIR 10 series between AIR10/3814(April–May1939)andAIR10/5240(October–December1946).Unlike the publicRAF List, whichmerely notes officer’s seniority, theConfidential List does contain details of some postings, particularly ofadministrativeofficers,sobydippingintotherangeselectivelyIwasableto build up a picture ofwhereGuywas during the SecondWorldWar.TheGazette also records that on 1 January 1945Guywas promoted totemporarysquadronleaderwithback-datedseniorityto1January1944.

TheORBfor50GroupanditsAppendices(inAIR25/669andAIR25/670respectively)providetheoccasionalvignetteofhiswork.

AsplendidobituarytoasplendidgentlemanappearedintheJournalof the Royal Guernsey Agricultural Society following Guy’s death and,fromthis,muchofthedetailofhislatercareerwasobtained.Itconcluded:‘GuyBlampiedisnowrestingfromhismanylabours,butthegoodthathedid during a remarkable life will be long remembered and hisachievements treasured by thosewho now benefit from his foresight.’ Iwas certainly both delighted and honoured to haveworkedwith him inwriting and researching the original article on which this chapter wasbased.

W

Chapter4

ROYALFLYINGCORPS,AUXILIARYAIRFORCEANDSECONDWORLDWARFLYINGINSTRUCTOR–WILFREDBENNETTBEALE

ilfred Bennett Beale epitomises a generation that fell in love withaviation during the First World War and continued to fly privatelybetween thewars.Hisactive service in theFirstWorldWarwasall toobrief,beingwoundedinactionwithinacoupleofdaysofhisarrivalinthetrenches,butafter recovery (andabriefperiodwhenhedidofficeworkforMI5), likemanyotherwoundedofficers,he transferred to theRoyalFlyingCorpsandlearnttoflywith32TrainingWing,MiddleEastduring1918. Following the war, he pursued a career as a mining engineer inSouthAfrica before returning toBritain towork in the family business,whereherequalifiedasapilot,wasaprivateflyinginstructorandjoinedtheAuxiliaryAirForce,servingwith605Squadron.Toooldforcombatflying when the Second World War broke out, he became a flyinginstructor, training the next generation of pilots at the Central FlyingSchoolatUpavon.Overworkedandquitepossiblystressed,hewaskilled,alongwithhispupil,inaflyingaccidentin1941.

WilfredBeale,knowntohisfriendsasTom,wasbornon8June1898,son ofEdgarBeale, a prosperous director of theLeicesterBrewing andMalting Co. Ltd, and his wife, Edith, of Humberstone House,Humberstone, Leicestershire. He was educated at Oakham School, aprivateboardingschoolinRutland,andlateratEastbourneCollegewherehe was a member of the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC). He leftEastbourneinMay1914andit’snotquiteclearwhathedidnext,buton7June1916heenlisted in the InnsofCourtOTC,aTerritorialForceunitthat specialised in training young men who were hoping to get acommission. Here he received basic training in drill, musketry,entrenching andmap reading and attended lectures and carriedout fieldexercises. His time with the Eastbourne College OTC would no doubthavegivenhimalotofbasicmilitarytraininganyway.Hewasappointed

toacommissionwith3rdBattalion,TheBuffs,on1September1915.The3rd Battalion were the oldMilitia (and now Reserve) Battalion for theregimentandhemusthavespentsomemonthsattheregimentaldepotinCanterbury before hewas posted to servewith the 6th Battalion of theregiment.

Wilfred’s time in the trenches was all too brief. He joined 6thBattalionon15March1916,inthetrenchesatVermelles,avillagenorth-west ofLoos and a couple ofmiles south of theLaBasséeCanal.Thiswas a coal-mining area and in keepingwith this therewas considerablemining activity at the front, with both sides tunnelling beneath theiropponent’s trenches to explode charges. A sufficiently strong chargecouldproduceasizeablecraterwithalipseveralfeethighoverlookingtheenemytrench.Craterslikethisinno-man’s-landwereheavilyfoughtoveraseachside tried togainamarginaladvantage.On17March theRoyalEngineers exploded a charge to try and collapse a German tunnel. TheWarDiaryforthenextdayrecords,

Officers from 7th Norfolk Regt arrived at 10.30 am to viewtrenches before taking over. Day quiet until 5.30 pm when theenemyopenedveryheavyfirewithtrenchmortarsonallthecratersandwithartilleryon theback trenches.Garrisonsofcraterseitherkilled or buried. At about 6.15 pm enemy blew a mine betweenCRATERS 1 & 2 on our side which completely filled in sapsleading to craters and the top of SAVILLE ROW. At 6.30 pmbombardment lifted and enemy crept up to far lips of craters andproceeded to consolidate his position. B Coy moved forward tocounterattackbutcouldnotadvanceacrossopenowingtomachinegunfire.ThreeCoysofWestKentssentuptoreinforce,alsosomeRE&Pioneerstodigoutsapsnearlipofcraterswhichweoccupied– also to dig outWEST FACE. Situation very quiet from 7 pmonwards. 2nd Lieuts Beale, Whitlock and Ruttle wounded &LieutenantLEASmithmissing.

LieutenantBealewasrapidlyevacuatedtoBritain,whereamedicalboardnotedthathe’dbeenwoundedbyfragmentsofahandgrenadepenetratingthesofttissuesofhisthigh;twosmallfragmentsremainedinsidehim.Hiswoundwasgradedasslightandnotpermanentandhewasincapacitatedformilitarydutyfortwoandaquartermonths.

He was then graded as ‘Fit for Home Service’ and posted to theheadquarters of MI5, the intelligence branch of the War Office whichdealtwith securityandcounter-espionage.His servicewithMI5, thoughostensiblysecretand ‘glamorous’,was inapurelyadministrative role intheirH1 section, betweenDecember 1916 andApril 1917.Therewas aStandingOrder from theWarOffice that administrativeposts, includingintelligence,shouldbefilledwhereverpossiblebyofficerswhohadbeenwounded or were otherwise physically incapable of active service, thusfreeing up active officers for service at the front. H1’s duties were‘Compilationofhistoricalrecordsandstatistics.Compilation,custodyandissueofC.E.(CounterEspionage)BlackLists.Extractsfromthepressanddistribution to the branches concerned. Compilation of summaries andprécis of documents. Compilation and issue of records of importantdecisions. Compilation and issue of counter-espionage records fromabroad.PrintedIndexandListsofpersonsofinteresttoMI5.’Essentially,Tom was a glorified clerk – though one required to perform sensitivedutiesrequiringintelligence,diligenceanddiscretion.

Having returned to health, Tom was attached to 2nd Battalion theLeicestershireRegimentwhichwas serving inMesopotamia (now Iraq),butthoughtheWarOfficeListrecordsthisasfromApril1917,hedidn’tactually join the battalion, which had seen considerable action in themeantime, until 19November 1917. Presumably, in themeantime, he’dbeenonleave,possiblydonesomemoretrainingandthenmadehiswayto the Middle East, experiencing all those bureaucratic delays andconfusionsthataccompanyarmylife.ForsixweeksTomgotusedtothenewbattalion,whichwasstill receiving reinforcementsandcarryingoutexercises and acting as a temporary source of labour, but then it wasorderedtoproceedbyseatoEgyptandPalestine.ThebattalionembarkedforEgypton1January1918andmadeitswaydowntheTigristoBasrah,thenontoEgypt,arrivingon22January.ThroughoutFebruaryandMarchthe battalion was engaged in a strenuous series of route marches andphysical training exercises but on 31 March Tom was posted to theYeomanry Base Depot at Kantara. At some point Tom seems to havedecided that hanging about in depots and endless training was notsufficient. In June 1918 his RAF service record notes that hewas nowattachedtotheRAFattheirMiddleEastTrainingWing.

ThetrainingwingtowhichTomwasposted,No.32TrainingWing,

had been formed in November 1917 and consisted of No. 18 TrainingDepotStationatIsmailia,No.20TrainingDepotStationatShallufa,No.58 Training Squadron at Suez and No. 144 Training Squadron at PortSaid.

The climate in Egypt was supposed to be better for the training ofpilots and observers; certainly it allowed for training all-year round,though the heat of the day produced air currents that made flying fornovices dangerous. One pilot who trained in Egypt at the end of 1917recordedthatworkwassuspendedaftertheearlymorninguntilduskandthat,

At thisstagewewerenever in theair formore thanhalfanhour,andasonlyonelessonadaywaspossiblewepupilswereleftwithmuchtimeonourhands.Between11amandabout4pmwetriedtosleep…forwantofsomethingtodoI’mafraidwewastedmanyhundredsofhoursplayingpoker.

FlyingtraininghadmovedonquiteabitsinceReggieBonehadfirstlearnttoflyin1913,thoughithadtakensometimetodoso.Duringthe1916BattleoftheSommecasualtiesamongpilotsnewouttothefronthadbeenheavyandMajorRobertSmith-Barry,COof60Squadronhadgivenmuchthoughtonhowtheyshouldbetrainedinitially.InDecember1916Smith-BarrywasmadeCommanderof1 (Reserve)SquadronatGosportandsetaboutdevelopinghistheories.

ThespecialisedAvro504biplanewasused,withthetraineesittinginthefrontcockpitandtheinstructorsatintheback,withdualcontrolsanda speaking tube through which he could pass the pupil his carefullypreparedinstructions(alsoknownas‘patter’).Ratherthanavoiddifficultand dangerous manoeuvres, the trainee was encouraged gradually toexplore the aircraft’s capabilities and taught how to put the aircraft intotrickysituationssuchasspinsandhowtogetoutofthem.Withtheaidofa carefully structured set of lectures the pupilwas taught to explore theaircraft’s capabilities fully and to be confident of his handling of it,whateverthecircumstances.

Smith-Barry’s methods (known as the Gosport or ‘all in’ method)were so successful that they were rapidly adopted by the RFC and theEgyptianflyingschoolsalsoadoptedthemin1917.TomBealelearnedtofly like this and themethods employed continued to be in usewhen he

becameaflyinginstructorhimselflateron.Tomqualifiedasapiloton31August1918(heisnotedslightlylater

as being an SE 5 pilot, the SE 5 probably being the best single-seaterfighterproducedbyBritaininthewar)andwaspostedbacktoBritainon15 October, though, of course, on his return, the Armistice had beensigned and hewas now surplus to requirements.After a brief period ofsickleavehewastransferredtotheunemployedliston6March1919.

TommusthavespentaperiodinSouthAfrica,presumablyworkingintheminingindustry,ashe’sshownasreturningtoBritainon25June1928on theUnion-CastleLineshipBalmoralCastle, landingatSouthamptonon that date, with his occupation given as mining engineer. He thenchanged direction and began working for the Leicester Brewing andMalting Co. Ltd, a small but prosperous and forward-thinking brewingcompanywherehisfatherwasadirector.

TomBeale(secondleft)withotherofficersof605SquadroninfrontofaWestlandWapitiatCastleBromwich,1932.(CourtesyofIanPiper)

On28 June1931TomBeale passedhisRoyalAeroClubAviator’sCertificate for the second time, obtaining certificate number 9911. Hisindex card shows that he was resident at Brook House, Rearsby, nearLeicester;hisoccupationwasstillgivenasminingengineerandhepassedhistestinaGipsyMothDH60atLeicestershireAeroClub.Hecontinuedhis connection with the club throughout the 1930s, serving on theircommittee in1938andactingas a flying instructor. In January1932hewas appointed a flying officer with 605 (County of Warwick) AAFSquadronbasedatCastleBromwich.

The Royal Auxiliary Air Force had been created in 1924 to helpprovideareservefortheRAF;therewasacertainsocialcachetattachedto membership, with men generally being drawn from the middle andupper classes. 605 Squadron had been formed in 1926 at RAF CastleBromwich as a bomber squadron and consisted entirely of volunteerpilots, supported by three Regular RAF officers, the Adjutant(administrativeofficer),anAssistantAdjutantandtheEquipmentOfficer,withRegulargroundcrewandsomeNCOinstructors.Toall intentsandpurposes, the AAF was the RAF’s equivalent of the Territorial Army,referring to the squadronHQ as a drill hall and to itsweekend trainingsessions as camps; they also maintained close links to the CountyTerritorialAssociation.By the time that Tom joined in 1932 theywereflying the Westland Wapiti. As an AAF squadron, 605 members wereexpected to undertake regular weekend ‘camps’, on a paid and unpaidbasis, evening work and an annual two-week camp on another airfieldwheretheyweretreatedasaRegularsquadron.

The squadron already had a good reputation, having just won theEsher Trophy for the third time. Presented annually by Lord Esher, thetrophywascompeted forbyAAFsquadrons,withmarksbeingawardedfor bombing, formation flying, piloting ability and landings on amark,gunnery, rigging, engine fitting, air photography and general squadronefficiency.Becauseitinvolvedtechnicalaswellasflyingtestsitinvolvedallranksandhelpedtodevelopasquadronespritdecorps.605hadwonitforthefirsttimeofaskingin1927,againin1930andforthethirdtimein1931.Onlya fewweeksafterTomjoined,on25February,AirMarshalHRHThePrinceofWales,whowasmakingavisittoCastleBromwichtoattendtheBritishIndustriesFairthere,presentedthetrophypersonally.

Accompanied by Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond, Air Officer

Commanding-in-ChiefAirDefenceofGreatBritain,andAirCommodoreW F MacNeece Foster, AOC No. 1 Air Defence Group, the Princeinspectedaguardofhonour from the squadron,noting thatmanyof themenhadFirstWorldWarmedalsincludingaMilitaryMedalandaLongService and Good Conduct Medal. After saying that he’d visited thesquadron before and enjoyed their hospitality he declared that it was agreat achievement to have won the trophy three times, and twice insuccession. He presented the trophy to Squadron Leader Wright, whocalledforthreecheers,andthewholepartyadjournedtothedrillhall.

Tomwasafewyearsolderthanmostofhisbrotherofficers,thoughacouple had also seen service in the FirstWorldWar. Squadron LeaderJohnAllanCecilWright,thesquadronCommandingOfficer(he’dformedthesquadronin1926),wasbornin1886andwascommissionedintotheWarwickshireVolunteersin1905.WhentheTerritorialForcewascreatedin1908hesetupacompanyoftheArmyServiceCorps.HesawservicewiththeminFranceand,asamajorintheASC,wasattachedtotheRFCas a trainee observer in 1917. In the early 1930s he was chairman ofWarne,Wright Rowland Ltd. FlyingOfficer Neville Nock had actuallyjoined the RFC as a cadet on 29 August 1917, two days after hiseighteenth birthday. After training in the Britain he had actually seenactiveserviceinFrancewith10SquadronRAFinthelastfourmonthsofthe war and gone on to serve briefly with them in the Rhine Army.Transferredto theunemployedlist inAugust1919,hepresumablyspentthenextfouryearsqualifyingasadentistashewasdescribedasabankapprenticein1917butwaslateradentalsurgeon.HerejoinedtheRAFasaReserveofficerinApril1923.

Flying Officer James Gummow, a printer, was born in 1905 andjoined605Squadronin1929.FlyingOfficerJamesAbell,bornin1909,wasasolicitor’sclerk.JohnBaker,bornin1907,wasalawstudentwhenhe joined the squadron in 1928. FlyingOfficerGeorge Perry, aminingengineer,wasbornin1905andjoinedthesquadronin1927.

The squadron even had its own Victoria Cross – Flight LieutenantCecilLeonardKnox,aBirminghambusinessman,hadwonitinFranceasaRoyalEngineerin1918.Hiscitationread:

On 22 March 1918 at Tugny, Aisne, France, Second LieutenantKnox was entrusted with the demolition of 12 bridges. He

successfullycarriedoutthistask,butinthecaseofonesteelgirderbridge the timefuse failed toact,andwithouthesitationhe ran tothebridgeunderheavyfire,andwhentheenemywereactuallyonit,he toreaway the timefuseand lit the instantaneous fuse, todowhichhehadtogetunderthebridge.Asapracticalcivilengineer,Second Lieutenant Knox undoubtedly realised the grave risk hetookindoingthis.

Knox had learned to fly privately before joining the squadron but waslaterinjuredinaparachuteaccidentandforcedtogiveupflying.

Themen of the squadron came frommany backgrounds andFlightmagazinenoted that, ‘thoseof themwhoweremechanics incivilian lifeusually preferred to do other duties. There were many men who wereemployedbyBirminghamCorporationaswellasshopmenandclerks incivilianlife.’

ThefirstrecordedincidentinvolvingTomBealeandthesquadronwasabitembarrassing.Thoughdetailsaresparse,hisservicerecordnoteshewas involved in an accident with AVRO J 8543 of 605 Squadron andMoth G-AA BH of the Midland Area Club at Castle Bromwich –‘12.3.32. F/O W B Beale (uninjured)’. Presumably, this was a minorcollisionontheground.

The squadron proceeded to Manston on 31 July 1932 for annualtraining. ‘Following usual practice the Squadron operated as andperformed the duties of aRegular Squadron. Tests in theEsherTrophywerejudgedbyFltLieutenantMarsdenA.D.G.B.ThreedayswerespentatEastchurch in theBombing andAirFiring ranges anduseful practicecarriedoutbypilotsandairgunners.’(squadronORB).

The1933annualcampwasalsoheldatManstonandtheORBrecordsthat 21 officers and 132 airmen attended. In addition to working as aRegular squadron and being tested for the Esher Trophy, bombing andlive-firing practicewas carried out.What theORB does notmention isthat, in the courseof live-firing exercisesoff the coast atLeysdown, anunfortunateaccidentresultedinthedeathofayounggirl.Flightmagazinerecordedthat,

Miss Jean Chesterton, aged 17, of Ilford, rowed out, with heryoungersister,toretrievealargeballdriftingfromtheshore.Whilethisboatwasinthevicinityofalineoftargetsitwasmistakenfora

targetbyagunnerinthebackseatofoneofthemachineswhofiredaburstat it.Attheinquest thejurybroughtinaverdictof‘DeathbyMisadventure’whichwas theonlyverdict any sane jurycouldhave returned. Various suggestions were put forward in anendeavour to prevent another such accident; no doubt the AirMinistrywilldosomething in thisdirection. Itdoesseemthe twogirlswerealittleunwiseinrowingoutinthedirectionofthetarget,especially as they had watched machines firing on those verytargets many times previously. The parents are worthy of thesympathyofall,theyhavebehavedmagnificentlythroughout.

Infact,despiteFlight’saccount that theboatwas‘in thevicinity’of thetargets,mostwitnessessaid that itwasoutside the targetarea.SquadronLeaderWright stated thathebelieved itwasoutside thearea.Thepilot,FlyingOfficerJohnHenryWood,saidduringhisevidence,

JustasIwasgettingonmycourseonthefifthcircuitIheardwhatItooktobeanearlyburstoffiring.Iglancedovermyshoulderandnoticed the direction in which Boahemia (the air gunner) wasaimingandthathewasnotontargetatallbecauseIcouldactuallyseethetargetscomeupundermywings.Iwasinabetterpositiontoseethemthanhewas.

As well as the busy schedule of flying and training the squadronplayedsportsregularly,withhockeymatchesagainstlocalteamsrecordedfrequently,squashmatchesandtheoccasionalmentionofpolo.

The nature of their day-to-day activities while at annual camp areexplainednicelyintheORBforAugust1934.ThesquadronflewtocampatManstoninformation,takingelevenWapitis,twoAvrosandtheMoth.Theworking routine adhered towasas inpreviousyears, i.e., paradeathangars at 6am for daily instructions and 7.30–9ambreak for breakfast.Afteraparadeatthehutsthemenweremarchedtothehangarsforflyinguntilceasingworkfor thedayat12.45pm.GunfiringwascarriedoutatLyddrangesbyallthreeflights.VarioustestsfortheEsherTrophywerealso carried out.On 6August the squadronwas inspected by theRightHonourable Viscount Bearstead and by the Honourable Sir PhilipSassoon.AirCommodoreBaldwininspectedtheuniton13Augustandonthe18ththerewereswimmingandpolomatchesbetweentheofficersand

men;theofficerswontheswimmingbutlostthepolo4goalsto1.On19August, ‘The Squadron flew back to Castle Bromwich after a verysuccessfulcamp;22officersand151airmenattended.’

In October 1934 the squadron received a Hawker Hart, the RAF’stwo-seaterbiplanelightbomberwhichhadenteredservicewiththeRAFgenerally in1930.TheORBmerelynotes thaton27October, ‘ThefirstHart (K3756)afterbeingassembledat theunitwasused fordual’ (i.e.,fordualinstruction).On19November1934theyreceivedthegoodnewsthattheyhad,onceagain,wontheEsherTrophy.Itwaspresentedtothemon 14 February 1935 by the Honourable Air Commodore Sir PhilipSassoon,thepopularUnderSecretaryofStateforAir,who,heremindedhisaudience,wasalsoHonoraryAirCommodoreof601Squadronand,assuch,hewas‘filledwithhatredandenvy’.‘Altertherulesaswemay,’hesaid,‘youstillgoonwinningit.’

On27February1936theEsherTrophywaspresentedtothesquadronfor the sixth time. Flight magazine calling them ‘that outstandinglyefficientandenthusiasticunit’.PresentationofthetrophywasbytheAirOfficer Commanding-in-Chief,AirMarshal Sir John Steel,KCB,KBE,CMG. The ceremony took place in the town hall, Birmingham and thechair was taken by the Lord Mayor, Alderman S J Grey JP. Thepresentation alsomarked the retirement from the squadron of SquadronLeaderWright,whowaspresentedwithareplicaasamarkofthanksandrespect forhis tenyearsofdedicationandhardwork. Ina short speech,SquadronLeaderWright spoke,asheput it,withmixed feelings,of thetenhappiestyearsofhislifeandacceptedthegiftasacknowledgementofthe work of everyone in the squadron. After the ceremony, the LordMayorandmembersof theTerritorialAirForceAssociationentertainedthesquadronandtheirguestsinthetownhall.

Empire Air Day, 1936 was on Saturday 23 May and the ORBrecorded,

Empire Air Day. The weather was very bad in the morning, butcleared up slightly in the afternoon, which resulted in rather adisappointing attendance, about 6,200. The following aircraftvisitedthestationtotakepartintheflyingprogramme:

1Fury2Bulldogs CFSUpavon

1Heyford BoscombeDown1Sidestrand Bicester

ARotaandanAvroAnsonvisitedthestationduringtheafternoon.The AOC arrived by air and stayed for about 20 minutes.

OwingtotheweathertheSecretaryofStatehadtocancelhisvisit.C Flight visited Desford, Braunstone, Anstey and Whitley

duringtheafternoon.

On 19 July 1936 the squadron, consisting of nine Hart and threeAvros,flewtoRatcliffeaerodrome,wheretheywereentertainedforlunchby Mr Lindsay Everard. A total of nineteen officers and five airmenattended.OnthereturnjourneythesquadronlandedatBraunstone,wheretheyweregiven teaby theLeicesterAeroClub. It seemsa fair bet thatTomhelpedtoarrangethis!

The 1936 annual camp was held at RAF Aldegrove in NorthernIreland,theairpartyflyingoverwith12Harts(including1HartTrainer),2AvroTutorsand1Avro504.TheAvrowasdelayedatCarlislefortwodaysbecause it lacked theendurance tocross to Irelandagainstastrongcrosswind.TheORBrecorded, ‘Thiscampwas remarkableasbeing thefirstoccasiononwhichthesquadronattendedarmamenttrainingcamp;itwas the first occasion since its inception that it had been to campanywhere exceptManston, and also the first occasion on which TutorswereusedfortraininginsteadofAvro504’s.’

By 1936 the RAF was in the process of expansion to meet theperceivedthreatfromHitler’sGermany,andtheWarwickshireTerritorialAssociationvolunteeredtoraiseanotherAuxiliarysquadronifrequested.TheORBmentionsanincreasingnumberofnewaircrafttypesvisitingthestation, a greater turnover of the squadron’sRegularRAFofficers, newequipment being used and there is generally amore serious tone to thesquadron’sactivities– though theregular roundofsocialeventssuchasdinnerdances,luncheonparties,reunionsandchurchparadescontinued.

The first use of a newbombing range allotted to the squadron tookplace in 1937, aswell as the first use ofwireless telegraphy equipmentand the fitting and first use of oxygen equipment on its new HawkerHinds.InarestructuringofBomberCommand605SquadronalsobecamepartofNo.2Group,thesquadronsofwhichwereequippedwithlightandmediumbombers.

EmpireAirDay,1937wasmoresuccessfulthaninthepreviousyear,withdoublethepublicaudience.TheORBnoted,

29/05/1937:EmpireAirDay.Theweatherwasfavourableandtheattendance amounted to over 12,000. In addition a number ofpeople burst through the barriers and large crowds were in theadjoiningfields.

A number of new aircraft visited the station including aHarrow, Blenheim, Anson and 3 Gladiators. A demonstration ofthese aircraft was carried out. A flight of the squadron visitedRatcliffe aerodrome during the afternoon. Cooperation during thelast event of the programme – an attack on the aerodrome –wasgiven by the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Battery, RoyalArtillery,Lichfield.

In July 1937 a flight from the squadron overflew the WitneyAeronauticalCollegegardenpartyandthenlandedtodisplayitsHawkerHindstothecrowds.

SummercampwasatRochfordinEssexinearlyAugust,thoughfogprevented there being asmuch use of the firing and bombing ranges aswasusual.Thesquadrondid takepart inairexerciseson9Augustwithfair success. A total of 23Auxiliary officers and 121Auxiliary airmenparticipatedinthecamp,aswellasthesquadron’sthreeRegularofficersand47Regularairmen.

Thethreatofwarreallybegantomakeitselffeltduring1938,theyearoftheMunichCrisis,thoughintheearlypartoftheyeartheORBmainlyreferstotheusualroundofdinnersandentertainments.

In June 1938 the squadron made a formation flight during theinauguration of the new Wolverhampton Airport, in part to thank theWolverhamptonFlyingClubforthefactthat75percentoftheirofficershadfirstlearnttoflythere.ThesummercampthatyeartookplaceatNo.6 Armament Training Station, Warmwell, Dorset. Flight magazinereported that bombing and firing practice took place over Chesil Bankwith creditable scores being made, with formation flying exercises,photography,wirelessandcross-countryflying–andthatproximitytotheseawasanadditionalattractionformanyofthemen,forwhomthecampwastheequivalentoftheirannualholiday.

Germanpressure onCzechoslovakia to cede theSudetenlandduring

the summer of 1938 broughtBritain andGermany to the verge ofwar.ThesquadronORBrecords theirpart in themobilisationofhundredsofReserveairmeninanticipationoffull-scalehostilities,

EmergencyMobilizationduringtheCrisisofSeptember–October1938

26/9/38 07.30 The Preparatory Order to Mobilize was received.This only applied to No 6 Mobilization Pool. ThePreparatoryStaffarrivedbetweenthehours1600–2310ofthisdate.

27/9/38 1215TheOrdertoformMobilizationPoolswasreceivedand the necessary work was completed smoothly andrapidly. By 1500 hours the Pool was ready to receiveReservistsandarrangementswerecompletedtorationandhouse1000men.Fifteen hundred gas respiratorswere assembled in 131/2hours,between0950and2230on26thSeptember1938.

04/10/38 TheMobilizationPoolwascloseddownthisday10/10/38 The Pool Administration Officer returned to his unit

(Cranwell)at1400hours.

InOctober 1938 the squadron took part in a joint exercisewith theBritish Thomson-Houston works at Rugby with the squadron staging amock bombing attack for the benefit of training the works Air RaidPrecautionstaff.

WiththeapproachofwarTomrelinquishedhiscommissionwith605Squadron AAF on 10 January 1939 and was appointed to the RAFGeneral List with rank of flight lieutenant. At the age of 40 he wasprobably too old for combat flying, but as a qualified flying instructortherewasplentyforhimtodo.InJune1939,presumablyafterarefreshercourse inflying instruction,hebecamefullyqualifiedandon23August1940 he was posted to the Central Flying School at Upavon, as aninstructorintheflyingsquadron.

AnAirMinistrypamphlet,HintsonFlying Instruction,published inMarch 1941 gives some idea of the non-technical aspects of the art ofinstruction,

WhentheFlyingInstructorhadbeentaughttoflyaccuratelyandto

demonstrate his actions with synchronised ‘patter’, only thefoundationofhisprofessionhasbeenprovided forhim.Themostskilful pilot with the most perfect patter can still make a badinstructor,andtheaveragepilotwithgoodaveragepattercanmakean excellent instructor. The difference being that the one almostdisregards the characteristics and foibles of his different pupils,whiletheothermakesaconstantstudyofhispupilsinorderthathemaygettheverybestoutofthem.

If you are slack in manner and appearance then you willinevitably breed a race of pilots, all your own,which tends to beslack inmannerandappearance.Althoughyoumaynot realise it,everythingyoudoandsayismentallynotedbyyourpupils,ondutyandoffduty.Yourappearanceinuniformshouldbegood.Nobodyshouldbeabletoteachyouanythingaboutpunctuality.Moveaboutas though you have a definite purpose in life. Don’t run downground training. Some of it is admittedly dull, and lots of itmayseemtoyoutosmackofthekindergarten.Thoseinauthorityhavegood reason tobelieve that it has highvaluehowever, so supporttheir authority and don’t undermine it. Don’t criticise superiors.Don’t discuss your own pupils, or other instructors or superiorofficers,withpupils.Alongwithpriestsandphysiciansyousharealotofconfidences.Respectthem.

Pressurewasalwaysontotrainandturnoutnewlyqualifiedpilots;inFebruary 1941 a conference of 23 (Training) Group at Upavoncommented upon the shortage of experienced flying instructors. ManyexperiencedflightcommandershadbeensentouttoflyingschoolsintheDominions.Seniorflyinginstructors(thosewithoversixmonths’trainingexperience)weredoingtwo-yeartoursofdutyandthiswasfelttobetoolong.Asaflightcommanderandexperiencedinstructor,TomwouldhavehadthenumberofpupilstrainingunderhimatanyonetimereducedfromsixtofourandthoughhewaspromotedtoDeputyChiefFlyingInstructor,whichcutdownonhisactualinstructionintheair,itdidmeanextraworksupervisingtheotherinstructors.Thepressurewasunrelenting.

On 6 June 1941 Tom was recommended for the award of the AirForceCross.Hiscommendationforthemedalreads,

As a Flight Commander and recently as Deputy Chief Flying

InstructorofCentralFlyingSchoolthisOfficerhasperformedworkofoutstandingmerit.

Hehascompleted1000hoursofinstructionalflyingsinceJune1939andduringthepasttwelvemonthshasdone600hoursgivinginstruction and testing pilots.He has been atC.F.S. sinceAugust1940, and despite his age (42) he has not spared himself and hasshownmarkedenergyanddevotiontoduty,settingafineexampletothosewhoworkunderhim.

TomBeale’sAccidentCarddescribing the fatalaccidentatAltonBarnes. (Courtesyof theRAFMuseum)

Tomwasnever to receive themedalpersonally.Hewaskilled inanaircrashinSeptember.

TheCFSORBisterse,thesoleentry,dated4September1941,reads,

S/LDRBEALEandP/OBrownkilled in flying accident atAltonBarnesReliefLandingGround.

Nextdayitrecords,

INQUESTonS/LdrBealeandP/OBrownwasheldinschoolroomat1600hours.Averdictofaccidentaldeathwasreturned.

On6Septemberitnotes,

INVESTIGATIONbyW/CdrWhitelockintocrashofMaster8472anddeathsofS/LdrBealeandP/OBrown.

The resultof the investigation is recordedbrieflyon theaccident recordcardheldby theRAFMuseumatHendon. ItwasPilotOfficerBrown’spassingouttestasaninstructorandtheaircraftstalledwhileinaglidingturnwhileglidingin; theaircraftdivedverticallyintothegroundfromalowheight.Thoughtheaccidentwasunobserved,itwassurmisedthatthepupilwasdemonstratingaforcedlanding,hadbeentoldtolead,andthatTomBealewasprobablywritingnotesandhisattentionwasmomentarilydiverted.

Tom’sdeathcertificategivesthecauseofdeathas‘Multipleinjuriessustainedwhenaeroplaneinwhichhewasflyingwascrashedfromcausesunknown.’TheAFCwasawardedpost-humously.

Wilfred ‘Tom’Beale is buried inUpavonCemetery inWiltshire inRowD,Grave6.Theinscriptionreads‘Hissunwentdownwhileitwasyetday’.Hewas42.PilotOfficerGeorgeHenryBrown,whowaskilledwithhim,isburiedalongsideinGrave5.

ResearchingWilfredBeale

RecordsofWilfredBeale’smilitarycareerbeginwithhisFirstWorldWararmyofficer’s file,WO339/39704. It contains somedetailsofhisarmycareer includinghis initial attestationpapers showingheenlisted first intheTerritorialForce(predecessorsoftheTerritorialArmy)fortheInnsofCourt OTC, with the obvious intention of becoming an officerimmediately. Much of the rest of his file consists of medical sheetsdetailing thewounds he suffered in France from themedical boards heattended.

TheWarDiaryfor6thBattaliontheBuffsisinWO95/1860andthisis one of the FirstWorldWarWarDiaries available to be downloadedfromTNA’swebsiteforaveryreasonableprice.TheWarDiaryfor2ndBattalion,LeicestershireRegiment is inWO95/4715; though at timeofwritingthisisnotavailableonline,itisoneoftheWarDiariesthatwillbegoingonlineinduecourse.

ThereislittleonTom’sMI5service.KV1/59,alistofMI5staffupto31December1919,basicallyjustconfirmsthedatesofhisserviceandtheregimenthewas servingwith at the time.A further sub-list inKV1/52givessnapshotsofMI5sectionstaffandconfirmsTom’sservicewithH1.

DetailsofhisinitialservicewiththeRFCandRAFareinAIR76/29,whichareavailablethroughtheDiscoverysectionofTNA’swebsite.TherecordgivesdetailsofhisserviceintheMiddleEastand,thoughrecordsare supposed to cease in 1920, of his service with 605 Squadron AAFbetween 1934 and 1939. Details of the other 605 Squadron officersreferredtointhischapterarealsoavailableinAIR76.

WhenitcomestohistrainingperiodinEgypt,asissooftenthecasewhen lookingatRFCandRFC training squadrons, few records survive.Thereseemstohavebeenageneraldestructionofday-todayrecordsoncetheOfficialHistoryoftheWarintheAirwascompleted.Itispossibletomakesomegeneralobservationson thesubjectbasedongeneral filesofcorrespondence and histories, notably AIR 1/408/15/240/2 – ‘RAF:History of Training in Egypt, 1916–1918’; AIR 1/678/21/13/2085 –‘Notes on Training, Egypt’; AIR 1/2054/204/409/12 – ‘32 TrainingWing’.

Though the actual paperwork for the investigation into Tom’s finalcrash does not appear to survive, the accident record card is held on

microfilmattheRAFMuseumatHendonandprovidesbasicdetails.Themuseumkindlysentmeacopy.Pleasenotethattherearenoindexesthatrefer to crew members, aircraft type or location of the accident – torequest a copy youwill need to know the aircraft type and date of theaccident.

As ever, the Flight magazine archive athttp://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html proved invaluable inlocatingstoriesabout605Squadroninthe1930s,occasionallyprovidingthoselittlepersonalstoriesthattheofficialdocumentsfailtocapture.

TomBeale’sgraveatUpavonCemetery,whereheliessurroundedbycolleaguesfrombothwars.(Author’sCollection)

TheORBfor605Squadronbetween1926andDecember1939 is inAIR27/2087.IncommonwiththeothersquadronORBs,it’snowonlineintheDiscoverysectiononTNA’swebsite.

There’s a useful website devoted to 605 Squadron athttp://www.605squadron.co.uk/Home.htm,whichgivessomebasicdetailsof its history, bases, commanding officers, casualties and honours andawards.

B

Chapter5

BATTLEOFBRITAINPILOT–GUYMARSLAND

orn on 5 November 1919, GuyMarsland joined the RAF on a shortservicecommissioninApril1939.Aftercompletinghisflyingtraininghejoined245SquadronatLeconfieldinearlyNovember1939.Postedto253SquadronatKenleyon24September1940,hedamagedaBf109fighteron 7October, claimed a Bf 109 destroyed on 29October and shared aDornier17bomberon22November.LaterinthewarheservedintheFarEast and after the war held a number of administrative posts. Retiringfrom theRAF on 1October 1958 as a squadron leader, he retained therank ofwing commander.He later became a successful antiques dealeranddiedin1983.

GuyjoinedtheRAFonashortservicecommissionon15April1939.This type of commission, introduced by Hugh Trenchard in the early1920s,wasdesignedtoproduceagenerationofyoungpilotswhowouldserveforafewyearsandthentransfertotheRAFReserveandwouldn’tcloguptheRAFasageingofficersatalaterdate.By1939thetermswereto serve for four years on the active list followed by two years in theReserve.Havingbeencommissionedasanactingpilotofficer,hewassenttolearntoflyatthecivilflyingschoolatRedhill,wherehewastaughtthebasics. InApril 1939hewasposted toNo. 6FlyingTrainingSchool atLittleRissington,aspartof12Course,consistingofforty-oneofficersandeight airmen pupils, to learn service flying. Having passed through theschool,hewasappointedaprobationaryflyingofficerandpostedto245Squadron,whichwasformingatRAFLeconfieldinEastYorkshire,toflytwin-engine Blenheim fighters. On arriving at the squadron, alongwiththirteen other newly qualified pilot officers, there were only threeMagisteraircraftfortrainingpurposes.SomeBlenheimsdidarrive,butitwasalreadydecidedthatthesquadronweretobere-equippedwithsingle-seaterHurricanefightersandinJanuary1940someFaireyBattleaircraftarrived so the pilots could learn to fly single-seaters. The first threeHurricanesarrivedat theendofJanuarybutwereshortofsparessothat

training didn’t really commence until a further nine were delivered byferrypilots on15March.The squadronORBnoted, ‘It is a grand sightandtheobviouspleasuretothepilotsandairmenisveryheartening.Wehavedonethe“perardua”part,whichcanbefreelytranslatedinourcasetomeanmarkingtime.Nowforthestars.’

Full-scale training now followed so that by the first week in Aprilnearlyallthepilotsweretrainedinbattleclimbsandfighterattacks,intheuse of the radio telephone and were being trained in working incoordination with the Sector Controller. By the 23rd the squadron wasreadyenoughtolaunchitsfirstrealscramble,thoughtheflightthattookoff was recalled almost immediately. On 30 April aircraft from thesquadronwereagainscrambledandthis timeflew90milesoutover theNorthSeawithoutseeingtheirquarry.

On12May thesquadronwasmoved toRAFDremnearEdinburgh,buteventsinFrance(wheretheGermaninvasionofBelgiumandFrancebeganon10May)begantoinfluenceevents.AFlightwassenttoFranceon the 16th and on the 28th fifteen aircraft of the squadron (includingGuy)flewsouthtoRAFHawingeinKent.On30MayGuytookpartinapatroloverDunkirkbutduetobadvisibilitythepatrolbecameseparatedandGuywasoneoffourpilotswhomadeaforcedlandingnearSouthenddue to lackof fuel; his aircraftwas renderedunserviceable.On1 and2June he took part in composite formations protecting shipping overDunkirk,thefinalstagesoftheevacuation.On10JunehewasoneofnineHurricaneswho escorted thirty-threeBlenheimson abombing raidoverRouenandoverthenextthreedaystookpartinoffensivepatrolsalongtheFrenchcoasttrying,butfailing,todrawtheLuftwaffeintobattle.Onthe14thGuywaspilotofoneofelevenaircraftthataccompaniedabombingraid toBethunewhichwas accomplishedwithout incident, though therewas heavy antiaircraft fire that damaged one Hurricane. Other patrolsfollowedoversouthernEnglandandnorthernFrance,includingoneovertheFrenchcoastinthevicinityofDieppeinwhichGermanaircraftwereseenontheground,butnonewereencounteredintheair.

On 30 June 245 Squadron flew north to RAF Turnhouse nearEdinburghfromwheretheyflewsectorpatrolsandprovidedairescortstoconvoysalongtheScottishcoast,againwithoutencounteringtheenemy.On20JulytheywereorderedtoRAFAldegroveinNorthernIrelandandeighteen Hurricanes flew across in the afternoon followed by essential

ground staff, who flew across in three transport aircraft slightly later.From Aldegrove they again flew sector patrols, scrambled occasionallywhenenemyaircraftweresuspectedtobeapproachingandflewaircoverfor convoys. On 24 September Guy Marsland was posted back to themainlandtoservewith253SquadronatRAFKenley.

BythistimeGuywasanexperiencedpilotwithmanyhoursofflyingtime under his belt and plenty of operational flying, though he’d yet tomake contact with the enemy. With 253 flying regular scrambles andpatrolsagainstGermanintruders,itwasonlyamatteroftime.

The Battle of Britain had now reached what, in retrospect, was itsfinal phase. Heavy losses to their bomber formations had caused theGermans to switch mainly to night bombing. However, during the dayGerman fighters, mostlyMe 109s but occasionallyMe 110s, were sentover carrying bombs in small and large-scale nuisance raids aimed atengaging theRAF fighters and disrupting defensive operations over theSouthEast.Cominginhighandfast,theraidersgavelittlewarning,evento radar so the RAF had to use regular patrols between 15,000 and20,000ft,directedontotheintrudersoncetheradarpickedthemup.

On7OctoberGuywasonpatroloverHawkinge,lostcontactwiththeremainder of the patrol andmet a formation of enemy fighters that hadbeen operating briefly over London. The RAF website devoted to theBattleofBritaindescribestheraidas,‘At1630hoursafurtherflightof30enemyaircraftcrossedthecoastatDungeness,penetratedtoCentralandNorth East London, but quickly turned back to France at 1645 hours.’Guided by antiaircraft fire, Guy found the Me 109s in the vicinity ofBigginHillandhiscombatreportdescribestheaction,

HurricaneIIbsof253Squadronbeingworkedonbygroundcrew.(Author’sCollection)

IwasGreen2ofthesquadronformationflyingat24,000feetaboveHawkinge. I sawYellow2break formation. Iwatchedhimgoingdown.At the same time I sawone unidentified aircraft followinghim.Icoveredhimandtheaircraftturnedaway.Icouldnotfindmyownformationagain,soIpatrolledsouthofBigginHillat23,000feet.TwentyME109’swereobservedcomingfromthedirectionofLondon.Ideliveredabeamattackonasectionofthreefiringa8–9burst and saw several small pieces break off from one aircraft. Ibrokeawaywithoutobservinganyotherresultandreturnedtobasewhere I discovered that Yellow 2 had broken formation due toenginetrouble.

Small-scale raids designed to test the defences and tire pilots topreventthemattemptingtoattackthemainnightattackscontinuedforthenextthreeweekswith253Squadronflyingtheirusualpatrolsattemptingtointerceptthem.

On29OctoberGuywasonpatrolwithBFlight,253Squadronwhentheyencountered16Me110sandMe109sovertheSurrey/Sussexborder.Hisreportsays,

IwasGreen 1weaving for 253 Squadron at 20,000 feet. I brokeaway to engage enemy aircraft. I followed one aircraft down to3,000 feet but was not able to open fire. I positioned myself atGatwick. At 1700 hours I sighted one ME 109 at 4,000 feettravellingsouth.Iclimbeduptolineasternandopenedfireat150yards.TracerpassedoverandundermainplanesofE/A.The109half rolled. I last saw him about 300 feet from the ground in thevicinityofHorsham.The109wasonhissideandIconsideraboutto crash.HorshamObserverCorps report oneME109 crashed at1706.

Thelocalnewspaper,theWestSussexTimes,reportedtheincident,

A Messerschmidt single-seat fighter ’plane was shot down atPlummersPlainonTuesdayevening,aftermachine-gunningapartyof farm labourers in the fieldbelow.ASpitfire [sic]putonlyoneburstoffireintotheGerman’planeanditcrashedalongthefield,dragginghurdleswith it.Thepilot,hisclotheson fire,waspulled

out from the blazing ’plane by several civilians and amember ofthe Military Police, who burned his hands badly effecting therescue.

The pilot, the holder of the Iron Cross, was taken by anambulancetohospitalafterhisbootsandclotheshadbeencutfromhim. He was unconscious, and died later. Pieces of wreckage,togetherwith thepilot’s gear and clothing,were strewnabout thefield,while thebodyof themachineblazed furiously,magnesiumflaressendingupablueflame.Beforeduskmenwereonthesceneand got the fire under control with buckets of water and stirruppumps.

Thepilot,AlfredLenz,diedlaterofburnsinHorshamHospitalandnowliesingrave27,block1,row1atCannockChase.

TheBattleofBritainwasnowofficiallyover, butnuisance raidsbytheLuftwaffecontinued,asdid the regularpatrolsby253squadron.On22 November a patrol of three aircraft from A Flight encountered twoDornier17lightbombersovertheSussexcoast.Guy’sreportsays,

Red section 253 Squadron took off at 1145 hours on sectorreconnaissance.Whenat10,000feetnearBeachyHeadRed1wasadvised that one E/A was approaching Dungeness at 3,000 feet.SectionpatrolledBeachyHeadDungenessandobservedoneD.O.17Zflyingnorthinandoutofcloudat3,000feet,sectionattackedinrotationfromoutofthesunandE/AwasseentodiveverticallyintothegroundthreemilesnorthofNewhaven.

Red Section was continuing a sector reconnaissance nearBeachyHeadafterpreviouscombatwhenoneD.O.17wassighted8 miles south of Beachy Head flying west. Section attacked inrotation from astern and E/A turned south. Section expended allammunition remaining over from previous combat and silencedbothE/A’sreargunnersandportstarboardengineoutofaction.

A further report from 11 Group Fighter Command of the same daterecords,

Combat took place near Newhaven at 1220 hours on 22/11/40.Three Hurricanes Red Section 253 Squadron led by F/Lt Duke-WoolleyleftKenleyat11.53hoursonasectorreconnaissanceand

proceeded toBeachyHead at 10,000 feet.RedSectionwhowereflying in a loose line astern, upon being advised that one enemyaircraftwasapproachingfromthesoutheastat3,000feet,reducedheight to8,000 feet and sighted aD.O.17Z flying in andout ofcloud at 3,000 feet Red Section dived and attacked individuallyfromtherear,Red1givingE/A3burstsof4seconds,Red2 twoattacksfromasternandonefromportbeam,Red3oneattackof4secondsfromstarboardbeam.TheE/AportenginecaughtfireafterwhichE/Adivedvertically into thegroundbetweenBrightonandLewes.Therewasaterrificexplosionandthewreckagewasstrewnoverawidearea.Twobodieswerefound,onewiththeIronCross.TheE/A’s bomb load exploded some45minutes after it crashed.Red section continued the reconnaissance and a secondDO 17Zwas sighted 6 miles south east of Beachy Head at 4,000 feet.Section dived from 12,000 feet and again attacked individuallyfrom astern. The E/Awas last seen 3miles off the French coastwith starboard engine out of action and rear gunners had ceasedfiring. Red section returned to base. Three Hurricanes landedKenley1340hours.

Weather 10/10ths cumulus cloud, 1,000–3,000 feet; 2/10thsstratuscloud4,000–5,000feet.Visibilityabovecloudsexcellent.

BothE/Asharedbetween Red1F/LtDukeWoolleyRed2F/OEckfordRed3P/OMarsland

On 24 March 1941 Guy was posted to 232 Squadron, flyingHurricanes out of RAF Elgin to cover shipping and protect againstopportunistLuftwafferaids.Thiswasapostingofjustafewweeksbeforehe was sent to 56 Operational Training Unit at RAF Sutton Bridge inLincolnshire, which trained new pilots to fly the Hurricane. As anexperienced Hurricane pilot, he was no doubt in great demand as aninstructorandstayedwiththeunitforoversixmonths.

Extractfrom137SquadronORBshowingGuyMarslandbeingpostedawayfromthesquadronon18February1942.(TNAAIR27/954)

On15December1941Guywaspostedto137Squadron,flyingtwin-engined Whirlwind fighters over the southern North Sea from RAFMatlaske,asatellitestationtoRAFColtishallinNorfolk.Withfour20mmcannon mounted in the nose, the Whirlwind was not, in itself, a badaircraft.However,therewereproblemswithitsenginesandbythetimeitcame into service it was already somewhat out of date, having beenintended as an escort fighter forBomberCommand,whichwas alreadyswitchingtonightoperations,forwhichtheWhirlwindwasnotequipped.

Inhisbrief timewith137Squadron,afteraperiod learning thenewmachine, Guy flew a few scrambles against what were thought to beGermanraiders,thoughwithoutmakingcontact.OnChristmasDay1941he flewescortduty for aLysander searching fora reporteddinghyseenabout50milesoffthecoast,butnothingwasfound.Hewasluckynottohavebeensentonapatrolon12February1941whensquadronaircraftonroutinepatrolranintoahugeLuftwaffeformationcoveringthebreakoutintotheAtlanticoftheScharnhorstandGneisenau,andfouraircraftwerelost.

On 18 February 1942 the squadron ORB records, ‘F/L Marslandposted to RAF Coltishall w.e.f. 17/2/42 pending posting overseas.’Thoughhisservicerecordmakesnomentionofthefact,Guywaspostedto136Squadron in theFarEast.EquippedwithHurricanes, ithadbeensent to India inNovember1941but itsdestinationhadbeenchanged toBurma following the Japanese invasion. In his book Take Mary to thePictures – A Fighter Pilot in Burma 1941–1945, Alan Kitley, a 136Squadron pilot, says that their Hurricanes were clapped-out Mark Iaircraft, probably ones that had been used previously for training.Presumably,GuywasflowntotheFarEast,thoughit’sunclearwhenhearrived – a retrospective note in 136 Squadron ORB says that he waspostedtothemwitheffectfrom19February1942asaflightcommanderbut he can’t have arrived on that date. During the retreat from Burma,which the squadron was covering in its dilapidated Hurricanes, recordkeeping became problematic. Certainly, he was with them in the thirdweekinMarch.AlanKitleyrecorded:

GuyMarsland’sservicerecorderroneouslyshowinghimcontinuing toservewith137Squadronwhenhewasactuallywith136SquadroninBurmaandIndia.(Author’sCollection)

The blitz came on the 23rd and 24thMarch.On both these daysAkyabandthedockswereattackedbylargeformationsofJapanesebomberswithfighterescorts…Iamtalkingaboutamaximumofroughlyfifteen–twentyclappedoutHurricanesattemptingtoattackwavesofbombersbeingprotectedby formationsof some twenty,thirty,who knows – Japanese fighters. They covered the sky likeswarmsofmosquitoes.Intheensuingone-sidedbattlesweclaimedsometenkillsandmanyprobables.Butineffectwewereshotoutof theair and itwasamiracle thatof the severalHurricanes shotdown,allbutoneofourpilotssurvivedhavingeitherbaledoutorforcelanded.

AmongtheclaimswasoneforGuyMarsland,whoclaimedtohaveshotdownaNakajimaKi43fighteron23March.

With their effective aircraft reduced to just five Hurricanes, thesquadronwasevacuated to India.AlanKitleywasoneof the fewpilotswhowasabletonursehisaircrafttoChittagongandthenontoDumDumairfield at Calcutta. Guy and the remainder of the squadron wereevacuatedbysea.

ReunitedatAlipore,thesquadronwasbasedatanairfieldusedbytheBengalFlyingClub andGuywasmadeFlightCommander ofBFlight.AlanKitleyexplainedthesquadronorganisationnicelywhenhewrote,

Typically a fighter squadron was commanded by a SquadronLeader and had eighteen aircraft, approximately thirty–thirty fivepilots,twohundredgroundpersonneltoservicetheaircraft[etc.]…theoperational structurewascentredon two flights,A&B, eachcommanded by a flight lieutenant. Each Flight had nine aircraft,somefifteenpilotsandfirstlineservicingcrewsheadedbyaflightsergeant.

In addition, therewas an adjutantwho helped the squadron leaderwithadministration, an engineering officer, a medical officer and anintelligenceofficer.Thewholesquadronwouldnumberbetween200and300 of all ranks. Loyalty to the squadronwas strong but loyalty to theindividualflightcouldbestronger.AlanKitleyexplained,‘UntilIbecameaSquadronCommander Imade sure that regardless ofwhat squadron Iwasin,IwasintheBFlight;tomeBFlightwereactionmenandAFlight

werepoofs.’Forsometenweeksbetween26Juneand5September136Squadron

operatedfromoneofthemoreunusualairfieldseverusedbytheRAF–the Red Road, one of the main thoroughfares in the very centre ofCalcutta, describedbyAlanKitley as ‘the equivalent ofTheMall’.TheRedRoadwaswideenough to landaHurricaneon,withgrassstripsoneitherside,butthecamberoftheroadmadeitessentialthatpilotslandeddeadcentre toavoidtheaircraftautomaticallyswervingoff theroadandcollidingwitha lowwall. Inaddition,a statueofQueenVictoriaatoneendoftheroadprovidedaninterestingchallengewhenlandingortakingoff!

The squadronprovided air defenceof theCalcutta area fromMarch1942,thoughtheJapaneseArmyandairforcehadexhaustedthemselvesduring their advance through Burma and real air raids were few.Unfortunately,as therewasnoradarandfewothermeansof identifyingaircraft there were frequent ‘scrambles’ against what turned out to befriendly aircraft.As flight commanderGuy seems to have taken part inonly a few of these sorties but the squadron ORB does list him flyingoperationally either as a ‘scramble’ in response to air-raid sirens or onconvoypatrols,coveringshippingmovementsintheBayofBengal.

On 5 December 1942 Guy was posted to 224 Group to fill thesquadron leader ops vacancy. Thereafter, since he no longer flewoperationally(thoughhedidstillfly)hismovementsandpostingsbecomeharder to trace.Variousorderspublished in theGroupORBAppendicestellsomekindofastory:

30/12/1942 RepostedHQ224Groupassupernumary.

15/12/1942 AuthorisedtobeaccommodatedintheOfficer’sMessw.e.f.05/12/1942anddrawappropriateallowances.

24/12/1942 DepartedChittagong0900hours.24/12/1942 ArrivedCalcutta1200hoursbyair.27/12/1942 DepartedCalcutta0500hours.28/12/1942 ArrivedChittagong1000hoursbyrail.OpsDuties.

24/01/1943 DetachedfromthisunitandattachedtoHQ165WingforSpecialDuties.TransferredtotheRAFOoncompletionoftheactiveserviceperiodofhisShortServiceCommission.To

03/02/1943 serviceperiodofhisShortServiceCommission.Tobetreatedasw.e.f.dateoftransferasanofficerofthereservecalledforAirForceServiceandtotakecommandprecedenceasatpresent.

05/02/1943 Repostedtothisunitw.e.f.05/02/43tofillSquadronLeaderOpsvacancy.

18/02/1943 DetachedfromthisunitandAttachedasRAFLiaisonOfficer,14thDivision.

08/05/1943 CeasedtobeattachedtoHQ14Divisiononreturntothisunit.08/05/1943 Detachedfromthisunitandattachedto169Wing.22/05/1943 Ceasedtobeattached169Wingonreturntothisunit.

23/05/1943 ArrivedinCalcuttafrom169Wing(WhileinCalcuttainhospitalfrom24/05/43to01/06/1943).

01/06/1943 DischargedfromNo47BGHCalcutta.

08/06/1943 DepartedCalcutta;arrived224GroupChittagongbyair.

10/06/1943 PostedfromthisunittoNo169WingforSquadronLeaderFlyingPost.

With his undoubted experience and, presumably, considerableadministrativeability,Guyseemstohavebecomeoneofthose‘backroomboys’ whose hard work in organising, planning and coordinating airoperations was invaluable at a time when the RAF in India wasreorganisingbutatthesametimeflyingandfightingoverBurmaagainstaJapanesefoethatprovedresilientandcapable.224Group’sORBfor1943show that the group was flying offensive patrols over enemy lines,defending against Japanese raids over their own territory and attackingground and coastal targets throughout the year. InNovember 1943GuywasappointedtoHQofSpecialForce,the‘Chindits’,whooperateddeepbehind enemy lines andwere supplied by air. InMarch 1944Guywaspostedto189WingasSquadronLeader,FlyingOpsandon6Juneto168Wingasofficerinchargeofflying.InAugusthesupervisedthetrainingofThunderboltsquadrons,preparatorytothesquadronsjoiningthewing.On 1October 1944 hewas posted toWingHQ, then to 908WingHQwherehewasstillservingonVJDay.

Excerptfrom224GroupOrdersshowingsomeofGuyMarsland’smovementsin1943.(TNAAIR25/944)

GuyreturnedtoBritainin1946andcontinuedtoserveuntil1958inaseriesofmainlyadministrativeposts.HespentayearattheEmpireRadioSchoolatRAFDebdeninEssex,timeaspartoftheRAFComponentofthe Visual Inter-Services Training and Research Establishment atErlestoke Camp near Devizes which specialised in deception andcamouflageandwasthen,inOctober1948,postedtotheRAFDelegationto Greece. Here the RAF was giving technical and administrativeassistancetotheRoyalHellenicAirForcewhichwasengagedinfightinginsurgents during the Greek Civil War. Originally paid for by Britain,immediatelyaftertheSecondWorldWar,theRHAFwasequippedmainlywithBritishaircraft,thoughbythetimeGuywaspostedtheremostofthefunding was from the Americans who had become responsible foradvising the Greeks on operations. The British Mission mainly gavetechnical advice and training. Though the mentions of Guy in thesurvivingpaperworkarefew,itseemslikelyhewasoneofthesquadronleaders posted to the advanced airfields and he may have flownoccasionally.

ReturningtoBritaininNovember1949,GuyheldvariouspostswithFighterCommandandTechnicalTrainingCommand,thenspenteighteenmonthswithCoastalCommandatRAFCalshotbetweenMarch1952andOctober 1953. He was at the Aircrew Selection Centre at Hornchurchfrom1954to1957andhisfinalpostingin1957wastotheAirMinistry,whereheservedinthedepartmentoftheDirectorGeneral,Manning.Heretiredon1October1958.

ResearchingGuyMarsland–AnotherErrorinaServiceRecord

It’s curious sometimes how things turn up. I had been looking for apreviouslyunresearchedBattleofBritainpilotandwaschattingwithmyDad when he happened to mention that he thought one of his oldgeography teachers, ‘Kiki’ Marsland, had been a Second World Warfighterpilot–andthathe’dseenwhathethoughtwashisnamementionedontheBattleofBritainMemorialatCapel leFerneinKent.SubsequentresearchhasshownthatmyDad’steacherisnotthesameman,butbythistimeIhadthebitbetweenmyteethanddecidedtopressonandfindoutmoreaboutamanwhohadcontinued toserve throughthe1950s, in theperiodwhentheRAFmovedintothejetageandtheatomicbomb.Ineverdidfindoutthetruthaboutmyfather’steacher!

Getting started was very easy. The Battle of Britain has been apopular subject for research for many years and, though I’m alwayscautious about online sources, the first port of call had to be Google.Thankfully, Marsland is not a particularly common name so I simplytyped in Marsland Battle of Britain and received confirmation of hisexistence. The RAF Battle of Britain Roll of Honour athttp://www.raf.mod.uk/history/BattleofBritainRollofHonour.cfmconfirmedthatPilotOfficerGMarslandflewwith245and253Squadronsand a list of RAF Aircrew in the Battle of Britain on Wikipedia athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_RAF_aircrew_in_the_Battle_of_Britainnamed him as Guy Marsland, stating that he was Pilot Officer GuyMarslandof245and253Squadronsandsuggestedthathediedin1983.

AnitemontheBBCWW2People’sWarwebsitesuggestedthatGuyMarsland had later flownwith 136 Squadron as a flight commander inIndia–http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/53/a6784653.shtml.

ThebookMenoftheBattleofBritain–ABiographicalDirectoryof‘The Few’ by Kenneth G Wynn (CCB Associates, second edn, 1999)providedanotherbriefbiography.

Evenbeforeobtaininghis service record itwaspossible to establishthebarebonesofhisRAFcareerusingtheonlineversionoftheLondonGazetteathttp://www.london-gazette.co.uk/search.

With a date of birth and year of death it was a simple exercise tosearch the England andWales Death Index on Ancestry which gave areferenceforhisdeathinJanuarytoMarch1983intheUtterslanddistrict,vol. 9, p. 3755. Using this reference I obtained a copy of his deathcertificate from theGeneralRegisterOffice.With proof of death itwasnowpossibletoobtainpart,atleast,ofGuy’sRAFServiceRecord.ObtainingGuy’sRoyalAirForceServiceRecord

ThebestwaytoobtainaservicerecordforanyonewhoservedintheRAFafter the First World War is via the Veterans Agency website athttp://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/raf.html, which explains therather complex rules and allows you to obtain the necessary SubjectAccess Request form and Certificate of Kinship form. The completedformsshouldbesentto:RAFDisclosuresSection,Room221b,TrenchardHall, RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Linconshire, NG34 8HB; tel: 01400261201, ext 6711, ext 8161/8159 (officers), ext 8163/8168/8170 (other

ranks).You shouldprovideasmanydetailsofyour relativeaspossible,especially their service number (if youhave it), full name, date of birthandrank(ifpossible).

Undertheirrules,ifthepersonhasbeendeadforlessthantwenty-fiveyears and you aren’t next of kin (or have their written permission) theRAF will only provide surname; forename; rank; service number;regiment/corps;placeofbirth;age;dateofbirth;dateofdeathwherethisoccurredinservice; thedateanindividual joinedtheservice; thedateofleaving; good conduct medals (i.e., Long Service and Good ConductMedal (LS&GCM)), any orders of chivalry and gallantry medals(decorations of valour) awarded, some of which may have beenannouncedintheLondonGazette.Afterthisperiod,andif it isheld, theMODwill disclosewithout the requirement for next of kin consent: theunitsinwhichhe/sheserved;thedatesofthisserviceandthelocationsofthoseunits; theranksinwhichtheservicewascarriedoutanddetailsofSecondWorldWarcampaignmedals.

Ancestry suggested Guy Marsland had died in Essex in the firstquarterof1983.Usingacopyofhisdeathcertificate,Iwasabletoobtaindetails of all his postings during his service, which proved to be onlypartly correct. The glaring error, which would have caused no end ofproblems, is the complete absenceof anymentionofhisposting to136Squadron inBurma inFebruary1942– the service record states thathecontinuedwith137Squadronforanothertenmonths!IfIhadn’talreadypickedupfromonlinesourcestheapparentlyreliablefactthathe’dservedinearly1942with136Squadron,itwouldhavemeanttracingbackfrom224GroupORBandforwardfrom137Squadronrecords tofill thegap.ServicerecordsareNOTaninfalliblesource!

When it came to tracing Guy’s combats, knowing that TNA holdsonlinecopiesofRAFcombat reports fromtheSecondWorldWar in itsDiscoverysection,itwassimpletodiscoverthattherewerethreereportsdating fromOctober andNovember 1940. The squadronORBmade nomentionofanyothercombatssoIthinkI’monsolidgroundwiththeonesquoted–thoughitmustbepointedoutthatnotallcombatrecordssurvive.Theonlycombatmentionedforwhich Ican’t (yet) findconfirmation, istheclaimforaJapanesefighteroverAkyabon23March1942whichismentioned in an excellent book, Those Other Eagles by ChristopherShores.MrShores’reputationiswellknownandhe’swellrespectedand

I’mhappytoaccepthisauthorityfortheclaim.Sorting though Guy’s various postings while he was in India and

Burmaprovedatime-consumingtaskandI’mstillnotconvincedthatmyinterpretation is 100 per cent accurate. He moved (often on temporaryattachments)sofrequentlythatonlybyploughingthroughthemovementorders,usuallyenclosedasappendixestotheunitORB,wasitpossibletospothisshortperiod inhospitalandsomeofhisshort-termattachments.These are not recorded on his service record which was compiled inLondon on the basis of the information that reached them from India –obviouslynotallofitdid.

TheairwarintheFarEastisnotaswellservedasperhapsitmightbebutacoupleofbooksproved invaluable.TakeMary to thePictures–AFighterPilotinBurma1941–1945,byAlan‘Kit’Kitley(Coston,2003),paintsavividpictureoflifein136SquadronintheairwaroverBurma.BloodyShambles,byChristopherShores,BrianCullandYasuhoIzawa,isathree-parthistoryoftheairwaroverSouth-EastAsiaandit’sclearthatChristopherShoreswasatonetimeinclosecontactwithGuyMarsland,whoappearsinoneortwophotographs.

E

Chapter6

FROMTHENORTH-WESTFRONTIERTOSINGAPORE,FORTYYEARSINTHERAF–ERNESTEDGARCHAMBERSANDMARY

CRAIGCHAMBERS

rnest Edgar (Jerry) Chambers was born in 1917. He joined the 26thHaltonApprenticeEntryRAFattheageof15inSeptember1932andleftas a Warrant Officer in April 1972, having seen active service on theNorth-West Frontier in the late 1930s and in theMalaya andSingaporedebaclein1942,aswellasservinginIndiaandathomeduringthewar.HemarriedMaryCraigPearson,Women’sAuxiliaryAirForce(WAAF),whileservingatRAFWestDreughandthoughshewasdischargedwhenshe fell pregnantwith their first daughter, she accompanied him on hismany post-war tours abroad, including his final posting, back toSingapore.

Attheageof12JerrydecidedhewantedtojointhejointheRAFasaHalton apprentice.However, coming from Portsmouth andwith parentswhohadanavalbackgroundheencounteredresistance(fromhismotheronly),soattheageof15hetookentranceexamsforapprenticeshipsfortheRN,HMDockyardandRAF.Themoststringentcriteriawas thatoftheRAFentranceexam.ForsomebizarrereasonhecompletelyfailedtheexamsfortheRNandDockyardbutcameinthetopfewforselectionfortheRAF.

The Halton Apprentice Scheme for which Jerry qualified had beenestablishedin1919byChiefoftheAirStaffHughTrenchard.Designedtotake boys straight from school, the three-year course turned out highlyskilledfitters(menwhoworkedonengines)andriggers(menwhoworkedon the airframe). The whole scheme was planned to produce a highlytrained body of educatedmenwho had the potential for a career in theRAF (including the option to become sergeant pilots or reach officerrank). On passing out of Halton the men would sign on for ten years’Regular service, with two years in the Reserve and with the option of

extendingtheirRegularservice.Food,lodgingsandkitwereprovidedfreeand cadets under the age of 18 were paid 1s 6d per day. Apprenticesworked in the classrooms andworkshops fromMonday to Friday,withgames onWednesday afternoon and drills and inspections on Saturdayand church parade on Sunday. Cadets were allowed out of camp onSaturday and Sunday afternoons and on Wednesdays after sports.Collectively (and proudly) the cadetswere known as ‘HaltonBrats’, or‘TrenchardBrats’.

A young Edgar (Jerry) Chambers in the uniform of a Halton apprentice, c. 1933. (PhotographcourtesyofBarbaraChambers)

WhileatHaltonJerrywonaboxingcup(asrunnerup,thefamilystillhaveit)intheinterwingboxingtournamentformosquitoweight.Hewastheonlyoneinhiswinginthatweightcategoryandhisopponentwasaboxer. He didn’t last very long! On completion of his training Jerryworked on Vickers Virginias and Handley Page Harrows with 214SquadronbasedatRAFBoscombeDownand thenRAFScampton thenvolunteeredforserviceoverseas.HewaspostedtoIndiainMarch1938,initiallyto60SquadronbasedatKohatontheNorth-WestFrontier,flyingtheWestlandWapiti,atwo-seaterbiplanemulti-purposeaircraftthathadbeenintroducedinthelate1920s.

At the time of Jerry’s arrival the squadron were taking part in themoreorlessannualairoperationsagainstmilitanttribesmenontheNorth-West Frontier, bombing villages and attacking hostile gatherings oftribesmen.During thisperiodJerrywasapallbearer toacrewwhohadcome down in the tribal areas and was very upset about the mutilatedbodies.

FlightLieutenant (laterAirVice-Marshal)JMCohu(27Squadron),anofficerwhoservedontheNorth-WestFrontierataboutthesametimeasJerry,recalled,in1967,somethingofhisdaysontheFrontier,

FirstplacemustbegiventoatributetotheNCO’sandaircraftmen,the‘otherranks’.Theirlotwasaveryhardoneandyettheservicetheygavewastheverybest…Theirswasatourofdutyuptosevenyearsstraight,withouthomeleave,withouttheirwivesandfamiliesexceptforasmallminority,andwithoutfemalecompanionshipofany sort. In spite of these conditions they gave unstinting serviceand loyaltyat all times…Livingconditionswereonlyasgoodasthetimesandthesituationpermitted.Theheatinthehotseasonwasaburden tobeenduredbyall.Work startedatdawnand finishedabout one pmwhen the temperature was near the hundredmark.Sleep at night under mosquito nets was often difficult, andsometimesahellishwindoffthedesertsentthetemperatureashighas115degreesF.

AttheendofApril1939ErnestwaspostedtotheAirDepot,IndiaatRAF Drigh Road. 60 Squadron was converting to fly the BristolBlenheim.Presumably, thisdetachmentwas to learn thebasicdetails ofservicing the newBlenheims thatwere beginning to arrive in India and

which,with theirmonoplane construction, all-metal skin and retractableundercarriage,were a considerable change from the venerableWestlandWapiti. Following a three-month detachment to Drigh Road, Jerry waspostedto27Squadron,whichwasalsoduetore-equipwithBlenheims,atRisalpur. The first flight of Blenheims over the North-West FrontierProvince took place in August 1939 but on the outbreak of war thesquadronwasorderedtoformthenucleusofaflyingtrainingschoolandmoved to Risalpur, though one flight of Wapitis did serve briefly atBombayoncoastaldutiesbeforereturningtoRisalpurinNovember.

Throughout 1940 the squadron continued in a training role, turningoutpilotsandnavigatorswhotrainedonTigerMothsandHawkerHartsbeforemovingontotheWapiti.InOctober1940thesquadronwasfinallyequippedwithBlenheimsandinearly1941wasorderedtoMalaya.

ColinChambers,Jerry’sson,toldme,

There was a shortfall of Observers, as they were needed for thebomber offensive in Europe. The Squadron were given 4Navigatorsstraightoutoftraining.SquadronLeaderHackett,askedfor ‘selected’ volunteers to temporarily fill the role of navigators.Myfatherwasoneofthosevolunteers.

InFebruary194127SquadronmovedfromIndiatoSingapore,the aircraft flew in 3 flights of 4 aircraft. Each flight had a realnavigator. During the transitmy father’s flight went into a cloudbank&whentheycameoutof theotherend, theywerealone;hethen had to drawon his limited navigational skills. They then hitanothercloudbank&whentheycameoutofitsawoneoftheotherformations&joinedit.

Though the squadron ORB has little information for late 1940 andearly1941, itdoesconfirm thatJerry flew inBlenheimL8621flownbySergeant Pilot Kennedy, which left Risalpur on 13 February 1942 andarrived at Calcutta on the 14th. They then flew on to Akyab and fromthere to Alor Star inMalaya – it was on this leg of the flight that theaircraftranintocloudandlostformation,withacoupleofplanesturningback,thentoMerguiRoadinSingapore.

The squadron was now stationed at the Singapore Civil Airport atKallang.Unfortunately,SquadronLeaderHackettwaskilledatKallangashort time after themove took place, and hewas replaced bySquadron

LeaderFRCFowle.WhileatKallang thesquadron trainedasa fightersquadronusingtheirBlenheimIaircraftandattemptsweremadetotraintheminnightfighting.Colintoldme:

Shortly after arriving in Singapore he [Jerry] was promoted toSergeant.Hethoroughlyenjoyedthisperiodinthebright lightsofSingapore.But itwasmarred by the lossSquadronLeader ‘Sam’Hackett&hiscrew,whentheiraircraftspanintothesea.MyfatheralwaysspokeveryhighlyofSqnLdrHackett&regardedhimasaninspirationalleader.

In May 1941 the squadron moved to Butterworth in Burma’sWellesley Province, a new station still under construction. Here thesquadron carried out a good number of interception exercises but therewere problems with both the operations room which controlled thesquadron from the ground and with wireless communication with theairborneaircraft.Therewerealsoexercisesinformationflyingandairtogroundcooperationwiththe4thInfantryDivision.Colinsays:

InMay27SquadronmovednorthtoButterworthnearPenang,theairfield was still under construction& the accommodation was aformer lepercolony. Itwasquiteapleasant locationadjacent toalongsandybeach.ThisallchangedinAugustwhentheSqnmovedagain,thistimetoSungeiPataniwhichwasyetanotherunfinishedairfield with limited infrastructure, in a clearing carved out of arubberplantationinthemiddleofnowhere,neartheThaiborder.Inlate November 21 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)moved up from Sembawang in Singapore to join 27 at SungeiPatani.TheAustralianswerenotimpressedwiththeirnewhome&relation ships between the two squadrons were not good. In myfather’swords‘wehadcarvedourdispersalsoutofthejungle,buttheywerequitehappyto lineup theirAircraft forphotoshoots&waitforthelocalstocreatesomedispersalsforthem’.

21SquadronRAAFbroughtwiththemBuffalofightersandbyearlyDecemberthetwosquadronsweresettledin.Onthenight7/8DecembernewscamethroughthattheJapanesehadbombedSingapore(ataboutthesame time as they’d attacked Pearl Harbor) and that landings werereported at Kota Bahru. On the morning of 8 December the squadron

mounteditsfirstoperationalsortie,bombingandstrafingJapaneselandingcraft at Kota Bahru. Finding few targets, the main Japanese force ofcruiser, several destroyers and eight transports having sailed north, theyreturned to Sangei Patani. On their return they discovered that theaerodromehadbeenbadlybombed.

A report by Wing Commander W F Allshorn, written in 1946,describes theraidfromthepointofviewof21Squadron(RAAF).TheywerewarnedthathostilitieswithJapanhadcommencedat0130hourson8 December and that the Japanese were bombing Singapore. SquadronLeader Fowle, Station Commander, conferred with Allshorn and theseniorflightcommanderof27SquadronanditwasdecidedtopreparetheBuffalos for defensive and reconnaissance work at dawn. As a result,twelveaircraftwerepreparedandreadyat0630hoursandthecrewswerebriefed with the limited information available. Squadron Leader Fowlepersonallytookoverthestationoperationsroom.

At 0700 hours Fowle telephoned the 21 Squadron (RAAF) briefingroomtoadvisethattwoenemyaircraftwereapproachingandorderedthatone section was to stand by and await instructions. Two aircraft werewarmedupby theground staff.At0710 fiveaircraft in close formationweresightedalmostoverheadat11,000ft.Acalltotheopsroomreceivedtheinstructionto‘standbyforfurtherinstruction’.Simultaneously,the21SquadronpilotsrealisedtheplaneswereJapaneseMitsubishi97Bombersand dashed for their aircraft. Allshorn recalls, ‘As the 12 pilots wereputtingonparachutesandtheaircraftwerebeingwarmedIlookeduptoseeastickofbombsleavetheenemyformationandIrealisedthatitwastoo late to takeoff’.Under orders fromAllshornmost of the pilots andground crew took cover, though the two pilots who were already withtheir aircraft managed to take off. Some thirty-five or forty bombs fellamong, or close to, the aircraft on the stand-by (they had not beendispersed and were lined up close together) and another stick hit thestationHQ(killingtwooperatorsanddestroyingstationcommunications)andasmallfueldump.Asixteen-strongpartyoffemaleChineseworkerswere all killed. Of the twelve stand-by aircraft, seven were renderedunserviceableby fireorbombfragments.The twoBuffalos thathadgotairborne returned having attempted to attack the Japanese, only to findtheir guns did not function. They landed between the bomb craters.Presumably,at somepointafter this, theBlenheims returning from their

attackatKotaBahrualsolanded.At 1045 hours a formation of fifteen or so aircraft was seen

approaching from the samedirectionat about12,000ft.Allshorn recalls,‘StationOperationsRoomController,SquadronLeaderFowl[sic],againrefusedtoallow21Squadronaircraft totakeoffonrequest.’Twosticksofbombsweredropped;onehitanddestroyedalargepetroldumpandtheotherdamagedthebarracksaswellasfurtherdamagingtheairfielditself,almost prohibiting it from further use. 27 Squadronmust have sufferedcasualties in this attack as both it and 21 Squadron (RAAF)were laternotedashavingonlyfourserviceableaircraftleftattheendofthedayandthat morale among the squadron personnel was badly affected. Again,Allshornrecalls,‘Theirhelplessnessonthescantilyprotectedaerodromesin the face of severe and constant bombing and machine gun attacks,duringwhichaircraftwereremorselesslydestroyedwithout replacement,haditsdueeffect.’Thelocal labourersontheairfielddefectedenmasseand rumours of disasters in the land fightingwere circulating.An armyintelligence officer was subsequently arrested and sent to SingaporechargedwithprovidingtheJapanesewith informationabout theairfieldswhich it was thought had allowed them to bomb the airfield soopportunely, and with circulating the rumours. According to JerryChambers, the casualties to 21 Squadron RAAF planes were causedbecausetheywerestilllinedupontheaerodromeandnoattempthadbeenmadetodispersethem.

Asaconsequenceoftheattacks,bothsquadrons,withtheirpersonnel,werewithdrawn toButterworth,whereproblemswithmorale continued.Allshorn recalls, ‘Therewas no seniorRAF officer at Butterworthwithsufficient weight to take control and there was no doubt that somepersonnelgotoutofhand.Itshouldbemadeclear,however,thatlossofmoraleappliedonly topersonnelevacuated fromSungeiPataniviz.Nos21 (F) (RAAF) and27 (NF)Squadrons, particularlyno21.’ACourt ofEnquirywasconvenedtoinvestigatethecircumstancesandapreliminaryreportsubmitted,whichwassubsequentlylost.AfterthewarthePresidentoftheCourt,GroupCaptainMcCauley(RAAF),recalledthatthegeneralfindingswerethat‘whiletheplanningandcontroloftheevacuationwasnotuptothedesiredstandardandtherewaslackofcoordinationbetweenSquadron and Station Commanders, the evidence did not reveal anyinstancewheredisciplinaryactionwascalledforagainstanyindividual’.

AccordingtoJerry,theAustraliansevacuatedwithoutordersfromthestation commander (who complained that they’d ‘buggered off’) takingalmostallthemotorisedtransport,includingthefuelbowsers,withthem.Atthisstage27SquadronstillhadtwelveBlenheims(onetwinsickeronsticks), eleven aircraft in various states of disrepair with one Blenheimlost(thisaircraftwaslostwhenthesergeantpilotattemptedtotakeofftointerceptthesecondraidandwashitbyabombontake-off).27SquadronwasthenorderedtowithdrawtoButterworthbyNorgroup.TheaircraftonstickswasdestroyedasitwasunrecoverableinthetimescaleavailableandelevenBlenheimsthenflewsouthtoButterworth.

AccordingtoColin,

My Father and a few ‘selected’ men were then sent to the localtown to ‘requisition’ transport to replace that acquiredby21Sqn.AllofthepartyweregivenTommyguns,whichnoneofthemknewhowtouse,whichwasfortunateastheyhadnoammo.Onreturntobasewith said vehicles, hewas deemed to be a natural leader ofmen.(AtthispointitneedstomentionedthatmyDadwasnottheEngineering Officer’s favourite.) He was selected to run a rearparty.Havingbrought thevehiclesback toSungeiPatani, theSqngroundcrewmovedsouth,withtheexceptionofarearparty(GuessWho),whowerelefttorecoversparesetc.

27SqnarrivedatButterworthwith11Blenheims.81Repair&Salvageunitmovednorth&withtherearpartyof27,recoveredasmanysparesastheycouldinthevehiclesavailable&destroyedtherest. They then moved south to Butterworth, when they arrivedthere,theairfieldhadbeenhitby2raids,whichhadreduced27Sqnto4aircraft.21SquadronRAAFhadalready leftsouthbound,butforsomeinexplicablereasonhadforgottenfouroftheiraircraft.

TheseBuffaloesweremadeflyable&refuelledby81R&SU&27Sqnrearparty.Theythenhadtofind4Blenheimpilotstoflythemsouth.Thepilotswereamix&matchof27&61SqnandmyfathersaidoneofthemwashisfriendJockKennedy(bythistimeaFlightSergeant).Theyhad limited infoon theaircraft, theyknewhow to retract the undercart, but not how to get it down again. 4BuffaloesweresuccessfullyflownfromButterworth toSingapore,with their undercart down all the way (probably arriving before

theirintendedpilots,whohadchosentoleavebyroad).

Over the next couple of days 27 Squadron flew few patrols overWellesleyProvince.Inabriefletterfromapilotin27Squadronin1942itisrecordedthat,‘theBlenheimfighterwaslittlematchfortheNavyZerosorArmy 97’s. Fortunately, casualtieswere light althoughmany aircraftwerelostontheground.AttemptsweremadetoescortBlenheimMkIV’son raids overSiam,with in-different success.’ (AIR27/5578– ‘Malayaoperations1941–1942:fighteroperations’).

On12Decemberthesquadron,whichhadnoserviceableaircraftandprobablyonlyfiveairworthyones,wasorderedtoTengehaerodromeonSingapore island where it was absorbed into the Bomber Pool. On 15DecemberthesquadronwasmovedtoKallang,thefighteraerodromeforSingaporewhereitwasre-formedintoanight-fightersquadron(accordingto Jerry Chambers, by the simple expedient of painting them black).Japanese night raids were achieving little damage but were a constantnuisance. The squadron hadmanaged to get fiveBlenheims serviceablebuttheyhadnosuccessduetothepoorperformanceoftheaircraft.

Between 23 and 27 January 1942 the main body of 27 Squadronpersonnel were evacuated by ship to Sumatra, leaving behind a smallaircrafthandlingpartyfortheremainingBlenheims.ThiswasheadedbyJerry Chambers, who was chosen for the role by his ‘best mate’, theengineering officer. Colin explained, Group Captain Frank Eric Watts(whosedateofdeathisgiven,perhapsmistakenly,as4February1942)iscommemoratedontheSingaporeMemorialatKranjiWarCemetery.

AlloftherecoverableaircraftatKallangweresorted&therestof27SquadronthenleftforSumatra.MyfatherthentookhisteamtoTengahontheNorthofSingaporeisland&offeredhisservicestothe Station Commander. Group Captain ‘Poppa’ Watts. He wentstraighttotheStationcommandereventhoughhewasaveryyoungSergeant, because he had seen breakdowns in the chain ofcommandoverthepreviousmonths.Atatimewhenlargenumbersof RAF personnel were leaving at speed, he and his men wererepairing damaged aircraft that were subsequently flown toSumatra.PoppaWattswas thereseveral timeseveryday tocheckupontheirneeds.

At thebeginningof the2ndweekofFeb1941,myDadwent

back to Poppa Watts & told him that they had recovered everyaircraft they could. He was thanked & told that He & his menwouldbeonthenextshiptoSumatra.Hiswordwashisbond&Ibelieve shortly after this PoppaWatts shot himself as he did notwanttobetakenprisoner.Myfatherwasguttedwhenhefoundoutsomeyearslaterwhathadhappened.

By 10 February the situation in Singapore had become critical. TheAssistantAirOfficer Commanding,AirVice-MarshalMaltby,was sentby air to Sumatra to take command of the RAF units there. Air Vice-Marshal Pulford also ordered the evacuation of all remaining RAFpersonnelandthisbeganthenextday.Aerodromesurfaceswereploughedup and asmuch equipment that could not be evacuated as possiblewasdestroyed or rendered useless. On 13 February, having ensured theevacuation of as many RAF personnel as he could, Air Vice-MarshalPulfordattemptedtoreachSumatrabyseabutdiedintheattempt.On15FebruarySingaporesurrendered.Colinrecalls,

OnarrivalatPalembang,myfathertookhisteamtoP2[anairfieldbelieved to be unknown to the Japanese], when he arrived at theairfield he bumped into Jock Kennedy, who told him that thesquadronwasabouttowithdrawtoJava&thattheywerearrangingarearpartytoheadnorthtoMedan,torefuel&rearmreplacementaircraft coming from India (which never arrived). Jock Kennedysaid tomy father, I suggest you takeyourmenback into theUlu(Jungle)&comebackinacoupleofhours,otherwiseit’sgoingtobeyoulotagain.Myfatherdidaswassuggested&saidthathefeltawfulabout thosewhoweresentNorth,buthisresponsibilitywasforhismenwhobeenabandonedbytheSquadroninSingapore.

WhenhereappearedatP2,themenhadbeensentNorth&he& his men joined the Squadron moving south to Ooesthaven bytrain,mostlyonflatbeds.WhatwasleftoftheSquadronweresentfromoneairfieldtoanother&someattackswerecarriedout,whichwhittledawaytheremainingaircraft.Theremnantsof27werethenordered towithdraw toTjilitjap, on the south coast of Java to beevacuated.Whentheyarrivedthere,theportwasinastateofchaos.Therewasanembryonicembarkationunit,butinsufficientshipstoevacuateallthepersonnel.

On26February,asmanyRAFpersonnelascouldbecrammedaboardwere evacuated from Java on the vessel Khota Gede, bound forFreemantleinWesternAustralia.Thosewhogotaplaceweredeterminedby a very draconian system of ‘how long will it take to train yourreplacement’.Aircrewandfitters(dependingonseniorityandexperience)weregivenaplace.Otherswereleftbehind,witharepresentativenumberofofficersofalllevels.ThoseleftbehindwereeventuallyroundedupbytheJapaneseandspent (those thatsurvived) theremainderof thewarasPOWs.

Theconvoysetsailandheadedsouth-west.Duringthefirstnight,theRAFofficersonboard spoke to theCaptainandconvincedhim that thepersonnel on board were needed in India to fight the next Japaneseoffensive. Another airman, who also escaped on the Khota Gede,describedthevoyage,andthisisfeaturedontheBBCWW2People’sWarwebsite,

Wefoundourselvesonthe‘KotaGede’–‘BigFort’inMalay–atramp streamer of some 2500 tons, with room, perhaps for 6passengers.What a bastion she was to the 2000 or more airmencrammed aboard her for the next nine days. She did not havefacilitiestocopewiththelargenumberonboardbuttherewerenocomplaints.ThecaptainwasFredrickGoos,thecrewmixedoneofDutchandIndonesians.

Twoqueuesstretchedrightroundtheship,oneforwardandoneafttwiceadayformealsofbullybeefandstew.Theonly‘plates’wereslicesofbreadand‘cups’weretincans.Therewastheluxuryofbreadandricepuddingduringtheearlypartofthevoyage.Theonlyfreshwaterwasforcooking.

There were a number of deaths on board, the bodies beingslippedintotheseaafterafewwordsfromthepadre.Tokeepoutof the lanes of Japanese bombers and submarines the CaptainsteeredSSWuntilSunday1MarchwhenhechangedtoNNW.HehadbeenorderedtosailinconvoystyletoAustraliabuthedecidedto head for Ceylon. At the end of the war Captain Goos wasexpectingtobecourt-martialledbutwhenthefactswereknownhewas decorated for having saved his ship and at least 2000servicemen.

AtColombo inCeylonwe transferred to the ‘Dunera’,hopingwewere returning to theUK but in fact arriving inBombay andthenKarachi.

AgainstorderstheCaptainsetsailacrosstheIndianOceanandarrivedatColomboinearlyMarchwith2,500well-trained,battle-experiencedaircrewandgroundcrew.

Mary Pearson (fourth from left, front row) on her initial training course, 1941. (PhotographcourtesyofBarbaraChambers)

Sergeant Chambers was posted immediately to No. 28 Squadron, aLysander squadron thatwas reformingatLahorehaving lostmostof itsaircraftintheretreatthroughBurma.Formostof1942thesquadronwasbasedon theNorth-WestFrontier, takingpart inarmyexercises. InJuly1942JerrywaspostedbacktoBritainand,onhisreturnon8August,waspostedtoaflyingtrainingschoolatRAFHullavingtonandthentoNo.4AirObserverSchoolatRAFWestFreugh,nearStranraer,partofNo.29GroupofFlyingTrainingCommand.

JerryChambersasSergeantFitter.(PhotographcourtesyofBarbaraChambers)

Asasergeantfitter(hewaspromotedtoflightsergeantinDecember1944), Jerrywas in chargeof themaintenanceof aircraft in aparticularhangar,withasquadoffittersandriggersunderhim.HeremainedatWestFreughuntiltheendofthewar,thoughitwasrenamedNo.4(Observer)AdvancedFlyingUnit.Itwasherethathemethisfuturewife,Mary.

MaryCraigPearsonwasbornon2December1920atDunbar,EastLothian.She’d enlisted (shewasnot a conscript) into theWAAFon17June1941givinghercivilianoccupationasshopassistant.AfterherbasictrainingandaspellatNo.1MotorTransportSchool,Blackpool,thentheEquipmentTrainingSchool(Airmen)whereshewastaughthertrade,shewaspostedtoRAFWestFreugh.Hereshewasanequipmentassistantinservicingstores,handingoutsmallpartsforaircraftpartsandhadtoknowwhat the parts were, not just their numbers. She also had to make outvouchersforlargerparts,getthemsignedbythesquadronleaderandsenttothemaintenanceunit.IfanaeroplanewasheldupwaitingforpartsthevoucherhadtohaveAOGonit(‘AircraftonGround’).ShealsomadetheteafortheseniorNCOsinchargeofthedifferenthangars–whichwasnotpartofherjob,buttheyallcongregatedtherefortheirtea.TherewasanairmanwhoworkedwithhercalledMac,whoranerrands,collectedpartsfrom main stores and who she sent to scrounge the tea from thecookhouse.SquadronLeaderLindleywasinchargeandveryprotectiveof‘hisWAAF’.IfMarywasgoinghomefortheweekend,hewouldringuptheguardroomontheFridaytosaythatshewouldbeleavingearlysoshecouldmakeher trainconnections–youweren’tsupposed to leavecampbefore5pm.

Groupshotof themaintenancecrewatRAFWestFreugh.MaryPearson is far left,bottomrowand Jerry Chambers is seated sixth from right, second row. (Photograph courtesy of BarbaraChambers)

The authorities had no problem with an NCO and a leadingaircraftswomancourting,but,asdaughterBarbaratellsme,‘aftertheyhadbeengoingout for awhileDadwascalled in to see theWAAFOfficerwho asked him if his intentionswere honourable’. Theymarried at theAbbeyChurch inDunbaron18September1944andcontinued toworktogether. On 2 April 1945 Mary was given a compassionate dischargefromtheWAAFbecauseshewaspregnantwithdaughterBarbara.Mary’sservice record shows that she had consistently been graded as ‘VeryGood’ in terms ofCharacter and ‘Superior’ in Trade Proficiency. TheirmarriagecontinuedhappilyuntilJerry’sdeathon9April1995withMary(and growing family) following Jerry on his many postings abroad.Daughter Barbara tells me, ‘She definitely thinks having been in theservicemade it easier as she knewwhat to expect, and before they gotmarriedDadtoldherthattheremightbetimeswhentheairforcehadtocomefirst.’

Jerry and Mary’s wedding at the Abbey Church, Dunbar, 18 September 1944. (PhotographcourtesyofBarbaraChambers)

WiththeendofthewarinEuropeJerrystayedatWestFreughforawhile with the Care and Maintenance Party then was posted to 57Maintenance Unit. In 1946 he was posted to 615 Squadron RoyalAuxiliaryAir Force at BigginHill and in 1949 to 502 SquadronRoyalAuxiliaryAirForce.

In1951hewaspostedtotheMiddleEastAirForce,toRAFFayidinEgypt. This was a troubled period in Egypt, with anti-British riots.DaughterBarbararecalls,

Mum,JillandIhadquiteanadventurewhenwewentouttoEgypt.WesailedintheEmpressofAustralia in1951,butwhilewewereenroutetherewastroubleinEgypt.AfterwehadlandedthetroopsandferriedsomemorefromCyprus,we,plussomeofthefamiliesalready thereweresenthomeagainon thesameship. Itmade thepathenewsandnewspaperswhenwelandedbackatLiverpool.WeeventuallywentoutagainontheEmpireFoweyinDecember1952andhadChristmasonboard.

Part of the Care andMaintenance Party at RAFWest Freugh, 1945. (Photograph courtesy ofBarbaraChambers)

After two-and-a-half years’ service abroad Jerry (who had alreadyextendedhisoriginaltwelveyears’servicebyanadditionaltwelveyears)servedat home in a seriesof flying training schools including2FTSatRAFHullavingtonand7FTSatRAFValleyonAnglesey.In1958hewasposted to RAFWildenrath inWest Germany where 88 Squadron wereequippedwithCanberrajetlightbombersand17SquadronwithCanberrareconnaissance aircraft. Though he’d originally trained on propeller-driven radial engine aircraft, Jerry had retrained on jet engines in 1955.Being,as itwere,onthefront linein theColdWar,exerciseswereheldregularly involving sudden alerts and simulated raids against Britain totest the fighter defences. The station ORB mentions many of these indetail, including Operation Flashback, in September 1960, when thestationwasassumedtohavebeenthetargetofanatomicbombatthestartoftheexercise,

The atomic strike provided an excellent opportunity to fullyexercise theDamageControlUnit and theopportunitywas seizedalmost avidly by the Directing Staff to provide some difficultsituations. These ranged from the destruction of all messingfacilitiesonthestationtodespatchingabodyofmentodisposeofagroupofsaboteursetcatanearbyrailwaystation.Theseactivitieswere played out against the continual background of clickingGeiger Counters etc as radiological monitoring teams roamed farandwidearoundthestation.

ItwasalongwayfrompursuingtribaltroublemakersontheNorth-WestFrontier!

JerrywasinGermanyforthreeyearsbeforeanotherspell inBritain,onceagainpostedtoflyingtrainingschools,beforebeingpostedtoRAFNearEastAirForcebasedonCyprusbutalsocoveringtheRAFinLibya.HeservedfirstatRAFElAdeminwhatwasthentheKingdomofLibya.Situated near Tobruk, it does not seem to have been a popular posting,locatedasitwasontheedgeofthedesert.ForJerryandMaryitmaynothavebeensobad–BarbaraChambersrecalls that ‘WheninLibya, theydidnotliveatElAdem,butinabungalowinTobrukamongtheLibyanpeople.TherewasaCaptainandhisfamilyfromtheKing’sGuardlivingin the adjoining bungalowwho theywere friendlywith andKing Idris’palacewas just down the road.’ElAdem’s rolewasmainly as a transit

pointforflightstoCyprus,theSudanandpointsEastandaformerairmanpostedthereataboutthesametimeasJerryrecallsonhiswebsite,

Thismoreoften thannotwas a refuelling stopor a crew slippingpoint, Britannias from 99/511 Squadron, Comets from 216squadron,Hastingsfrom24and36Squadrons,ArgosiesfromRAFBenson, Shackletons from various stations, Beverleys, VulcanssomewithBlueSteelbombsonboard,Hunters,Javelinsandthelistisalmostendlessincludingcivilianaircraft,severalofwhichwouldbecarryingpilgrimstotheHajatMecca.Somehoworotherwehadto turn this little lot round to see them on their next leg of theirjourney,wewereallspecialistsinourownfield,therewasalwayssomeone that had worked on one of the kites that would comethroughandiftherewasa‘snag’[technicalproblem]thatsomeonedidn’t know we could always ask the Flight Engineer or consultwiththe‘bible’theAirPublicationforthataircraft.

GroupphotographtakenatRAFElAdem,Libya.(PhotographcourtesyofBarbaraChambers)

After ayear inLibya Jerrywasposted toRAFAkrotiri, onCyprus,with 73 Squadron, another Canberra squadron. The service recordmentions a brief, two-month attachment to RAF Tengeh in Malaya,possibly connected with the basing there of 9 Squadron’s Vulcanbombers, which passed throughAkrotiri on their way East as part of adeterrent force against Indonesian aggression in the area. After a briefspell at RAF Hal Far on Malta and more time with 73 Squadron onCyprus, Jerry returned to Britain in December 1966 to serve at RAFLynehaminWiltshire.

For his final posting before taking retirement Jerry was offered theposting of his choice. He chose Singapore and spent four happy yearstherebeforereturningtoBritain.SonColinwaswithhimandrecallsonefinal, poignant memory, ‘In 1968 My Dad was posted to Changi inSingapore, the following year we went to Kranji Cemetery. My fatherstaredatthewallwithallthenamesofthosewhohaddiedasPOWs.MyMotherpulledmetooneside;itwasthefirst timeIhadseenmyFathercry.’

Jerry finally retired from theRAFwhenhewas55, in1972,havingextendedhisserviceyetagain.InhiscareerhewasawardedtheGeneralServiceMedalwithBarfortheNorth-WestFrontier,thePacificStar,the1939–45 Medal, the Defence Medal and the Long Service and GoodConductMedal.

ResearchingJerryandMaryChambers

ThoughJerrydiedin1995,Maryisstillaliveandwasabletoobtainherownservicerecordand,asJerry’snextofkin,hisrecordtoo.Bothwerecompleteand freeofcharge (fordetailsofobtainingservice records seeChapter5).

Forthemostparttheservicerecordsareclear,butinJerry’scasethereare problems for parts of his service during 1942 and 1943. Hismovementsfortheperiodafter27SquadronwenttoMalayaareunclear.Giventhecircumstancesthisishardlysurprising,butevenafterhisreturntoIndiathere’snomentionofhispostingto28Squadron.Happily,he’dmentionedittohissonColin,whopassedtheinformationontomeand,inthe Appendices to 28 Squadron’s ORB (AIR 27/235) there is a list ofgroundcrewwhichincludeshisname.

Fortheperiodwith27SquadronitselfonewouldnormallyturntothesquadronORB–unfortunatelyforhistorians,latereventsmeantthatsomeportions for theperiodwere lost, leavinggaps that read: ‘These recordswere destroyed at Singapore when the Squadron was lost. A newSquadronwasformedinSeptember1942inIndia.’

Fortunately, theRAFcompiledreportsafter thewar,drawingon thememories of surviving participants and the limited available records.Some of thememories slightly contradict others (hardly surprising afterfiveyearsofwar)butitispossibletotracethegeneralmovementsofthesquadronandconfirm,generally,thestoriesColinprovidedme.Certainly,I’ve seen nothing that contradicts anything that Jerry told him and I’mhappy to trust the stories. Records used include AIR 20/5578: ‘Malayaoperations 1941–1942: fighter operations’;AIR 23/2123: ‘Operations oftheR.A.F.duringthecampaignsinMalayaandNetherlandsEastIndies:report byAirVice-Marshal P.C.Maltby’; AIR 29/804: ‘REPAIRANDSALVAGE UNITS No. 81 Seletar and Kluang’; AIR 20/12344: ‘Java:variousoperations;AIR20/2117:Singapore:airdefence’.

ForJerry’spost-warsquadronsandstationstheORBsareinAIR27(forsquadrons)andAIR28seriesasforhisSecondWorldWarservice.The stationORB forElAdem, for example, is inAIR28/1575 and theORBfor73SquadronisinAIR27/2950,AIR27/2951andAIR27/3101.

Onebrightpoint about Jerry’s later career, reaching, as it does, intotheearly1970s,isthenumberofwebsitesthathavebeensetupbyRAF

veteranswhoservedinthesamesquadronsoronthesamebases.ForRAFElAdem, for example, there’s an interestingwebsite createdby anotherRAF man who served there at http://splash-down2.tripod.com/theroyalairforce/id6.html.

L

Chapter7

ANAUSTRALIANAIRGUNNERWITHBOMBERCOMMAND–VICTORCHARLES

REID

arge numbers of foreigners served with the RAF during the SecondWorld War, including thousands from the Empire. One was VictorCharlesReid,agrazierfromNewSouthWales(NSW),whoflewthirty-onemissionswith15SquadronandwasawardedtheDistinguishedFlyingCross.Heparticipated in theBattle ofBerlin, thedisastrousNurembergraidandattacksoverFrance.

Bornon7December1914atTriamble,NSW,Vicvoluntarilyenlisted(theGovernmentcouldonlyconscriptmenforHomeService)inSydneyon28March1942.HejoinedtheRoyalAustralianAirForce(RAAF)atNo. 2RecruitmentCentre in Sydney ‘for the duration of thewar and aperiodoftwelvemonthsthereafter’.

ANovember1939agreementhadestablishedtheEmpireAirTrainingSchemewherebybasictrainingwascompletedinAustraliabeforepostingfor service with the RAF or RAAF. The RAAF established 2 airnavigation schools, 3 air observers schools, 3 bombing and gunneryschools,12ElementaryFlyingTrainingSchools,6 initial flying trainingschools and 8 service flying training schools. A further 7 schools oftechnical training and other specialised technical schools instructedgroundcrewsinthemaintenanceofaircraftandequipment.Vicwasoneof 15,746Australians who saw service with the RAF; a further 11,641servingwithRAAFsquadrons.

SergeantVicReid,RAAF.(CourtesyofMartynFord-Jones)

VicwasimmediatelypostedtoNo.2InitialTrainingSchoolatRAAFBradfieldParkatLindfield,NSW.Herehereceivedhisbasictrainingandassessments and was considered good enough for aircrew so receivedsometraininginnavigationandaerodynamics.On8Junehewaspostedto 2WirelessAirGunnery School at Parkes,NSW, then to 2BombingandAirGunnerySchoolatPortPirie,SouthAustralia,on12December1942. He qualified as an air gunner and was promoted to temporarysergeant. After nearly three months’ training he was posted to No. 2Embarkation Depot back at Bradfield Park for his final medical andkittingout,thentoNo.1EmbarkationDepotatAscotVale,Melbourne,tosailtoBritain.

Arriving in Britain in April 1943 he was first posted to No. 11Personnel Despatch and Reception Centre (PDRC) at Brighton andCharmy Down, a centre especially created for RAAF arrivals anddepartures.Hewasthereuntil4May1943whenhewaspostedtoNo.26OperationalTrainingUnittocommencehisoperationaltraining.Hereheflew 86 hours inWellingtonBombers on training exerciseswhere eachcrewmemberwouldlearntheirindividualroleaspartoftheteam.AsanairgunnerVicwouldhavelearnedmoreaboutgunturrets,machinegunsandhowtokeepwatchforattackingenemyaircraft.

In early August Vic was posted to 1651 Conversion Unit to bespecifically trained in flying Stirling Bombers and after a month wasposted to 620 Squadron, a Stirling squadron that had been involved innight-bombing operations throughout the summer. He was there only afortnightbeforebeingpostedto1657ConversionUnit.

After six weeks, on 4 November 1943, Vic was posted to 15Squadron,aRegularbombersquadronwithafinetraditiongoingbacktotheFirstWorldWar.IthadsufferedterriblecasualtiesinMay1940flyingBlenheims,attackingtheGermanadvanceintoBelgiumandHolland.Re-equippingwithWellingtonBombers,thenwiththefour-enginedStirling,they’dtakenpartintheThousandBomberraidtoCologneinMay1942.They’dflownmoreraids thananyotherStirlingsquadronand(with218Squadron) had suffered the heaviest casualties. In December 1943 thesquadronwas stooddownwhile it re-equipped again, this timewith theLancasterBomber.Vic,whowasnowaflightsergeant,wasassignedasacrewmembertoFlightSergeantAlanAmies(pilot)asMidUpperGunnerandwasjoinedbytwomenwho’dbeenat620Squadronwithhim,Flight

Sergeant Eddy Orchard as Rear Gunner and Flight Sergeant Richard‘Basher’HearneasFlightEngineer.

Theirfirstoperationalraid(andfirstLancasterraidforthesquadron)was against Brunswick on 14 January 1944. A dozen aircraft from 15Squadronwere assigned to the raid, thoughonly nine took part inwhatwasnotagreatsuccess,mostof thebombsfalling inopencountry.Thesquadron ORB records the crew’s experience: ‘Cloud over target.Skymarkersbombed.Neitherflakorfightersgaveanytrouble,but4000lbbombbroughtbackduetofailureinelectricalcircuit.’AweeklatertheyattackedMagdeburgaspartofa648aircraftraid,thefirstonthistarget.Once again there was little damage to the town, in part because someaircraftarrivedbeforethePathfindersandattackedontheirowninitiative.Some aircraft continued to bomb the fires caused, thoughAmies’ crewreported ‘5/10 clouds over target. Ground visible, but sky markersattacked.Onebigexplosionseen,greenincolour.Littleopposition.’Thelastpartiscurious,asBomberCommandsufferedtheirheaviestcasualtiesof thewar so far but possibly this reflects the isolation of each aircraftwhichcouldonlyreportthetinybitofthebattlethatwasitsown.Flying,notinformation,butaspartofabomberstream,itwasquitepossibletoflyanentireoperationandscarcelyseeanotheraircraft.

On30 January the crewmade their first raidonBerlin, theGermancapital and repeated target for Bomber Command. The city had beenattacked two nights before and fifteen times before that since August1943.Thoughextensivedamagehadbeendoneandhundredsofcasualtiescaused, the air defences were still functioning well. The target wascompletely clouded over and the aircraft were dependent upon thePathfinders to locate andmark the target. Amies’ crew noted the thickcloudand‘Bombedskymarkers,butresultsdifficulttosee.Spooffighterflareswereseen.Bytheglowonthecloudsresultsshouldbegood.’

A fortnight later they were briefed for another Berlin raid (15February)but jettisonedsomeof theirbomb loadand turnedbackwhentherearturretfailed.Onthe19ththeyattackedLeipzigrecording,‘10/10cloudobscuredtarget,butTIs&skymarkersweregoodandbombedthelatter.Routemarkerswerealsogood.Smallglowbeneathcloudindicatedfires.’15SquadronwaspartofNo.3BomberGroupandthegroupreportontheraidsays,‘Thiswasanotherattackthrough10/10thscloudwhich,inspiteofthenumberofcrewsarrivingveryearly,owing,apparently,to

allowingforawindthatwasnon-existent,ononeofthelegs,turnedouttobequiteagoodattack.’Whatevertheresultoftheraid,itwasanotherbadnightforBomberCommand,losing79aircraftoutof921sorties(notallagainstLeipzig)mostlytoGermannightfighterswhogotintothebomberstreamearly.

On20FebruarythetargetwasthesouthernGermanindustrialcityofStuttgart, thecrewreporting,‘Cloudwas7/10overtarget.Bombedgoodconcentration of skymarkers. Fires visible through gaps in cloud& onebig explosion seen at 0413 hrs. Results appeared to be good.’ The raidreportdoesn’tmentionanattackontheaircraftonthereturnjourney.ThecombatreportsubmittedbyAmiesdescribestheattack,

Ouraircraftwasonthehomewardjourney,whenthecaptainsawaMe.110climbingtoattackontheportbeam,rangeabout250yds.Heimmediatelyput thenosedownandturnedintotheattack,andfour bursts of tracer from the attacking aircraft passed over thetailplanesofouraircraft.Theenemyaircraftthenturnedandbrokeaway on the port quarter, the rear gunner getting in a burst justbeforetheE/Awaslost.Noclaims.Roundsfiredfromrearturret–50.

No.3Groupwaspleasedwiththeresultoftheraid,saying,

Theattackonthistargetturnedouttobemoresuccessfulthanthefirst impressions indicated.The attackwas carried out over cloudthat varied between 3/10ths and 10/10ths. The sky markers andmarkerbombswerewellplaced,resulting in thecentreof thecityreceivingdamage,while themainweightof the attack fell on theindustrialsuburbs.This,foralongtime,hasbeenthemostelusivetargetandconsiderablechagrinhasbeenfeltthattheBoschWorksand the Daimler Benz Factory had previously escapedcomparativelylightly.Atlastthesetwoworkshavebeenhitbadly,and it is expected that their recovery will be slow and a painfulthorninthesideofGermanWarProductionChiefs.

On24FebruarythetargetwastheSchweinfurtballandrollerbearingfactories, the destruction of which, 3 Group commented, ‘would havecatastrophic effects on theHun’s aircraft and tank production’. Thoughthe crew’s report says, ‘Good visibility with a ground mist made it

possible to see firesburningwell, and it couldbe seen100miles away.Bombed Red TIs, which were in good concentration, and routemarkersweregood’,3Groupwerelessimpressedsaying,‘Thebombingwasnotofahighorder,thoughsomeconcentrationwasachievedintheverysmallbuiltuparea.Theusualfieldshoweverreceivedmorethantheirshareofbombs–buttheycantakeit!’

On1March15SquadronwasbackoverStuttgart,whichwascoveredwith10/10cloudwithfewbreaks.Thoughbombingwasscattered,muchdamagewasdonetothecity’simportantmotorworks.On22Marchthesquadron attacked Frankfurt as part of a raid by 816 aircraft. The crewreported,‘firesseemedwellconcentrated.Jettisonedsomeincendiariesat5215N0830E and some around the searchlight belt on theway out.’Araid36hours later byAmericanB17s, combinedwith this raid andoneearlier in the month, caused the Germans to record that Frankfurt hadpracticallyceasedtoexist.

On24MarchBomberCommandmadeitslastmajorattackonBerlin.Thecrewreported,‘Earlyinattackanddifficulttojudgeresults.BombedRedTIsthrough5/10cloud,butfiresseemedtobespreadoverwidearea.’3Groupagreedwiththecrew’sassessment,notingthat,

An unfortunate night, duemainly to our old enemy, theweather.Wind velocities up to 120mphwere found byH2 aircraft on thewaytothetarget;thesewerethoughttobeun-reliableastheywerenearlydoubleforecastwinds.Asaresult,manyaircraftwereblownoffcourse,whileothersovershotbadly.Bombingwasscattered,butaconsiderablepercentageofthebombloadsfoundBerlinandgreatcredit is due to themany crewswhomade the best of a bad job.OnecrewidentifiedthemselvesasoverLeipzig,returnedtoBerlin,andbombed40minutes late.Raid commentatorshelped to centrethe raid by ‘pulling in’ many aircraft who would otherwise haveovershot the target.Many fighters were active, both in the targetareaandalongthereturnroute.Searchlightswereveryactive.

On 30 March 1944 Vic and the crew took part in the raid thatproducedBomberCommand’sheaviest casualtiesof thewar.The targetwasNuremberganditwasoriginallyhopedthathighcloudwouldcoverthe moon. Even when it was realised that it wouldn’t the raid wasn’tcancelled.Of the 795 aircraft despatched, 95were shot down. The city

wasbarelydamaged.Thecrewreportmadenomentionofthecasualtiessufferedand,taken

inisolation, there’snoindicationthat therewereproblems,‘Incendiariesburning short of aiming point and some a/c appeared to attackSchweinfurt.SkymarkersseenbutbombedRedTIsthrough7/10cloud,&three separate areas of fires were visible. All routemarkers were seen.’Thegroupreportismoreexplicit:

This, the last attack of the month, met with determined fighteropposition; themost outstanding featurewas the easewithwhichthe enemy found ourmain bomber stream just south ofCologne.Many of our aircraft were reported to be making condensationtrails,andthese,clearlyvisibleinthemoonlight,mayconsiderablyhaveassistedthelargenumberofenemyfighterswhichhavebeenvectored into the stream.Many of our aircraftwere seen to havebeenshotdown in thisarea, thoughon the remainderof the routeandoverthetargetitself,oppositionwasslight.

On11AprilthetargetwasAachenandthegroupreportrecorded,

This, the first German target for the month, received an attackwhichappearedmorescatteredthanusual.Thiswasdue,inpart,towindbeing lighter thanexpected,with the result thata fewcrewsarrived early at the target. However, later reports show that theattack was successful. There was a good concentration in themarshallingyardsandfurtherdamagewasdonetothetownitself,which can now be considered virtually destroyed. Flak was poorandfewfighterswereencountered.

On20AprilthecrewbombedCologne,reporting,‘Unexpectedwindscauseda latearrivalonthe target,whereRedskymarkerswereseenandattacked.Markersdisappearedintocloudtooquickly.Goodglowbeneathcloud.’ 3 Group considered the results overall had been good: ‘ThebombingwasabitscatteredbutheavydamageintheimportantindustrialdistrictsofEHNRENFELDandGERSON is confirmedbyphotographs.TheGERSONmarshallingyardisalsoheavilydamaged.Flakwasnotuptostandard,butenemyfighterswereveryactiveoverthetargetandonthehomewardroute.’

On22Apriltheywerepartofa596-aircraftraidonDüsseldorfwhich

caused widespread damage and killed over 1,000 people. The groupreported,

A very good attack – TIs were seen to be concentrated on themarshalling yards.Many fires spread throughout the city and onelargeexplosionwasreported.Afewundershootswereobserved…but, in the main, the bombing was good. Flak and searchlights,slight at first, increased as the attack developed. Fighters werenumerous and theirworkwas simplified by themany contrails at20,000ft.

On the night of 12May,AlanAmies, nowa flight lieutenant and apopularandcapablepilot,wasasked to takea rookiecrewon their firstraid,againsttherailwayyardsatLouvain(nowLeuven)inBelgium.NearthetargettheywereinterceptedbyOberleutnantHans-HeinzAugenstein,anightfighter‘ace’whowastoscoreatotalof46‘kills’duringhiscareerbeforehimselfbeing shotdown later in theyear.TheLancaster crashednorth of Louvain, killing the entire crew, who are buried together inLeuvenCommunalCemetery.

FlightLieutenantAlanAmies,VicReid’spilot forhis early raids.Hewas shotdownandkilledtakingarookiecrewtoLouvaininMay1944.(CourtesyofMartynFord-Jones)

The lossofAmies,whichmusthavebeenkeenly feltbyhisnormalcrew, meant that they were now assigned as crew to Flight LieutenantOliverBrooks.BrookshadjustbeenrecommendedfortheDistinguishedFlying Cross for bringing home his aircraft after it had been severelydamagedintheDüsseldorfraidof22April.Attackedbyanightfighterashecompletedhisbombingrun,hisportwingwashit.Brooksmanagedtoturn away from the attack, only for a heavy flak shell to explodeimmediately below his open bomb doors. The blast tore through theaircraft, killing his bomb aimer almost immediately and mortallywounding his wireless operator. Unable to jump, because severalparachutes had been damaged in the blast, Brooks nursed his aircraftthroughthesearchlightsandbackacrosstheNorthSeaat500ft.Withnoundercarriage and his buckled bomb doors still open, he made a longapproach to the special runway at RAF Woodbridge, created for suchemergencies.Helandedinascreechofmetalandtheplaneskiddedtoahalt; the dead bodieswere removed and the rest of the crew carried byambulancetothesickbay.AfteraleaveperiodBrookswasinneedofanewcrewandsomeofthelateAmies’crew,includingVic,transferredtohim.

Targets for the squadron, and indeed much of Bomber Command,were now switching away from Germany itself (though attacks therecontinued)toFranceandBelgiumastheinvasionapproached.TheraidonLouvaininwhichAmieswaskilledhadbeenagainstrailwayyardsandon19MayBrooks andhisnewcrewattacked theyards atLeManswherethey, ‘BombedGreenTIs on instruction fromMaster bomber, but therewas considerable R/T interference. The river and some ground detailcouldbeidentifiedandbombingappearedwellconcentrated.’Theattackwas successful, the locomotive shedswere destroyed, some ammunitionwaggons exploded, power lines were brought down and the two mainlinesweredestroyed.

On21MaytheyattackedDuisberg,where,despitecloudcover,theywereabletobombaccuratelythankstogoodmarkingbythePathfindersandnextnighttheytookpartinamine-droppingoperation,layingminesoverthetargetareanearLimFiordfrom13,000ft.

On 30 May they took part in a thirty-nine-aircraft raid on a gunbatteryatBoulogneandnextnightattackedtherailwayyardsatTrappes,reporting, ‘Yellow spot fires which were pronounced by the M/C as

“Bangon”wereattackedandagoodconcentrationofbombingtookplace.Targetwasclear,awoodtothenorthbeingidentified.’

Onthenightof5/6June194415Squadronsent20aircrafttoattackthe coastal defences at Ouistreham as their contribution to over 1,000aircraft covering the invasion of Normandy. At dawn they attacked acoastal battery that had been marked by the Pathfinders, Brooks’ crewnoting,‘Somemarkerswereseen300yardsouttosea,withbombsfallingonthem.Cloudwas6/10overtargetarea,andbombswerereleasedafteratimedrunby instrumentsonredTIs.’15Squadrondropped2191,000lbbombs and 59 500lb bombs and 622 Squadron, also from Mildenhall,dropped 161 1,000lb bombs and 40 500lb bombs. The group reportrecorded,

The Group’s main force of Lancasters were out in strength (107Lancasters)bombingatsunrisetheCoastalBatteriesatOuistrehamwhichguarded,although thegunnersprobablydidnot realise itatthe time,partofourbeachhead.There is every reason to supposethat thisattackwas successfulasvery littleoppositioncame fromtheBatterywhentheassaultproperstarted.

On their return flight toMildenhall the crewswere able to see the vastarmada of shipping for the invasion laid out beneath them and finallyrealisedthevastscaleoftheoperationofwhichtheywereatinypart.One15 Squadron crew member noted in his log book, ‘“D” DayMorning.Wonderfulsight.’

Onthenightof6/7JunethetargetwastherailwayatLisieuxononeofthemainGermanreinforcementroutestoNormandy.Therailwaywasdamagedbut,unfortunately, the townitselfwasalsohit.On10June thecrewdroppedminesofftheGermancoastandonthe12thwerebackoverGermany bombing the synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen. The crewreported,‘Bombingappearedaccurate,onelargeexplosionbeingseenandconsiderablesmoke.’Theraidwassuchasuccess thatoilproduction,ofover1,000tonsoffueladay,waslostforseveralweeks.

SquadronLeaderPatCarden,whowasVic’s pilot for his final few raids. (Courtesy ofMartynFord-Jones)

On 21 June there was a daylight raid on a flying bomb base atDomleger, 15miles east ofAbbeville. Thewhole operationwas a totalfailure,with10/10cloudblanketingthetarget.NotargetindicatorscouldbeseenandtheMasterBombercancelledtheraidwhiletheaircraftwereover the target, forcingthemtoreturnhomewithafullbombload.ThiswasthefinaloperationalmissionofOliverBrookswhowasgrantedleaveandeventuallybecameaflyinginstructor.Vicstillhadsixmissionslefttofly of his standard thirty and, after leave himself, was assigned asMidUpperGunnertothecrewofActingSquadronLeaderPatCarden.

InJuly,3GroupcontinuedtoattacklaunchsitesandfacilitiesfortheGermanVWeapons,noting,

Justover25%ofourmonth’sefforthasbeendirectedbydayandnightagainstthelaunchingsitesanddepotsoftheflyingbombs…Althoughit isdifficult toassesstheresultsofourwork,it isplainthat these continuous attacks by Allied aircraft are restricting thenumber of casualties and amount of damage in London andSouthern England …Some of these targets have been attackedflying in formation line astern on a Pathfinder Oboe MosquitoLeader or on GH Stirlings of this Group, aircraft releasing onseeingthemaninfrontreleasehisbombs…Ourformationflying,however,hasnotyetbeen‘buttonedup’andthepatternofbombsfromotheraircraftleavesmuchtobedesired.Squadronswillhavetogetinwhatpracticetheycaninflyinginformation,wheneverthespateofoperationspermits.

On 9 July the squadron bombed a flying bomb emplacement atLinzieux,butthecrewsdidnotclaimanyhits.Nextday,thirteenaircraftwere detailed for operations against a flying bomb storage depot atNucourt, taking off in the early hours of the morning and bombing byinstruments through 10/10 cloud. On the 18th the railway junction atAulnoye was the target; twelve aircraft attacked, reporting accuratebombing, though haze and smoke over the target area made it hard tovisually identify any ground detail. On the 20th they were back overGermanybombingsyntheticoilplantsatHomberg.Thesquadronrésumésays, ‘Reports indicate a successful raid, several large explosions beingseenandhugefiresthatproduceddensecloudsofsmoke.Enemyaircraftwere very active and several combats were reported.’ The crew report

confirmed,‘At01.20hoursalargeorangeexplosionwasseen,whichonleavingwasproducingaplumeofyellowishbrownsmokeup to10,000ft.’ The ground explosions obviously impressed the IntelligenceOfficerwhocompiledthe3Groupreportasitalsocommented,‘theraidwasverysuccessful and crews were rewarded by seeing an enormous explosionwhichbelchedoutthickblacksmoketoaheightof14,000feet’.

On 5August the attackwas against oil-storage facilities at BassensnearBordeauxwithexcellentresults,thecrewnoting,‘Sawmanyfires&smallexplosionswithblacksmokeabove4000’.M/Bsaid“Bombleftofsmoke for someundamagedbuildings”.’On thenightof7/8August thetarget was a concentration of German forces at Rocque-Court inNormandy.ForthefirsttimeinawhilethesquadronfacedGermannightfightersandattacksweremadeonanumberofaircraft,withthatofFlightLieutenantJohnBallbeinglostwithitsentirecrew.Carden’screwappearnottohavenoticedtheseattacks,reportingonlythat,‘Bombedtoportsideof Red TIs ofM/B instructions. Bombing very concentrated.M/B verygood.’

Vic’sfinalraid(histhirty-first,onemorethanthestandardthirtyforatour)wasagainstaGermanoil-storagedepotatForêtDeLucheaux.Therewasnooppositionfromfightersandthetargetwaswellbombed,thecrewnoting,‘GreenTIbombedwasincentreoffires,smoke&RedTIaswebombedM/Binstructedforcetobombfireswhichwereburningnicely&spreadingindifferentpointsofwood.Bombingconcentrated.’

Having completedhis tour and amassed a total of 402 flyinghours,152of themonoperations,Vicwasattachedbriefly to1657ConversionUnitbeforebeingsenttotheAircrewAllocationCentreatRAFBracklainScotland.Thiswasaholdingunitdesignedtokeepthemenoccupiedandoutofmischiefwhileitwasdecidedwhattodowiththem.Thecentrehadits own cinema and therewere regular shows put on both by the campresidentsthemselvesandbyENSA.OvertheChristmasperiod,whichwasproclaimedagreatsuccess,thecentreheldanofficers’messdance,anall-ranksdance,astationconcertpartyandaWAAFinvitationdance,aswellascommunitysinging,comicsoccermatches,children’spartiesandafreecinemashow.Theofficersservedtheairmen’sChristmasmealandtherewas an exchange of hospitality between the officers’ and sergeants’messes. Every effort seems to have been made to make Christmasenjoyable.

While at Brackla, on 17 November 1944 Vic was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross. The citation was included with four otherRAAF warrant officers and reads: ‘These officers have completed invariouscapacities,numerousoperationsagainst theenemy, in thecourseofwhichtheyhaveinvariablydisplayedtheutmostfortitude,courageanddevotiontoduty.’

On 19 January 1945 Vic returned to 11 PDRC outside BrightonpendinghisreturntoAustralia.AswithRAFBrackla,thiswasessentiallya holding establishment; most of the men were put up in requisitionedhotels in the area. Theweather in January 1945was abnormally severeandcurtailedtheusualrangeofsportsavailable,withonlythreerugbyandfour hockey matches played, though most of the soccer games did goahead. Indoor PT, squash and badminton proved popular, as did darts,cribbageandtabletennis.

Sergeant Vic Reid (left) with his colleague rear gunner Sergeant Eddie Oliver. (Courtesy ofMartynFord-Jones)

On 21 October 1944 Vic married Alice Catherine Rampling of 26StaffordRoad,Leytonstone.ShewasayearolderthanVictor,workedasabusconductressandhad lived inEastLondonallher life.ThemarriagewasjustafewdaysbeforeVic’spostingtoBrackla,suggestingthey’dmetwhile he was with 15 Squadron, presumably while he was on leave inLondon.

ThoughinformationonwhathedidfollowinghisreturntoAustraliaissparse,itdoesn’tseemtohavebeenahappyperiod.HewastransferredtotheRAAFReserveon30October1945.There’snorecordIcantraceofadivorceandhisniece,MargaretGregory,seemstothinkthathemayhave taken to drinking too much. Margaret told me, ‘Victor got rottendrunk and drove his Jeep/Ute into the side of a bridge. Onewill neverknowifitwassuicideashehadbeendepressedanddrinkingmorethanheshouldhaveformonthsbefore.’Hediedon12April1951,aged36years.There’snorecordthatAlicewenttoAustraliawithhimandsheseemstohaveremarriednotlongafterhisdeath.

ResearchingVicReid

I carried out research on Vic for his niece,Margaret, a few years ago,mainly filling in on the research she had already done in Australia.Australian rulesondataprotectionare ratherdifferent fromBritishonesand,becauseMargarethadrequestedhisfilebeopenedforher,thewholefileisnowavailable,online,foreveryonetolookatatnocost.Itcanbeaccessed at http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=5534560.

Agoodplace tostart forAustralianservicerecords is theAustralianWorldWar 2NominalRoll, at http://www.ww2roll.gov.au,which givesvery basic details of over 1million Australian servicemen andwomen.Youcansearchforservice-recorddetailsbyspecifyinganyoneofname,service number, honours, place (of birth, of enlistment or residentiallocalityatenlistment).Onceyoufindanindividualservicerecordyoucanprint a certificate, which provides very basic details of their service,including place and date of enlistment, their service (air force, army ornavy),servicenumber,nextofkin,rank,anyhonoursorgallantryawardswon and place of discharge. What you won’t get are details of theirpostings and individual units served. The certificate forVictor providesthefollowingbasicinformation:

REID,VICTORCHARLESService RoyalAustralianAirForceServiceNumber 421864DateofBirth 7Dec1914PlaceofBirth TRIAMBLE,NSWDateofEnlistment 28Mar1942LocalityonEnlistment UnknownPlaceofEnlistment SYDNEY,NSWNextofKin REID,ROBERTDateofDischarge 2Apr1947Rank WarrantOfficer

PostingatDischarge AIRARMAMENTANDGASSCHOOL

WW2Honoursand

WW2HonoursandGallantry DistinguishedFlyingCross

PrisonerofWar No

The National Archives of Australia(http://www.naa.gov.au/index.aspx) hold Second World War servicerecordsandit’spossibletorequestacopyofthefullservicerecordwhichcanbeviewedonlineorpostedtoyouasahardcopy,atacost.UndertheAustralian Archives Act (1983) the archives are required to provide asmuch information as possible, though separate medical files are notgenerallyreleased.

Consisting of forty-eight pages (some are just file covers andmanyarepartsof larger sheetsphotographedcloseup),Vic’s file includeshisRecordofService–Airmen(RAAFP/P.25)Formgivingbasicpersonaldetails, promotions, decorations, awards and badges, postings andattachments, movements and courses of instruction. If he’d been acasualty, committed a criminal offence or taken any exams towardspromotion they would also be listed, though in Vic’s case they don’tapply.IthastobesaidthatwhoeverphotographedVic’sfilecertainlydidagoodjobofit.

There’salinkdirectlytotherelevantpagesoftheNationalArchivesof Australia website from the Australian World War 2 Nominal Rollwebsite. The archive also has an extensive series of fact sheets on theSecond World War at http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/on-defence/index.aspx#section4.

Though I prefer researching paper records where I can, I have toadmit that, as well as using the online version of Vic’s service record(Margaret had sent me a hard copy), I did use the Internet to locateinformation on the RAAF in Australia, in particularhttp://www.ozatwar.com/raaf/raaf.htm,awebsitedevotedtotheRAAFintheSecondWorldWar,whichwasmostuseful.

SquadronandGroupRecords

Squadron records in AIR 27 series are now available online at TNA’swebsite(lookintheRAFsectionoftheDiscoverysection).InVic’scasethere is a slightcomplication– thecompileroccasionallygetshis initialwrongandheappearsasF/SEReidandF/SUReid(thoughalwayswithhis RAAF number 421502,whichmakes things easier) and later in theyearthereisaF/SFReidwhoalsoservedasagunner.Havingsaidthis,it’srelativelyeasy, ifyouknowthedateshewaspostedtoandfromthesquadron, to identify the raids he took part in and read the crew’scomments. The squadron also provided a résumé of each raid to give abroader perspective. Every squadron was part of a larger group (in 15Squadron’s case it was No. 3 Group) and group ORBs are in AIR 25series;inVic’scasetherelevantfilescovering1944areinAIR25/53withAppendices (which frequently contain copies of the Group MonthlySummary) inAIR25/71toAIR25/80.Anevenbroaderperspectivecanbegainedfromlookingatthese.

CombatReports

As with fighter combat reports, those from Bomber Command are inTNA’sAIR50series, thoughthecollection isknowntobe in-complete.They’re available online through TNA’s Discovery facility and aresearchableusingsurnameandthesquadronnumber.

TheSquadronHistory

Sometimes there isnothing likeapieceofgood luckwhencarryingoutany kind of research. I’ve known Martyn Ford-Jones for over twentyyears,thoughithastobesaidIhadn’tseenhimforquiteawhilewhenIbumped into him in the street. In the course of our conversation hementioned,inpassing,thathe’dbeenappointedOfficialHistorianfor15Squadron! Not only that, he and his wife had written the SquadronHistory,Oxford’sOwn –Men andMachines of 15/XV Squadron RoyalFlying Corps/Royal Air Force (Schiffer Military History, 1999; ISBN0764309544). It’s packed with facts, fascinating stories and rarephotographs.Martynkindlyprovidedthephotosthatillustratethischapterand a couple of stories are taken from his book or his huge archive ofmaterialonthesquadron.It’sworthbearinginmindthatmanyexcellenthistoriessuchas thisareavailableandcansaveanenormousamountoforiginalresearch.

The Bomber Command War Diaries – An Operational ReferenceBook 1939–1945, by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt (PenguinBooks, 1985), is an invaluable source for information on every raidcarriedoutbytheCommandduringthewar.

BillCleland(centre)withhiscrewandgroundcrewattheendoftheirsecondtourofoperations.(CourtesyofJackWatson)

Havingindividuallycompletedtheirtraining,thecrewmetupatRAFFaldingworth in Lincolnshire, where 1667HeavyConversionUnit tookmenwhowereusedtotwin-enginedaircraftandtrainedthemforthefour-engined bombers. Sergeant JackWatson, who’d recently completed histrainingasa flightengineer,wasput intoahangar fullofaircrewofalltrades.Herecalls,

Suddenly aWirelessOperator came up tome and asked ‘What’syourname?’– ‘John’ I replied, ‘Right Jack,we are looking for aFlightEngineer forour crew’. Iwas taken tomeet the restof thecrew,where theyhad just found aMid-UpperGunner and soourcrew was complete. That was how the Air Force let crewthemselvesdecidewhowouldflywithwho.NeedlesstosayIwasJackfromthenon,itwas1stNovember1943.

ThepilotwasFlightSergeant(laterFlightLieutenant)BillCleland,auniversity student at St Andrews who’d been in the University AirSquadron, been called up while still studying and learned to fly in theUSA.FondofquotingShakespeare,hewasmorethanjustapilot,asJackdescribes,‘WhenhegotintohisseatitwasasthoughhebecamethefinalpartofthejigsawpuzzlethatwasanAvroLancaster.Itwaslikeputtingaprintedcircuitboardintoapieceofelectronicequipment.’

ThenavigatorwasGilbertHudson,a seriousman fromBirminghamwhose navigator’s skills must have helped their selection for thePathfinders. The bomb aimerwas FrankOliver fromHull; thewirelessoperator was Albert (Bert) Wilson from North Shields and anotherGeordie,WestonAppleby,wasmiduppergunner.Theirreargunner leftafter a few days when he realised the difficulties of escaping from histurret inanemergency,andwasreplacedbyCliffTalbot.Billgaveeachofthemanicknameandthiswaswhattheyusedintheair.Jackbecame‘Watty’,thenavigatorwas‘Gilly’,Applebybecame‘Appy’,CliffTalbotwas always Cliff, the radio operator was ‘Willy’ and the bomb aimerbecame‘Olly’.

They trained together for twomonths and, on 6 January 1944wereposted to 12 Squadron at RAF Wickenby. Jack describes the livingaccommodation,

BillCleland’screw.Lefttoright:Willy,Mac,Gilly,Bill,Olly,WattyandJack.(CourtesyofJackWatson)

WewereallocatedaNissenHutand,aswewereallSergeants,wewereallintheonehut.Allthebedswerejustastheoccupantshadgotoutofthem,thebedIputmykitonhadthenameoverthebed,it read Sergeant Twitchet, he was the pilot of the crewwho hadoccupiedthehut…wediscoveredthatSgtTwitchetandhiscrewhadnotreturnedfromthepreviousnight’soperations.

On 14 January they were briefed for their first raid, against theGermancityofBrunswick.AgainstabackdropofamapofEuropewiththerouteindicatedbyaredribbonthecommandingofficerexplainedthepurposeandmethodoftheraid.Theaircraftflewinastreamafewmileswide,affordingeachothersomeprotectionandwouldapproachthetargetinwaves tominimise collisions.The engineer leaderdetailedbombandfuel loads, thegunnery leaderdetailedknowngunand fighter areas andthe navigator leader briefed on the finer points of the route. Everythingwas timed to the second, the navigators being issued with absolutelyaccuratewatchesthattheyhadtohandbackaftereverymission.

Their route took them over the North Sea to the Dutch coast, withGillytellingBillwhentomakethepre-plannedturnsandJackmonitoringfuel consumption. They reached the target exactly on time and Ollydropped their bombs to the right of the target indicators laid by thePathfindersbeforereturningtobasewithoutincident.

ThesquadronwerepartofNo.1Groupand thegroupreporton theraidsays:

Therewas 10/10ths cloud in the target area,which prevented themajority of crews using the PFF ground markers and a largeproportion of bombing was carried out on the emergency blind-bombing technique. The marking was scattered and somewhatspasmodic at the commencement but later built up to a fairconcentration. The cloud prevented satisfactory observation ofresultsbutjudgedfromtheglowbeneaththecloudtheattackwouldappeartohavebeensomewhatscatteredwithatendencytospreadtowardstheSouth,andnoreallysatisfactoryconcentrationappearstohavebeenachieved.Whilstthegrounddefencesinthetargetareawerenotimpressivefighterswereactive.

Their second raid was to be against Berlin but Jack identified an

engine problem so they turned aside and bombed Schwerin beforereturninghome.TheirnextfiveraidsincludedthreeagainstBerlinwhichJacknotedmadeallcrewsapprehensivebecauseofthedistance,andgunsandsearchlightsthatseemedtogoonforever,

There was always a Master Searchlight which was easily identifiablebecauseitwasabluecolour.Assoonasitcaughtaplaneinitsbeamadozenmorewouldconvergeontheplaneitwasholding.Then,onlythequickreactionofthepilotcouldsavethedayastheanti-aircraftgunswerealsolinkedtothesearchlights.

Beingcaughtinthelightslikethiswasknownasbeing‘coned’.On 20 February, on their eighth raid, against Stuttgart, they were

attacked by a night fighter, Jack remembers, ‘We had arrived over thetarget and just commenced the bombing run when we heard Appy call“Diveport go”.Bill immediatelyput the aircraft into a corkscrewand Iwatchedasthetracersfromthefighterpassedoverthetopofus.Appy’sbrilliant awareness and Bill’s quick reaction had saved our lives.’ Jacktoldme,usingamuchlaterphrase, thatAppyhad‘bioniceyes’andthathiswatchfulnesssavedthemonmorethanoneoccasion.

Aftertwomonthswith12SquadronthecrewwerecalledtotheFlightCommander’s office and told, ‘You have two options, either youvolunteer for the Pathfinder Force or we will send you.’ A WingCommanderfromPathfinderHQhadgonethroughthesquadronrecordsand selected them as one of the best crews. It was explained that, asPathfinders, they would do two straight tours, totalling forty-fivemissions, five less thannormal crewswoulddo in their two tours.As aman,theyvolunteeredtogo.

They underwent a couple of weeks’ intensive training, at RAFWarboys near Huntingdon, with the Pathfinder Navigational TrainingUnit.Thebombaimernowbecamenavigator2andsatwithnavigator1,assistingwith some of the equipment. Jack, as flight engineer, assumedthebombaimer’sdutiesinadditiontohisownandwasalsotrainedtoflytheaircraftifthepilotwashit.Herecalls,

ThispartIwasmorethanhappytodo,andIspenthoursintheLinkTrainer,whichwasasmallflightsimulator,anddidforuswhatthesophisticated models do for today’s airmen. It was a very basic

modelthoughanditwassufficient,asafterafewhoursIwasabletoput intopractice, flying theLancasterwhenon training flights.TheLancasterwasabeautifulaircraftandajoytofly.

Jackalsohadtotrainasbombaimerbydroppingsmallbombsatatargetfrom2,000ftandthewholecrewhadtotrainhowtonavigate.

Theywerenowpostedto156Squadron;aninstructor toldJacktheywereknownasarebelsquadronandthat,asJackrecalls,‘theywillflytillthecowscomehomeandarethebest,butthereisnotmuchdisciplineontheground–theydonotlikealotofbull’.

Pathfinders used an increasingly sophisticated range of navigationalaids includingH2Saground-facingradarenablingthemto locaterivers,lakes and built-up areas and Oboe, where signals from two stations inBritain were used to give the aircraft an accurate fix on its position.Targetsweremarkedbyoneofthree(orsometimesacombination)mainmethods.‘Paramatta’usednavigationaidstolocateandmarkthetarget;‘Newhaven’usedflarestoilluminatethetargetsothatPathfinderaircraftcoulddrop their target indicatorson it;and‘Wanganui’where the targetwas obscured by cloud and target indicators were dropped above it onparachutes,givinganaimingpointforthefollowingcrews(alsoknownasSkyMarking).

Their first raidwas againstEssenwhere they flew in support of theMaster Bomber dropping flares to help him identify the target (and todrawsomeoftheanti-aircraftfire).

TheirsecondtargetwasNuremberg,onthenightBomberCommandsuffered itsheaviest losses.Thecrewreport for the raid,on thenightof30/31March 1944 reads, ‘Task.NURNBURG. Target attacked at 0106hrs from 19,000 ft. Wanganui seen after leaving target area. No otherobservationowingtocloudconditions.H/Hintenseinaccurate.NoS/L’s.FighteractivityintensefromsouthofRUHRtoNURNBURG.Onephotoattempted.’Jacklaterrecalledtheraid,

Our second trip from Upwood, our thirteenth so far, was on theinfamousNurembergraidinwhich96aircraftwerelost.Wewereright in the frontof thebomber stream, aswewere to arrive firstwith the Marker Aircraft, as Supporters. We dropped ourilluminating flares and then went round again for me, as BombAimer, to drop our high explosives. Although we saw lots of

activity,wehadnotroubleatallandwewereneverattacked.Beinga bright moonlight night and with most aircraft leavingcondensationtrailsandaroutewithlongstraight legs, inonecasenearly200miles, itmade lifeeasy for theGerman fighters…Aswewereonthelastlegoftherunintothetarget,BerthadreportedhehadpickedupabliponhisFishpondscreenandfromthewayitwas trackingus,he thought itwasa fighter,unfortunatelywhenafightergotwithinacertaindistanceofus,itwoulddisappearfromthe screen; it was when Appy noticed another Lancaster driftingacrossunderneathus,thatitblewup.Appythoughtthatthefighterwas firing at us, but the other Lancaster was unlucky enough tohavegotintheway.

In the third week of April they flew five operations in seven daysagainstCologne,Düsseldorf,Karlsruhe,EssenandFreidrichs-haven.OverDüsseldorfBill’sskillsavedthemwhen,asJackrecalls,

Aswe started thebombing run Iwasgetting ready to lineup thebombsitewhenwewereconed,Billneverhesitatedandwentintoadive,thisforcedmeuptothefrontturretwhereIcouldnotmove.WehaddivedfromeighteenthousandfeetwhenBillpulledupthenoseatsixthousandfeet,thisimmediatelythrewmedownontothebombsight.WestillhadtotakeevasiveactionuntilBillmanagedtogetoutofthesearchlightsanditwasonlythenthatIwasabletosort myself out. Finally I was able to get down to directing thebomb run and we bombed the target at twelve thousand feet.Getting coned in the searchlights is one of the most frighteningthings,asitfeelsasifyouarestandingonastageabsolutelynaked.Whatmustnothappen,isforthecrewtopanicasonlythepilotcandealwiththesituation…weallhadgreatfaithinBillandhecopedasweknewhewould.

ThesquadronORBconfirmssomeofJack’smemoriesandprovideslotsoftechnicaldetails,butomitsthehumandrama.Itsays,

Task:DUSSELDORF.Targetattackedat0116.00hrsfrom12,000ft. At 0113 hrs first TI red seen falling. These formed a goodconcentrationandwerebackedupbyTIgreen.Aswelefttargetthebombing seemed well concentrated round markers but with a

number of stragglers undershooting – some badly. Fires wereburning well. Moderate to intense H/F, mostly barrage type,predictedandaccurate forheight.NumerousS/L’s inmanyconeswith 15/30 beams in each. One photo attempted. Bomb load 6 x2,000HC.

InMay1944targetsinFrancebegantobeattackedinpreparationforD-Day.Therewereraidsagainstrailjunctionsandanattackontheairfieldat Nantes and on 5/6 June 156 Squadron bombed the German heavycoastal battery at Longues sur Mer, midway between what were tobecome Gold and Omaha beaches the next day. A week later, afterbombing railways at Lens, the crew saw strange lights below themheadingforBritainandonlyrealisedlaterthesewerethefirstV1sheadingforLondon.NowtheyalsostartedtargetingVweaponstoresandlaunchpoints, as well as concentrations of German troops in Normandy. Jackrecalls,

EarlyinAugustwedidthreetripsnearParistobombtheV1(flyingbomb) dumps. One of these trips was to Trossy, it was heavilydefendedbyantiaircraftgunsandaswewentintherewasahugebangandtheaircraftwentintoadive.IwasinthenoseandhadjustdroppedthebombswhenIlookedthroughthePerspexdomewhichallowedme to look under the aircraft, I could see the propellorswereallstillturningokay,soIwentuptomakesureBillwasokayandhewas.Wegotawaywithdamage to thebombdoorsandanenginecasing.

After the third raid there was an incident on the ground when anaccidentalexplosionkilledtwogunnersfromothercrews.AnoffthecuffremarktoCliffTalbotseemstohavemadehimthinkabouthisownfate.Jack wrote, ‘We could only assume he had decided to stop flying, asnobodycouldorwouldtelluswherehehadgone.’Hewasreplacedbya19-year-oldCanadian,JohnMacGregor,whostayedwiththemuntiltheirfinaloperationalmission.

In themiddleofOctober they finished their second tour,whichhadbeenincreasedbyfivemissionsbecauseFrenchraidswerenotconsideredto be as dangerous as raids over Germany (though as Jack points out,‘Aircraftstillgotshotdown…andthecrewsthatdidnotcomebackwere

just as dead’). Nevertheless, Bill tried to persuade them to sign on foranother tour and knowing that hewas going to anyway, the rest of thecrewelectedtostaywithhim.

In lateDecember1944 theGermanoffensivebegan in theArdennesandBomberCommandswitchedtobombingthemarshallingyardsbeingusedtobringreinforcementstothefront.AnattackontherailwayyardsatCologneon30Decemberwasreportedby8Group:

Both TIs and skymarkerswere used in difficult cloud conditions.Markingwasgoodandsustainedthroughouttheattack,althoughinthe latter stages there was a tendency for it to become scattered.Againassessmentofresultswasdifficultalthoughreportsfromthemore experienced crews indicate that the area between theMarshallingYard and the river suffered. Several large explosionswereobserved.

With Luftwaffe opposition becoming less frequent some daylightoperations were now carried out over Germany itself. Jack describes araid,

InJanuary1945wewentonadaylightraidtoSaarbrucken.Wehada fighter escort of American Mustang fighters and after we hadfinishedourbombing runwe turned forhome, Ichecked tomakesureallthebombshadgone;one1000lbbombhadhungupandnotreleased.WhenItoldBillhesaidwewouldgobackandtryagain.Wewereabout50milesfromthetargetbynow,asweturnedoneof the Mustangs turned with us and escorted us back toSaarbrucken.Wemade two runs,butdidnot succeed in releasingthebomb,soweturnedforhome.Overtheseaonthewaybackwetriedagainbutstillwithnosuccess.WhenwegotbackBillcalledupthecontroltowerandtoldthemofourpredicamentandweweregivenpermission to land.Aswecame in,whenBillput full flap,thebombsuddenlyshotforwardandlandedonthebombdoors.Welandedokaybutaswe taxiedourwayback todispersal thebombdoorswerebeingstrainedbytheweightonthem.Whenwestoppedatdispersalthenormalprocedurewastoopenthebombdoors;notthis time though. Five months previously, when an aircraft wasbeingunloaded,whenthebombshadbeenbroughtback,theyhad

explodedkillingsixof thegroundstaff.With this inmindwegotoutoftheaircraftasquicklyaswecould, thistime,thearmourerswereabletodealwiththebombquitesuccessfully.

At the endof their third tourBill again persuaded them to continueflying. They were now so experienced that at Cologne (2 March) andHarpenerweg(24March)theywereDeputyMasterBomber.TheCologneraid was the last the RAFmade on the city, the Pathfindersmarked inclearweatherandacarpetofhighexplosiveswaslaidoverthecity.On25March they wereMaster Bomber for a raid of 175 aircraft against therailwayroutethroughMunster.

OntheirreturnfromtheMunsterraidthecrewweretoldbyafriendfrom another crew that a signal had come through ordering them offoperations immediately; they’d just completed their seventy-seventhmission. Three weeks later they were broken up as a crew; Bill wassecondedtoBOAC(andstayedwiththemandlaterBritishAirwaysuntilhe retired); Bert ended up, still flying, in Iraq. Jack was posted to 85OperationalTrainingUnitatHusbandsBosworthinLeicestershire,wherehetriedtogetbackintooperationalflying,andwastoldofffordoingso.

WhatMadeSuchaSuccessfulCrew?Having spoken to both Jack andBill, read Jack’smemoir and log bookandgone throughevery report theysubmitted, it’sclearBill’screwwashighlyprofessional,butwastheresomethingmore?There’snodoubtthatBill,asabrilliantpilot,wasthecrew’sbedrockandtheywereincrediblyloyal to him, even agreeing to continue flying missions at his requestwhennot required to.WhenBillwasachildhis fatherdied, leavinghismothertocopewithhimandhisyoungerbrotherandsister;perhapsthisearly responsibility, having to assist her in looking after his youngersiblings,helpedhimdevelophissenseandairofresponsibility.

JacktellsmethatheonlyonceheardBillraisehisvoicewhen,duringa raid, one of the new navigators came forward and commented inamazement at the flak that theywere flying through.Bill shouted, ‘Getback’,whichwas instantlyobeyed.Otherwise,henever raisedhisvoiceandheremainedsoftlyspokentohisdeath.Thesamenavigators,havingnewly joined thecrew,mademistakeson their first twomissions takingtheaircraftdangerouslyoffcourse.TherestofthecrewhadawordwithBillandhe,inturn,spoketothenavigators.Quitewhatwassaidtothem

Jackdoesn’tknow–butafterwardstheirnavigationgreatlyimproved.ThoughBill,aspilot,wasincommandoftheaircraft,hedidn’tstand

onceremony.WhenAppycalleddown, ‘Bill,DiveLeft’,Billdived,noquestionsasked–thiswillingnesstotrusthiscrewimplicitlysavedthemon more than one occasion. He also trusted Jack’s judgment about thestateoftheaircraft,pressingonwithmissionswhenassuredthatproblemswiththeaircraftwouldnotprejudicetheirchancesofsuccess.

JackWatson(right)withAppy(left),Eddy(fromanothercrew,secondleft)andBert.(CourtesyofJackWatson)

JackWatson’sPathFinderForceBadgecertificate.(CourtesyofJackWatson)

CrewMedalCitationsandRecommendations

BillCleland’sDFCrecommendationreads,

Pilot Officer Cleland has completed 30 operational sorties, 19 ofwhich have been with the Pathfinder Force. The targets attackedhaveincludedsomeofthemostheavilydefendedinGermany.ThisofficerisanexceptionallydeterminedandskilfulCaptainandPilot,and beneath his quiet and unassuming manner is a doggeddetermination to achieve his objective regardless of enemyopposition. He has produced consistently good results, and isfearless in pressing home his attacks. I recommend him for theawardoftheDistinguishedFlyingCross.

TherecommendationforBill’sDSOreads,

ActingFlightLieutenantWilliamJohnCLELAND,DFC(174404)Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No 156 Squadron.(Pilot/Captain of aircraft; sorties 73; flying hours 363; sinceprevious award, sorties 43; flying hours 201.) This officer hasalwaysdisplayedafinefightingspiritandgreatzestforoperations.Hehas a fine record of operational sorties andhas always shownoutstandingcourageanddetermination,eveninthefaceofheaviestopposition. Many of his missions have entailed the fulfilment ofdifficult and dangerous duties.He has invariably performed themwith great gallantry and efficiency. Flight Lieutenant Cleland hasalwayssetahighstandardoftenacityanddevotiontoduty.

JackWatson’srecommendationforhisDFMsays,

Flight Sergeant Watson has now completed 55 operationalsorties,44ofwhichhavebeenwiththePathFinderForce.ManyofhistargetshavebeenheavilydefendedGermanareas.

This N.C.O. is a keen and efficient Flight Engineer who hasshown courage and resourcefulness on many perilous operations.Hisaircrafthasmanytimesbeenattackedanddamagedbyenemyaction,butFlightSergeantWatsonhasalwaysrisentotheoccasionandgivenvaluableassistancetohisCaptain.

He has shown zest and devotion to duty of the highest order,

and I recommend him for the award of the Distinguished FlyingMedal.

ForGilbertHudsontherecommendationsays(aftergivingdetailsoftheraidshe’dbeenon),

ThisOfficer is anaccurateand reliableNavigator, andhas shownthe utmost determination and courage in carrying out his dutiesunder extremely difficult conditions. He has always shown greatkeenness inhisoperationalcareer,andhasalwaysbeenwilling toassistinhissection.Hisloyaltyanddevotiontodutyhavebeenofahigh order, and I recommend him for the Distinguished FlyingCross.

ForFlightSergeantWestonApplebyitreads,

ThisNCO,byhisvigilanceandcorrectdirections tohispilot,hasonmanyoccasionsbeen responsible for the successful evasionofenemy aircraft.He is a courageous and determined gunner and isunflinching in thefaceofenemyattacks.Hehasbeen involved inmany hazardous operations, but in spite of which his operationalzestisstillundiminished.

Hisdevotiontodutyhasbeenofahighorder,andIrecommendhimfortheawardoftheDistinguishedFlyingMedal.

For Flight Sergeant Albert John CharlesWilson the commendationsays,

This NCO is a keen and determinedWireless Operator, and hasprovedhimselftobeanableandreliablememberofagoodBlindMarkingcrew in the squadron.Hehasalwayscarriedonwithhiswork coolly and efficiently under adverse conditions, and hisresultshavebeenofahighstandard.

Hisdevotiontodutyhasatalltimesbeenofahighorder,andIrecommendhimfortheawardoftheDistinguishedFlyingMedal.

ForPilotOfficerJamesAllistairMacGregoritreads:

ThisofficerisacoolanddeterminedGunnerwhoisunflinchinginthe face of enemy opposition.He has plenty of grit and tenacity,andpossessesafinezestforoperationalwork.Heisanassettoany

crew.Pilot Officer MacGregor has shown a high standard of

keenness, loyalty anddevotion toduty, and I recommendhim fortheawardoftheDistinguishedFlyingCross.

ForPilotOfficerFrankOliveritsays:

ThisOfficerisamostefficientandreliableSetOperatorofspecialequipment who has always produced good results. His skill anddetermination is reflected in the successof agoodBlindMarkingcrewwithwhomheoperates.

Hehassetafineexampleofdevotiontoduty,andIrecommendhimforawardoftheDistinguishedFlyingCross.

CombatOperationsasTakenfromJackWatson’sLogBook

ResearchingaPathfinderCrew

Having copies of Jack’s log book and shortmemoirwas a great aid ingettingstartedandprovidedmuchofthematerial inthischapter,greatlyassistedbybeingabletospeakwithJackhimselfandBillCleland.

Oneadvantagetohavingalogbookisitprovidesdetailsofthemanytrainingandpracticeflightscarriedoutinthecourseofnormalduties(seeChapter7,where,intheabsenceofalog,it’sonlypossibletolocateVicReid’s operational sorties). In September 1944, for example, aswell asthreenight raidsandadaylight raid,Bill’screwcarriedout tendaylightflightstestingequipmentandpractisingair-to-airfiring.Italsopointedupanerrorinthesquadronrecords–thelogrecordsaraidagainstLeipzigon19 February 1944 – but the ORB contains no crew report. Only onchecking the squadron résumé is it confirmed that thecrew tookpart asBill’s name ismentioned as among the pilots participating.One shouldalways remember – it’s possible that even the best-kept official recordsmaycontainerrors!

The ORB for 12 Squadron in early 1944 is in AIR 27/168, withAppendicesinAIR27/170andAIR27/171.TheORBsfor156SquadronareinAIR27/1042,1043and1044.They’reavailablefordownload(foracharge) via the Discovery section of TNA’s website. It’s interesting tonote thewealth of technical detail in the 156 SquadronORB regardingtheirequipment,theoppositionandthegeneralconductoftheraids.

Foranoverallpictureofeachraid,asseenfromtheperspectiveof8Group, the groupORBs are inAIR 25 series betweenAIR 25/161 andAIR 25/174,most ofwhich consist ofAppendices, including the groupmonthly summaries from which some of the detailed quotes about theraidsaretaken.

The RAF’s own website at http://www.raf.mod.uk/bomber-command/background.html gives orders of battle, methods of locatingtargetsandGermanfighterandotherdefences.

CrewMedalRecommendations

For details of their medal awards, which are scattered, un-indexed,throughout TNA’s AIR 2 (‘DECORATIONS, MEDALS, HONOURSANDAWARDS’)series Iwas fortunate toknowPaulBaillie,aveteranresearcher who privately indexed the awards many years ago and whoprovides references for a small fee. He was quickly able to advise theinitialreferencesare:

Cleland:DSOAIR2/9080;DFCAIR2/9275Hudson:DFCAIR2/8826Oliver:DFCAIR2/9037Wilson:DFMAIR2/8880Appleby:DFMAIR2/8880MacGregor:DFCAIR2/9058.

These references refer only to the Master File (initial lists ofrecommendations) but each recommendation comes with an individualreference, i.e., the number of the recommendation either within theparticular AIR 2 file or in the files immediately following. For JackWatson,forexample,theMasterFilereferenceisinAIR2/8829andtherecommendationitselfinAIR2/8830.

An excellent website devoted to 156 Squadron atwww.156squadron.com provides a potted history,maps, photographs ofsquadron members and aircraft, details of missions, crew lists, detailsfromtheORBs,arollofhonourandlinkstorelatedsites.It’soneofthosesites(andtheRAFdoesseemtoattractthem)setupbyanavidenthusiastwithaneye fordetail, a loveof thesubjectandpeopleand thepatienceandabilitytosetupawebsite.

T

Chapter9

AWRENINTHEFLEETAIRARM–JANETPEGDEN

heyears following theSecondWorldWarwere timesofgreatchangefor the air services bringing reductions in scale and the change frompropelleraircraft tojetengines.IntheFleetAirArmthefirst jetaircraftwere introduced in the late1940s, though theywere initiallydifficult tooperate from aircraft carriers because of their size andweight. Gradualimprovements in both the jets themselves and in aircraft carriers(includingangledflightdecksandsteamcatapults)meantthat,duringthe1950s,jetsbecamethenorm.Thoughasawomanshewasn’tallowedtoserveaboardaship,JanetPegdenservedwiththeFAAfortenyearsintheWomen’sRoyalNaval Service (WRNS– orWrens) as amechanic andthen a pilot’smate, responsible for the totalmaintenance of an aircraft.Still a sprightly 80-year-old living in Highworth, near Swindon, sheclearly recallsherdaysasaWren. Ihad thepleasureof sitting inonaninterview she did for the IWMand to speaking and correspondingwithhermyself,thenfollowingupherdescriptionofanaircrashtowhichshewasawitnessandfindingtheminutesof theBoardofEnquirytowhichshegaveevidence.

JanetPegdenwasbornon9September1931atRamsgateandforthefirst fewyears of her life livedwith her parents andgrand-parents on afarm near Margate. She lived later at Stodmarsh near Canterbury afterdeathdutiesandbackpaymentofchurch tithes forcedher father togiveuphergrandfather’sfarm.In1938theharshwinterforcedherfathertogoto work for another farmer, then on to airfield construction work nearNewark.

During the Battle of Britain she watched dog fights over Kent andremembersdoingair-raidpractice,runningfromschooltohideunderthepews in the local church. She watched oil tanks on the coast beingrepeatedlybombedandaGermanlandminecamedownnearhervillage.HermumanddaddidfirewatchingandherdadalsoservedintheHomeGuard.

Because she moved schools so frequently Janet could barely readbeforetheageof9.However,withtheencouragementofhermother,whointroduced her to the library at WH Smith, and the headmaster of theschool at Elham, who kept his eye on her and forced her to work andconcentrate,shecaughtupwithhereducation.Attheageof13shestartedatFolkestoneCountyTechnicalSchoolforGirls,whichgaveheragoodall-roundeducation,andstayeduntilshewas17½.

OnleavingschoolJanetwantedtobeavetbutwasdissuadedbyherfather, who told her that ‘no farmer would like to discuss his cow’sinternalarrangementswithayoungwoman’.Shethendecidedshe’dliketobeaphysiotherapistbutwhile sheenjoyed the theory, shedidn’t likethe practical side. Still not surewhat shewas going to dowith herself,Janetwent to seeher aunt atFeltham,where aneighbourwho’dbeenaWRNSofficersaid,‘Thereareallkindsofthingsyoucando’,soshesentaway for the papers. Her father was dead against it because, as Janetexplained, ‘The women’s services tended to be portrayed as good timegirls – they weren’t really – it was just theDaily Mail!’ She initiallyconsidered applying to boats crews butwas told that theywere closingthat part of the service down, so she applied to be amechanic as she’dalwaysenjoyedtakingthingstopiecesandhadacquiredagoodgraspofthebasicsthroughworkingwithherfather.

After receiving her acceptance papers Janetwent up for her officialmedical in October or November 1949 and afterwards was sent toBurghfield–nearGreenhamCommon–eventhoughshehadn’tactuallyofficially signed on.Arriving by train, the groupwasmet by an officerwhodirectedthegirlstoalorrytotakethemtothecamp.OnthelorryshemetFelicity,anotherrecruitwhohadjoinedagainstherparents’wishes’and with whom she shared a room. They were kitted out in awfulstockings,longbloomers,sensible,flatshoesandablueoverall,withtheirhairdoneupinhideousturbans.Accommodationwasinabarrackblockwithasharedroomfor two–ablutionsweredownthehall.Therecruitsweregivenafortnight’sbasic training,marchingaroundinhorribleblueoveralls with thick, black stockings. Very few girls had problems withmarching – theywere helped bymusic played over a tannoy.Theyhadclassroom lessons in naval terms, they learned knots, naval ranks (andranksintheotherservices)withinstructioninwhattheymightdointheservice.Theother recruits came fromavarietyofbackgrounds and two

surprisedJanetandFelicitybycomingbacklateonenightroaringdrunk.ItwasonlyafterthefortnightthattheWRNSwereaskedtosignonandsome from the course decided not to do so. Having signed on, therefollowedanother fortnightbeing taughthow to lookafter theiruniformsandmoreclassroomlecturesbeforethecoursesplituptobepostedtothenexttrainingestablishment.

Janet Pegden’s initial WRNS training course at Burghfield near Newbury. (Courtesy of JanetBoddy,néePegden)

InJanet’scasethiswastheRoyalNavalAirStationatYeoviltontodobasictrainingasanairmechanic.Hereshehadlessonsintheory,learntoilsystems,howtochangefilters, ignitionsystems(allyouneeded to learnwas‘Suck,squash,bang,blow’tounderstandthesequence),howtotimetheenginetopreventbackfires,howtokeepthefilterscleanandhowtousescrewdriversandspanners.Shelearntthetheoryofflight,howtostripand rebuild a Tiger Moth engine then run it, how to handle aircraft,folding the wings, moving aircraft on the ground – where to push andwhere not to push – you couldn’t push the pitot heads, for example,puttingthechocksin,signallingtheaircraftwhenmovingontheground,sometimes using illuminated wands at night. She was given her owntoolkit – ratchet screwdriver, spanners, lots of other screwdrivers, feelergauges for checking spark-plug gaps, a hacksaw, box spanners, tommybars,allinawoodenbox18inlong,14inwideandafoothigh,paintedinindividualcolourswiththeowner’snameonit.

Accommodation comprised Nissen huts with about fifteen girlshoused in each, with big, black stoves for warmth, wooden floors andwardrobesforkit.OnatypicaldayatYeoviltonJanetwasalwaysawakeearlyandused tosingonherway to theshowers, theneatanenormousbreakfast,thentotheparadegroundforinspectionandsometimesabitofPT–runningandstarjumps–thendouble-upormarchtotheclassroomsor the hangar.Therewas stand easywhen theNAAFIvan came round.Lunch was at midday; with more training between 1pm and 4.30pm.Supperwasat6pmthenquiteoftentherewereduties–intheregulatingoffice checkingpeople inoroutorpeelingpotatoes.Foodwasplentifulbutbasic;ifyouwereworkinglatethecookwouldleavefood–youcouldliterallybouncetheeggslikearubberball!Lotsofbakedbeans,kidneysonfriedbread,steakandkidneypuddingorpie,fishandchipsandlotsofvegetables.Ifyouworkedlateandenteredthegalley,onswitchingonthelightyoucouldseethefloorwasliterallymovingwithcockroacheswhichwouldcrushunderfoot.Janetrecalls,

ThemonthlyCaptain’sRounds[kitinspection]werenerveracking–youpolished theflooruntil itwasabsolutelyshiny,you’dcleanandwasheverything,shoeshadtobepolished,includingthesoles–alotofuskeptspecialshoesforinspections,thebedlinenwasallfolded–thebedspreadhadtobeontherightwayround–withthe

anchorfacingyourfeet,otherwiseitwouldsinkasailorapparently.Everythinghadtobefoldedneatly.Yourlockerhadtobespotless.You were allowed to have a couple of personal items likephotographsondisplay.We’dallclearoutandtheCaptainandhisstaff, theChiefWren, theRegulatingOfficer etc.would have theplacealltothemselves.TheRegulatingOfficerusedtoteararoundfirst to check everythingwas all right. LordNuffield,whowas agreatphilanthropist,hadgivena lotofmoney to theWRENsandsome had been spent supplying sanitary towels – not that manywereusedforthepurposeforwhichtheywereintended;theywereusually used for polishing rags. One awful day the RegulatingOfficercameroundandfoundoneplonkinthemiddleofthefloorwhereithadbeenusedforpolishing.Shesnatcheditupandranoffwithit!

Janetalsotookherfirstflight,

MyfirstflightwasinaDominee,whichwasourversionoftheDeHavilandRapide.Wewere on our last phase of training, andwehadtogoinuniform,completewithhat.Therewasnothingelseforit,soIusedmyhat[tobesickinto]!Whenwegotin,Ifoundthenearestoutsidedrainandcoldtap,turnedmyhatinsideout,gaveitagoodwash,rungitout,putiton,andwasfittosaluteanyofficeraround!

Janet was posted to Lossiemouth in June 1950 as an air mechanic(engines). She loved both the long railway journey there and the baseitself,whichwasneartotheseasoyoucouldwalktothebeachacrossthegolfcourse.SheworkedmainlyontheFaireyFireflyandwasassignedtoagroundcrewconsistingof theChief,POEnginesandPOAirframes,acoupleofleadinghandsandthenthe‘Erks’.Agroupofelectricians,underaseparateChief,wouldalsobeassigned.Firstthingtheyweretaughtwashow to drain the oil and how to clean and change the oil filters (usingpetrol to clean them).Theywere trained to remove the engine using anoverheadcrane,havingcarefullyremovedtheengineseatingboltsandallattachments for the controls, oil and hydraulics, afterwhich it could beeasilyremoved.AdozenorsoFireflieswereallbeingworkedonatonceinthehangar,whereallthemajormaintenancejobswerecarriedout.All

componentswere changed after a certain number of flying hours. Janetremembers,

Folding thewingswas fun – the hanger floorwas very greasy –there’s a little eyelet in the tipof thewingandyou threada ropethroughthatandyouhaveagangofchapsonbothendsoftheropeandyouallstartpullinginthedirectionthatit’sfoldedanditgoesrightup–someonehastostandonthefuselageandpulloutthislegthathooksintoasocketanditcanbequiteunnervingtodothisincase it went through the wrong place. The concrete floor wasawfullygreasymostofthetimeandusedtosweatandweallworerubbersoledplimsollsandwhenwegot to thepointwhere itwasbalancedyou’dallhavetoswingroundsothatyouwereloweringitgently – but sometimes somebody would lose their balance andyou’dallsnakeaboutonthefloortryingtoholditsteady.Iusedtoenjoy the varied work, changing the plugs, starter changes –Coffman starters – you’d fill themwith cartridges, rather like bigshotguncartridges– itwas fired from thecockpitbyanelectricalchargeanditwouldexplodeandstarttheengine.Theenginehadtobeprimedbypumping thechoke;sometimes itwouldn’tstartandthenyou’dhavetohaveanothergo.WelookedaftertheSeaOtterflying boat, refuelling and starting up – this was done with agenerator.Itwasveryslowbutverygoodforairsearescuebecauseitwouldlandonthesea–exceptwhenitwasveryrough.

JanetPegden(inoveralls,standing,right)andfellowWrensworkingonaGriffonengineatRNASEglinton–aphotographstagedforthelocalnewspaper.(CourtesyofJanetBoddy,néePegden)

After two-and-a-half years Janetwas posted toRNASCuldrose butwas only there for a month and then her leading wren’s course camethrough so back shewent toYeovilton. The leadingwren’s coursewas‘thesameasbeforeonlymoreso’witha lotoffitting, turningandlathework,alotmoreonthetheoryofflight–shealsostartedtrainingtoworkonjetaircraft.Janetwasnotafanofjetengines;shetellsmeyouhadtochecktheturbinebladesandrefuel thembut therewasn’tasmuchtodoonthem.

After a six-month course she was posted to Eglinton nearLondonderrywith737TrainingSquadron,

I loved it there – I liked the people and the life. I used to pedalacross the airfield every day on a bike – it was very spread out.Accommodationwas inbighutswithaboutadozenWrens,all inonebigroom–asaLeadingWrenIwassupposedtobeincharge.Leading Wrens had different duties; we were expected to giveordersandbealittlebitmoreresponsible,butitdidn’tchangemyrelationshipwithotherWrens.

Wrengroundcrewon thewingofaFleetAirArmFireflyatRNASEglinton. (CourtesyofJanetBoddy,néePegden)

We used to have courses of pilots coming throughwho’d dotake-off and landing practices, gunnery and bomb droppingpractice.We had to do daily inspections, checking oil levels andtyres,whichwereparticularlyimportant.

WhileatEglintonJanetwassent todoapilot’smatecourse.Pilots’mateswereresponsibleforthewholeaircraft,theyuncoveredit,checkedtheflaps,aileronsandrudderworked,madesuretherewasnodamageatall, put the pilot’s parachute in, then strapped him in and saw him off,helpingtomanoeuvrehimonthegroundusingsignals.Therewasateamofspecialistarmourersandelectricianswhorepaireditemsofequipmentidentifiedasnotworkingbutresponsibilityforidentifyingfaultslaywiththemate.Itwasafairlyroutinejob,but,accordingtoJanet,afunone,

JanetPegden(seated,secondleft)withtheaward-winning.22rifleWRNSteamatRNASEglinton.(CourtesyofJanetBoddy,néePegden)

[AtEglinton]Weused todoabitofhorse riding,playedabitoftennisandhaddances.WeusedtohaveagrandHalloweenDanceeveryyearandIusedtodressupasawitch.Iwasintheshootingteam –wewon a silvermedal once. Target shooting and for .22rifles small tiles you shoot off a ledge at 25 yards donewithin atime..303targetswereafootsquarebutyou’dfireatthemuptoa1,000 yards. TheQueenMaryCompetition started at 1,000 yardsand the target came closer, down to200yards, but by the time itwassocloseyouwereexhausted.Wealsohadsnapshootingwhenthe chaps in the buttswould hold the target up and drop it downagain.

Janet almostgot sent toBisley, thehomeofBritish shootingandwhereonlythebestshotsgettocompete,anddidwinoneortwolittlecups.Shealso took another memorable flight, ‘I came over from Ireland with aflight to an airfield nearNewark. (R.A.F.) I had to refuel, and give theplaneaonceover.Sickagain.ANDonthewayback!’

Onanotherflight,

FleetAirArmservicingcrewatRNASAlthorne.(CourtesyofJanetBoddy,néePegden)

Iwentupona test flightanddid rolls, looped the loopandstallsandeverything.Itwasfun.Ihungontomybreakfastuntilwecameinto land. I well remember the pilot who tookme up on the testflight.Hewas calledDeMalpas-Finlay.He had a terrible stutter,exceptwhen hewas on theRT.He alsowore very thick glasses,andun-nervedhis passengersby asking them todirect him to theairfield!!Apparently,hewasflyingahelicopter inSingapore,andsomethinghappenedandhewentin.HewasheardallovertheshipBBBBugger!

WitnessataBoardofEnquiry

WhileservingatRNASEglintonJanetwitnessedthefatalcrashofaFAAFirefly,No.T2MB566,pilotedbyLieutenantTATallon,withActingSub-Lieutenant JEBrazenor asObserver.Shewaswaiting for her ownaircraft to come in when, in the distance, she saw the Firefly suddenlydive into Lough Foyle. Glancing up at the control tower, she assumed,from their reaction, that they’d also witnessed the accident, so sheconcentrated on getting her own pilot and aircraft safely into the shedbeforementioning the incident to theCPO incharge.Shewaspromptlyturned about andmarcheddirectly to the tower to explainwhat shehadseen; no one in the tower had seen anything and she was closelyquestioned before being dismissed. As one of the few people who hadactually seen the startof the incident shewascalled togiveevidenceattheBoardofEnquiry,whichwasheldatEglintonon18March1954,tendaysaftertheaccident.

Q65: Willyoutelluswhatyousaw?A: IwasonNo737SquadronHardStandingonthe8thMarch

1954,abouthalfpastfour.Iwaswaitingformyaircraftandwas looking out over ‘B’ and ‘C’ dispersals, just overtowards theFoyle fromwhere Iwas, and I saw theaircraftabout 1” or 2” above the skyline and I saw it for about 2secondsandthenitsuddenlyputitsnosedownandasitdid,itturnedonitsbackandwentinanabsolutelyverticaldive.Icouldn’t see it actually crash into the water because itdisappearedbehindthetrees,butIsawnothingfallfromtheaircraft and there was no smoke; as far as I could see the

undercarriagewasretracted.That’saboutallIcansay.Q66: Howfarwouldyousaytheaircraftwasfromyouwhenyou

firstsawit?A: Itisverydifficultformetosay,butIcouldjusttellitwasa

Firefly,butnotwhatmarkitwasorit’snumber.Ishouldsayabout6milesatleast.

Q67: Howmuch nose down would you say the aircraft reachedbefore starting to roll?Whatwas thepositionanddirectionoftheaircraftrelativetoyou?

A: FromwhereIwasitwasinlinewith‘B’and‘C’dispersalsandabovetheskylineabout2”.Itwasaboutacrossmylineofvisionbutgoingawayveryslightly.

Q68: Willyoutrytodescribeverycarefullywhatyousawof theaircraftnosingdownandrolling?

A: I first saw the aircraft acrossmy line of vision for about 2seconds,thenthenosestartedtofallandthestarboardwingdroppedatthesametimeanditwentovercompletelyontoit’sbackandthenwentintoaverticaldive.

Q69: Didyougettheimpressionthattheaircraftcontinuedtorollthroughoutisdive?

A: No, it looked to me as if it went straight and then turnedover.

Q70: Diditappeartogodownvertically?A: Yes,Sir.Q71: Thenyoulostsightofit?A: Yes,thetreesarequitehighoverthere.Q72: Can you give any estimate as to howhigh the aircraftwas

beforeitwentintoitsdive?A: Itisratherdifficulttosay.Itmusthavebeengoingdownfor

2to3secondsandthenIlostsightofit.

Janet answered some other questions regarding the weather, which hadbeensunny,confirmedthatshehadseennothingfallfromtheaircraftandhadseennosmoke.Sheconfirmedthatshe’dbeenaWrenlookingafteraircraft for four years and three months and that she’d previouslywitnessedair crashes.Havinggivenherevidence shewithdrewandwas

notrecalled.Other witnesses gave evidence about the state of the aircraft, the

natureoftheflight(itwasjustashortonetotestinstruments)theweatherandtheirviewofthecrash.

The Accident Report was issued on 23 June 1954 and wasinconclusive, mainly because only part of the wreckage could berecovered from the Lough, but one point of concern was noted. TheFireflywasa‘GDropper’,anaircraftfittedwithG-typedinghydroppersmounted in bomb racks on the wings. Though Janet hadn’t seen anysmokewhentheaircraftcommenceditsdive,otherwitnessessaidthey’dseenwhatappearedtobeapuffofwhitesmoke.FollowingtheBoardofEnquiry the wreckage was re-examined, concentrating on the torn-offstarboardtailplaneandelevatorandtheG-typedroppersandalsotooneof the dinghies that had been found draped over the tail. Carefulmeasurement of the parachute lines between the dinghy and containershowedthetotallengthofthelinesandthedinghywouldallowittoreachthe tail-plane area and examination of the tail plane itself revealed twosmallmarksandatinyfragmentoffibrecloselyresemblingthebuoyancycord of the dinghy. There had been incidences of dinghies beingprematurely released when aircraft were on the ground (one actuallyoccurredatEglinton, tendaysafter theaccidentJanetwitnessed)but theAccidentReportcouldonlycomment:

Without theengineand remainderof theunrecoveredwreckage itimpossibletoarriveatanypositiveopinionsastothecauseoftheaccident. The evidence relating to the ‘G’ droppers is far tooinconclusivetoventureanopinionastowhetherprematurereleaseofthedinghytookplace.Ifadinghyweretofallfromitscontainer,outofsequence,it isstillproblematicwhethertheresultwouldbeto foul the flap and set up an unstable condition, or whether theresult would drogue back and upwards sufficiently to foul theelevatorhornbalance.It isknown,however,thatwhenthedinghyis inflated a small cloud of chalk is released which is visible toonlookers.

Even though the report was inconclusive, its one recommendation istelling,‘Itisunderstoodthatanimproved“G”Droppercontainerisbeingdeveloped. If this is so then it is recommended that its production and

issue to the Service be hastened as it is considered that the presentcontainer is extremely flimsy and, if not maintained in virtually 100%condition,couldbeextremelydangerous.’

OverthecourseofhertenyearsasaWrenintheFAAJanetworkedmainly onFireflies andSeaFuries, though she alsoworked onAnsons,Sea Otters, Gannets and Scimitars. While at Eglinton she even helpedrefuelthreeSpitfiresoftheIrishAirForcethatlandedthere,thoughsincetheyrarelyoverflewNorthernIrelandairspacequitewhattheyweredoingthesesheisn’tsure.

AfterherserviceatEglinton,Janetattendedapettyofficer’scourseatArbroath,not far fromDundee.This lasted for sixmonthsand involvedmore machine-shop work – lathing, filing, drilling, but the exam piecewasanewone–whichthrewtheWrenswhohadbeencarefullydrilledbytheinstructorsinthestandardtests.NoneoftheWrenscouldunderstandthe initial drawing and the instructors had to redraw the test design tosomething they couldwork from. Even so, Janet didn’t dowell on thispart of the test and, though she passed overall, shewasn’t immediately‘ratedup’topettyofficer.

ShewasthenpostedtoAnthorne,nearCarlisle,workingonthebaserather than with a squadron, doing big repairs in the workshops. As aleading wren she had not only her own work but was responsible foroverseeing other fitters and for signing off their work. Anthorne was averyisolatedbase,19milesfromCarlisleitself,butJanetwasonlythereforaboutsixmonths.

Janet was then made up to acting petty officer and sent back toLossiemouth, serving thereuntil shecompletedher service in1959.Shewassoonmadeuptofullpettyofficerandputinchargeofpublications–keepingthetechnicalmanualsupdated.Updateswouldbereceivedandallthemanualswerecalledinandthenewsectionscarefullypastedin–sheremembers itwasquitehard at times toget the fitters topartwith theirbooksandacertainamountofbullyingwasinvolved!Itwasn’tajobsheenjoyedasmuchasherpreviousones.

AtLossiemouth shemade aparticular pal ofMolly,whoworked inthestores.POshadtheirownmesswhichhaditsownbar,towhichguestscouldbe invited.TheyheldMolly’sweddingreception there,decoratingthewholeplacewithflowers.

Janet tookpart in a lotof amateurdramatics at hervarious stations,

usually backstage doing costumes or scenery, though she played MrsMould,an‘olddragon’inMadameLouise,heroneandonlyventureontothe boards. The plays were performed on the air stations but didoccasionallygoouttolocalhallsandtheatres.

Janet’sdadalwayshadamotorbikeandJanetandherfriendBarbaradecided to buy an old 500cc Rally between them. They sold that andbought aBSA 250 andwhenBarbarawas posted she sold her share toJanet.JanetthenboughtaTriumphTigerCubwhichshedidmanymileson.Shedidn’thaveahelmetandworeordinaryclothes(thoughwithextrajumpers).

Askedaboutherrelationshipwiththepilots,whowereallofficersinherperiodofservice,shetoldme,

We always called out pilots Sir, unlesswewere on social terms,andoffduty.Iwasneveronsocialtermswithanofficer.Ithoughtit was social climbing, and was brought up in a family whodisapproved of that sort of thing!! My mother was a littledisappointedthatIdidn’tgoinforaCommission,butIenjoyedmyjob. I didn’t think the junior officers had as much fun as I didanyway.

Janet left theWRNS aftermarryingGeoffMorley, whoworked onradio–theymetoveranaircraft–andashewasonlyaleadinghandsheoutranked him! By special dispensation he was allowed into the POs’mess.Shetaughthimtoridehermotorbike(hecouldalreadydriveacarandhadoncecollidedwith theMinisterofDefence’sRolls-Royce).Shemarried Geoff while still serving on 27 December 1958, a civilianweddingratherthanaserviceone.TheyrentedaprivatehousenearElginwhere she entertained many of her colleagues. Eventually, Geoff waspostedtoYeoviltonandtherulessaidthatifyourhusbandwaspostedyouhad to follow him, but onlywhen a post became vacant.With no PO’spostatYeovilimmediatelyopen,Janetresignedfromtheservice,thoughasshereadilyadmitsshehadnoideawhatshewasgoingtodo.Sheendedupworkingasademonstratorinashop–butshebecamepregnantshortlyafterthis.

She still admits that she resented having to leave theWRNS – lifeseemedsomuch less funand therewere far toomany things incivilianlifetoworryabout.SheremainsamemberoftheWRNSAssociation.

ResearchingJanetPegden

FindingofficialmaterialontheFAAstationsJanetwaspostedtohasbeensomething of a problem.Very little seems to have survived, or at leastbeen released. Given her rank, and the fact her service was all inpeacetime, it would be unlikely that anything mentioning her by namewouldhavebeenkeptanyway,butevensotherereallyisn’tmuch.

The only file from the period I could find on theWRNS TrainingEstablishmentatBurghfieldwasADM1/24846,whichcontainsamassof(partlytongue-in-cheek)correspondenceaboutwhetheritcouldbegivenaship’s name aswomenwere not supposed to be aboard even a nominalship after dusk. The correspondence runs from 1946 to 1953, whenBurghfieldwasfinallynamedHMSDauntless.

There are awhole series of ships logs forHMSFulmar, the ship’sname forRNASLossiemouth, in 1958 fromADM53/149179 onwards,but they saynothing about theworkof the station itself, tending just toconfirm that the ‘watches’ were carried out correctly and makingoccasional mention of ratings (unnamed) being transferred to otherstations.TherearenoextantlogsforYeovilton(HMSHeron),Anthorne(HMSNuthatch),Eglinton(HMSGannet)orBurghfield.

SomesquadronrecordsfortheFAAupto1955areatTNAinADM207 series. In addition to standard operational reports,ADM335 seriesalso includes accounts of aircraft trials, a few squadron histories andaccident summaries from1967onwards.TheFleetAirArmMuseumatYeoviltonholdsmanysquadronrecordbooksfromthe1950s,aswellasthe squadron ‘line books’, which are particularly amusing. Running inparallel with the SRBs, these are a much less formal view of thesquadron’sactivities.Concentratingmainlyontheaircrew,theyconsistofinformal (sometimes extremely informal!) photographs, newspapercuttings, cartoons andpoems.Formostof themyouget the feeling thatyouneedtohavebeentheretounderstandtheexactnatureofthejoke,buttheydogiveafeelforthelifeofaFAAcrewmemberatworkandatplay.Most of the line books cover peacetime operations but there are one ortwofromtheSecondWorldWarandothersfromKoreaandotherwars.YeoviltonalsohassomematerialonWrensintheFAA.

FAA accident reports for the 1950s are usually inADM1 series atTNAinKew.Searchingonthekeyword‘Accident’fortheyear1954and

restricting theseries toADM1actuallybringsupseventy-nineresults–many actually refer to accidents that occurred in 1953, but whereenquiries continued to 1954. One report leaps out as a likely one,however, inADM1/25323: ‘AircraftAccidents:FireflyTBMB566on8.3.54atRNASEglinton.Includes1photographdepicting:FireflyTMk2:damage tomainplaneRib11.Dated1954’.This is, indeed, thereporton the accident Janet witnessed and I’ve quoted her section verbatimbecauseitmatchedsoaccuratelythestoryshetoldme.