PO William Edmond Dubroy and SGMN Joseph Leonard Dubroy (Courtsey of Find a Grave)

11 February 1944 saw the loss of two of the Dubroy brothers, tragically in one fateful accident.

PO William Dubroy was born in Ottawa, Canada on 15 January 1917, brother Joseph followed in 1922.  Sons of Louis and Mary Dubroy, they were two of 14 siblings.  Three other brothers served during World War II, and survived.

William felt it was his duty and enlisted in 1940, training as a Wireless Operator before joining 425 (Alouette) Squadron, RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). Joseph, like his brother, enlisted in 1942 and joined the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.

On 11 February, Joseph was on leave from his unit and joined William for some time together. He was given permission join his brother on, what should be, a training flight. The Halifax aircraft took off RAF Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire, on a “Bulls Eye Exercise” over the English Midlands.

During the flight, the port outer engine failed, and despite the best efforts of the crew crashed on farmland near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Debris was scattered over four miles, as the aircraft fell on its back and caught fire. All on board were killed instantly.

William and Joseph are both buried in Persephone Cemetery,  Worcestershire and are remembered on a memorial in St Marys Church, near Hanbury.  Both their names are cut into IBCC panel 157.

CREW OF HALIFAX LW395:

PO Joseph Albert (RCAF)               J/88332                                 Bomb Aimer                       Panel 121

PO Joseph Aubin (RCAF)                J/85928                                 Pilot                                       Panel 125

SGMN Joseph Dubroy                    C/100506                             Signaller                               Panel 157

PO William Dubroy (RCAF)           J/85409                                 Wireless Op                        Panel 157

PO Joseph Fleury (RCAF)               J/98477                                 Air Gunner                          Panel 165

SGT Joseph Mayville (RCAF)         J/141896                              Air Gunner                          Panel 206

FS Harold Mitton (RAFVR)            1319639                                Navigator                            Panel 213

SGT John Shannon (RAFVR)         1801992                                Flight Engineer                  Panel 239

New blogs are added daily, visit our blog space to read more.

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On the night of the 23 September 1943 the crew of Lancaster ED 702, piloted by P/O Cyril T Anderson, were lost without trace whilst on an operation over Mannheim.  Reports of the night from returning crews reported heavy numbers of German Night Fighters over the target.  This was their 22^nd operation as a crew. That night Bomber Command lost 18 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes and 7 Wellingtons and all their crews.

It is believed that ED 702 was shot down by Lt Heinz Grimm and that the crash happened near Insheim.  The local Catholic Priest, Revd Jakob Storck and local residents buried the bodies in a local churchyard.

Jakob remembers:

” In the night from 23/24 September at about 23.30 o’clock a horrific bombing raid started over Ludwigshafen and Frankenthal. Flying back from the strike, over 30 allied bombers were shot down. One of them also crashed here. It came down over our church not very high crashing next to the church of Insheim. I will never forget the view of its fire-tail…All of those men in that plane died. Two of them bailed out, but also died. Those who stayed inside were found hacked to death and terribly burned. They were registered by the Wehrmacht, and because there were so many of them found in that night, also in Herxheim, Flemlingen…etc, the mayor asked me to bury them-there should be a priest with them the mayor said. So I did it. Five of them on Sunday the 26th of September and the other two aircrew men on Tuesday the 28th of September. The following nights there were some more disturbing. But in October everything was quiet… ”

In April 1948 the crew were moved to the Rheinberg British War Cemetery.

L to R: Jock Paterson, Jimmy Green, Doug Bickle, Arthur Buck, Cyril Anderson and John Nugent

Below are some eyewitness statements, kindly provided by Katja Bauer

Edwin:

I was 16 years old at the time and had night care work that night.  The bombers and bombs could be heard in the village, although the cities of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim are about 50 km away.  I think it was around midnight when I saw bombers on the return flight.

One of them was deep and burning.  He flew towards Offenbach and went lower and lower.  It was the Lancaster ED 702 with its crew, which I have now learned.

Liselotte.

That night was terrible again, I was 14 years old and we, me and my family were hiding in the basement because we had a flight alarm.  We heard the bombers fly over us.

The next day, September 24, 1943 was a wonderfully warm autumn day.  We made our way to the field and in the wangert to work.   On the way there we heard rumours that a bomber crashed in Offenbach during the night.

On the way to our field work we discovered a body in a tree hanging on a parachute.   It was a man, he was dead.  The older residents spat and insulted him.  You could see that it was not a German.   In his uniform he had a letter for Canada.  So, we assumed it was a Canadian.

The men cut the young man off the tree, looking for items the man could use.   The women set about the parachute, which you could use.  Liessel takes pity on the young man.  Maybe he was just 20 years old, the same age as her brother who was still at war.

The older residents blamed the unknown for everything that they had to experience at the moment.

After cutting the body free, it was first brought to the morgue in Ottersheim.  A day later, after it was clear that it should have been an inmate of the crashed bomber in Offenbach, the body was brought to Offenbach to the others of the crash.

During various visits by eyewitnesses over the night, or field workers from September 24, 1943, I presented various photos of men.  Everyone was certain and pointed to Jimmy independently.

“It was He, I will never forget this young face,” said another eyewitness.

Our thanks to both Katja Bauer and to Dom Howard from www.lancasterbombers.net for his valuable research and continued support of the IBCC.

The crew are all remembered on the Walls at the Centre and in the IBCC Losses Database https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/

Les Rutherford spent Easter 1945 as a POW, but it was a different type of imprisonment from what we are experiencing at this time.

Les had been captured after his plane has been shot down over Germany, and in January 1944 he was marched to the infamous POW camp, Stalag III where he remained for the rest of the war. Trading three bars of chocolate for a Red Cross diary, he was to record and document life in the camp.  A compelling record that is full of drawings, poems, recipes and anecdotes.

Supplies were eaten sparingly in general during in Stalag Luft III. Deliveries were sporadic and often late, meaning food had to sustain the prisoners for longer periods than it was intended. Luckily, in March and April 1945, they were receiving regular supplies from the Americans and the Red Cross. Les and Frank were able to save up and have a “big bash” on that Easter Sunday.

Les and Franks Easter Sunday “Big Bash”, 1945

Breakfast

2 slices of fried bread topped with half a tin of sardines, one slice of spam, a small potato and a Rose Mill Pate cake. Served with a side cup of boiled barley.

Lunch

1 cup of soup followed by a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

Dinner

1 and a half day’s potato ration served with half a tin of spam. Accompanied by a side of 4 slices of bread. Homemade trifle for dessert.

Les and Franks Trifle Recipe

Cut a Kilm tin in half, this will act as the container for your trifle.

First a layer of coffee cream, topped by a layer of chocolate cream.

Mix together biscuit, margarine, sugar and chocolate- this will act as the cake layer.

Next layer on a chocolate and raisins mixture.

Top this with whipped cream and a thin layer of pineapple cream. Yummy!

Les Rutherford’s POW diary has been preserved in the IBCC Digital Archive, you can read more about his experiences here.

Visit the IBCC blog page to find out more about Bomber Command.

The Dutch National Liberation Skirt

The National Liberation Skirt, Nationale Bevrijdingsrok or Feestrok, was the brainchild of Dutch resistance fighter and feminist, Mies Boissevain-van Lennep.  Mies and her family had been involved in efforts to house and protect Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. For four years they hid fugitives and gave them false identities. In August 1943, Mies and her three sons were arrested by the Gestapo. her two eldest sons were executed two months later.

Mies and her remaining son, Frans, were imprisoned in the Herzogenbusch concentration camp. Here, Mies worked as a nurse in the hospital and managed to escape the gas chambers on many occasions. During her imprisonment a patchwork scarf was smuggled into her. It was created from textiles with personal significance to her, including a pieces from her children’s clothing. This was a treasured item laced with special memories and a symbol of hope and love.

After the liberation of the Netherlands in May 1945, Mies became a member of a women’s committee. They decided to create a new garment that represented ‘unity and diversity’, ‘new from old’, ‘building from the broken’ and ‘one garment creates unity’ and rebuilding the Netherlands after the devastation of the war. The feestok was born.

The National Liberation Skirt

The National Liberation Skirt design took direct inspiration from that precious piece of cloth smuggled to Mies during her imprisonment. The skirt was constructed by sewing colourful fragments of material onto an old skirt, making the old skirt ‘vanish’ and creating a colourful new ‘garment’. At the front of the skirt there had to be a triangle with ‘5 mei 1945’ embroidered (5^th May 1945 was Liberation Day in Holland).

Each skirt that was created was registered and the name, address and date of birth of the maker noted, both in a national archive and on individual cards. The skirt was given a special number, which was also often stitched onto the skirt itself. Women would also stitch on other important dates relating to the maker’s family or national celebrations. 4,000 skirts were registered, but it is likely that many more were made and worn.

The feestrok  has been described as “a female mode of political expression … [which] explicitly linked gender to the reconstruction of a ravaged country and the general striving for ‘breakthrough’ and social renewal.” (Withuis, Jolande (1994). “Patchwork politics in the Netherlands, 1946-50: women, gender and the world war II trauma”. Women’s History Review)

We will be sharing more blogs about World War II in the Netherlands in honour of the 75th Anniversary of Operation Manna this month, visit our blog space to find out more.

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Approximately 20,000 people had died through starvation, with a further 980,000 classed as malnourished. Desperation had lead to many having to survive by eating small animals including pets and tulip bulbs, some of which were poisonous.

Scooping out the remains at a soup kitchen

Negotiations for a truce to be agreed between the allies and Nazis had already begun in the winter of 1944/45, after pressure had been placed on Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt by Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. This agreement would allow the humanitarian relief for the starving Dutch people.

There was much work to be done to enable this rescue mission to take place.  Key amongst these was the arrangement for a ceasefire to enable the safe transit of the food aid. Food had to be sourced and mechanisms for dropping it safely had to be researched and trialed.  The dropping of the food followed a huge logistical programme which was masterminded by Air Cdre Andrew Geddes. He was also responsible for negotiating the ceasefire with the Axis forces. The Dutch call him the Man of Manna.

The Dutch authorities had only one day’s notice in which to arrange for the actual collection of the food once it had hit the ground, and to arrange for its transportation from the fields.  There were six designated drop zones: Valkjenburg airfield (Katwijk) , Duindigt Racecourse and the Ypenburg Airfield (The Hague), Waalhaven Airfield and Kralingse Plas (Rotterdam) and Gouda.  To each of these an air corridor had been agreed under the terms of the ceasefire.

Food being transported from the drop site to The Hague

It was reported by a member of the first crew that flew, that at Terbregge in the Rotterdam area, not even a horse drawn cart could enter the enormous field and thousands of men had to manually collect and carry the food by hand. First Aid posts were also set up across the country as there was a real fear of food parcels actually striking and injuring the people in the fields, who were awaiting the arrival of the aircraft. The Germans decided that anti-aircraft guns would be placed at certain drop sites as a precaution. The idea was that they could react immediately if it turned out that the Allied aircraft dropped paratroopers instead of food!

Leaflets like this were delivered to alert the population, help was on its way

Food packs included tinned items, dried food, tea and coffee and chocolate.  After much testing of different packaging, hessian sacks were used, some of which were sourced from the US Army.

The ceasefire was signed on the 30th April.  Operation Chowhound, the US Army Air Forces aid drop, started on the 1st May and delivered a further 4,000 tons of food.  This was followed, on the 2nd May, with a ground based relief mission, Operation Faust.  It is estimated that these drops saved nearly a million Dutch people from starvation.

The Dutch showed their gratitude for the drops in a number of ways.  Here marked with empty food bags

Three aircraft were lost during the operation, two in a collision and one suffered an engine fire.  Despite the ceasefire, several aircraft returned with individual bullet holes, assumed to have been fire from individual German soldiers.

For more images from Operation Manna click here

Hear an account of the Op by Norman Wilkins here and an interview with the world’s leading expert on Op Manna, Johannes Onderwater here

Flying Officer Donald Garland VC was one of 4 brothers who lost their lives serving the RAF during WW2.  He was born to Patrick and Winifred in Ballinacor, County Wicklow, Ireland in 1918, the youngest of 5 children.  His siblings were Patrick (1908 -1945), John (1910 -1943), Sheila (1912 -1988) and Desmond (1916 – 1942).

He was a Pilot flying Fairey Battles with 12 Squadron .  On the 12th May 1940 he was on a daytime operation to take out a bridge over the Albert Canal, in Belgium.  The mission was extremely risky and the Squadron lost all but one of the 5 Fairey Battles taking part.  His aircraft was shot down close to the target which was heavily defended both with Anti Aircraft Guns and German Fighter planes.  He was only 21 when he was killed.  He and his Observer, Sgt Thomas Gray, were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery.  Please see the citation below.

Donald was originally buried in secret by local civilians and was then re-interred by the Allies in 1945 and is now buried in Heverlee War Cemetery, near Lovain, Belgium.

Link to the IBCC Losses database entry for Donald Garland

VC Citation for Donald (London Gazette 11th June 1940):

“Flying Officer Garland was the pilot and Sergeant Gray was the observer of the leading aircraft of a formation of five aircraft that attacked a bridge over the Albert Canal which had not been destroyed and was allowing the enemy to advance into Belgium. All the aircrews of the squadron concerned volunteered for the operation, and, after five crews had been selected by drawing lots, the attack was delivered at low altitude against this vital target. Orders were issued that this bridge was to be destroyed at all costs. As had been expected, exceptionally intense machine-gun and anti-aircraft fire were encountered. Moreover, the bridge area was heavily protected by enemy fighters.

In spite of this, the formation successfully delivered a dive-bombing attack from the lowest practicable altitude. British fighters in the vicinity reported that the target was obscured by the bombs bursting on it and near it. Only one of the five aircraft concerned returned from this mission. The pilot of this aircraft reports that besides being subjected to extremely heavy anti-aircraft fire, through which they dived to attack the objective, our aircraft were also attacked by a large number of enemy fighters after they had released their bombs on the target. Much of the success of this vital operation must be attributed to the formation leader, Flying Officer Garland, and to the coolness and resource of Sergeant Gray, who in most difficult conditions navigated Flying Officer Garland’s aircraft in such a manner that the whole formation was able successfully to attack the target in spite of subsequent heavy losses. Flying Officer Garland and Sergeant Gray did not return.”

Link to the IBCC Losses Database for Desmond Garland

Desmond was a Pilot serving with 50 Squadron, flying the Avro Manchester.  On the 15th June 1942, his crew took off from RAF Skellingthorpe on a nighttime mine-laying mission in the Gorse Region.  The aircraft never returned and only one member of the crew survived.  He became a POW and later told that the aircraft had been shot down and crashed into the sea just off the French coast.  He was 27 when he died.

John Garland served in the RAFVR was killed on the 28th February 1942.  He was 32 when he died.  He is buried in Midhurst Cemetery in Sussex.  It is thought that he was a Medical Officer

Patrick Garland served as a Pilot in 2 Squadron Tactical Reconnaissance Unit and was flying a Spitfire XIV on an operation to Gilze-Reijen.  His aircraft bounced on landing, stalled and crashed upside down.  He died on the 1st January 1945, aged 36.  He is buried in Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery

Article covering the Patrick’s death

More stories like this can be found on our Blog Space.

During WW2, very few Bomber pilots flew 60 missions back to back.

One such pilot was Flying Officer Leslie Valentine CdeG. Whose story is quite inspirational.

At the start of the hostilities in 1939, he was called up for military service and joined the Highland Light Infantry as an infantryman.  In the ensuing months he was landed in France as a combatant shortly after the Dunkirk Evacuation. His time in France was short lived, and he returned to home shores some 10 weeks later.

A notice was posted on the Battalion notice board asking for volunteers for aircrew, as there was a shortage of pilots and navigators in the RAF.

                                 F/O Leslie Valentine CdeG

Valentine, being a mathematician readily volunteered. Only two were accepted, one a 2^nd Lieutenant and Pvt Valentine. Unfortunately the 2^nd Lieutenant broke his arm and so Valentine went alone through the selection process and was duly installed as a student Pilot in the RAF.

His initial pilot training took place in England, where he was to be introduced to flying in a Tiger Moth. This phase of his training completed, he was shipped off to Canada, to undergo Twin Engine training at Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada, where he gained his “wings” and the coveted brevet of a fully fledged pilot.

Training completed, the newly qualified bomber pilot was shipped back for active service training to 13 Operational Training Unit in RAF Bicester in Oxfordshire. Training firstly on the Bristol Blenheim, and then over to RAF Finmere 2 miles away to complete operational training on the aircraft that was to be his ‘Partner’ for  the next 18 months of conflict. This was the Douglas Boston IIIA, a tricycle under-carriaged light bomber that was both fast and manoeuvrable.

The squadron Valentine was posted to was No.88 Sqn, 2^nd Tactical Air Force, Bomber Command. The operations for this squadron were conducted mainly in daylight and in close formation, against targets, where disruption of supply lines was paramount in the halting of enemy reinforcements, road bridges, rail marshalling yards, road transport convoys, submarine pens and V1 rocket launching sites.

Such was the abilities of the Boston that it was the operational choice to undertake the hazardous task of laying smoke over the beaches, to protect the invading UK forces on D Day 6^th June 1944.

Entrusted with this, the RAFs most critical role on D-Day, Valentine took his 88 Squadron Boston ‘E-Easy’ down to 50 feet above the D-Day beaches, laying smoke to protect the invasion forces from enemy fire. Above and over his aircraft arched the trajectories of shells from the 14” guns of the capital ships of the Royal Navy 8 miles off shore, and the German 88 heavy guns firing back from just inside enemy lines.  Not only was there the chance of being hit by those shells, but, as the UK forces on the ground were unsure who the aircraft flying so low above them were, they also let fly with small arms fire

                     Boston IIIA E-Easy

Two aircraft were lost on this mission, but Valentine returned safely, (if somewhat shaken) to 88 squadron’s base at RAF Hartford Bridge.

Before and after D-Day Valentine flew many sorties against tactical targets by both night and day. He flew two tours back to back, (60 operations in all), in the first tour 36 operations and in the second tour 24 operations with only a 4 week leave between tours. A feat accomplished by only a select few pilots in Bomber Command.  He was awarded the Criox de Guerre with Silver Star by the French for his efforts in the battles for their liberation.

In 2013 he was one of the guests of honour at the launch of the International Bomber Command Centre which was held at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire.

Unfortunately he passed away in April 2014, at 94 years of age. He had been living in Hethe, Oxfordshire, which is only 4 miles from where he was trained in 1943 at RAF Bicester and RAF Finmere.

Last November, accompanied by his son, he visited the Bomber Command Memorial in London and on his visit was afforded the unique opportunity of being hosted at 10 Downing Street, where Prime Minister David Cameron spent some time with Flying Officer Leslie Valentine and presented him with the WW2 Defence Medal, which he had never received at the time of issue.

His son Sqn Ldr Dudley Valentine has granted permission for Lesley’s log book and personal papers to be included in the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive to ensure that his story can help educate people for generations to come.

PM David Cameron presents Flying Officer Valentine ensure that his story can help educate people for generations with the WW2 Defence Medal.

There are not many of our WW2 Bomber Command heroes still with us, and at this time, we should set aside a thought in our hearts for those brave aviators who gave their lives for our freedom, and we should give those still with us, our very best regards.

Sqn Ldr JAN BLAZEJEWSKI    P.0004 POLISH AIR FORCE

Sqn Ldr Jan Blazejewski  was born 4^th February 1904 at Winnica, Polode.  He attended the Aviation Cadet School at Deblin where he trained as a pilot, graduating on 15th August 1933. He was assigned to 6th Air Regiment as an observer and completed his training by 1934 at Pilot school at Sadkow.

When the Germans Invaded Poland, Jan escaped via Romania to France and then onto England, where he joined 304 (Silesian) Squadron. He had the rank of Kaptain in the Polish Air Force, and by the time of his death had been awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for courage and exemplary leadership during 20 bombing operations over France, Germany and occupied Europe – a total of 120 hours.  He was also awarded the Polish medals, VM 5^th Class and Four Times FW.

On 16^th December 1941, Wellington R1064 took off from RAF Lindholme to the docks at Oostende at 16.57. A distress call was heard at 19.05 close to Manston, and then nothing. The aircraft was seen to plunge into the sea believed to have fallen victim to a night-fighter.

 CREW OF WELLINGTON R1064-NZ: click on the names to see their entry in our Losses Database

Sgt Boguslaw Golabek                                                  P79367                  Air Gunner                          Panel 40

F/O Jan Komlacz                                                             P.0301                   Observer                             Panel 60

Sgt Hubert Rutkowski                                                    P.781201              Air Gunner                          Panel 93

Sgt Kazimierz Suwalski                                                   P.780356              Air Gunner                          Panel 103

F/O Marian Szczodrowski                                               P.76740                Pilot                                     Panel 104

Jan is buried in Dunkirk Town Cemetery, France; Plot 11, Row 3, Grave 2.  

Photo courtesy of Polish War Graves

There are more stories about those who suffered and served with Bomber Command on the IBCC Blog Space

Sqn Ldr HAROLD LESTER LINDO J/4762 RCAF DFC

Heralding from Sligoville, Jamaica, Harold Lindo enlisted on 20th June 1940 in Ottawa, Canada and began his training as an Observer/Navigator. He graduated on 15th August 1940 and by March 1941 he was in England. He was noted for his talent, his coolness under pressure and was well-respected within the crews.

His aircraft had gone down twice previously; once crashing into the sea and the second hitting high-tension wires. Nothing fazed him, and he remained enthusiastic.  In January 1942, he was promoted to Flight Lt and later that year was awarded a DFC with his investment on 4th December 1942.  He had returned to 103 Squadron as Bombing Leader and by January 1944, he had been promoted to Squadron Leader.

On 15th February 1944,  891 aircraft headed for Berlin; the largest force sent to the German capital. 17 aircraft came from 103 Squadron, RAF Elsham Wolds.  They flew at 22-24000 feet following route marking and target indicators.  Berlin was heavily bombed and suffered extensive damaged. It was believed that this raid was the end of the ‘Battle of Berlin’. Despite being told to not make contact over the capital, German fighters engaged the bombers.  Lancaster ND363 was shot down on it’s return by a night-fighter and crashed into the sea near Texel, Holland.  All the crew were killed.

CREW OF LANCASTER ND363 PM-A: – click on the names to see their entry in our Losses database

F/O Kenneth Atkins                                          144756                                  Air Bomber                         Panel 4

F/L Kenneth Berry (DFM)                                140907                                  Pilot                                       Panel 9

W/O William Mitton                                         1053665                                Wireless Operator           Panel 75

F/S James Peacock                                            1318159                                Air Gunner                          Panel 83

F/O Jack Southey                                               160096                                  Air Gunner                          Panel 100

F/O Kenneth Wilcock                                          52813                                    Flight Engineer                  Panel 115

Harold was born 6th July 1917, Kingston, Jamaica; the son of Harold Vincent and Jennie Rosalie Lindo. He is remembered at the Runnymede memorial on panel 244, and on IBCC panel 63.

Photo courtesy of https://www.northlincsweb.net/103Sqn/html/ken_berry_and_crew_103_sqn.html

Find out more about Bomber Command veterans and their stories here

The Secret Memoir

Like many boys growing up in the 50s and 60s, I knew that my Father had served in the armed forces in WWII. When I asked him what he had done, he modestly told me that he had flown on Stirlings and Lancasters with Bomber Command. He would only talk of the light-hearted times, and refused to talk about Op’s etc.

When I was about 7 I found his RAF officers uniform in my parents bedroom, and also a beautiful medal in it’s presentation box (along with a typed note from Buckingham palace “signed” by someone called George R).

Dad wouldn’t talk about the medal, but he told me it was a Distinguished Flying Cross, and George R was King George VI.

Dad remained silent about his war years and died on 4^th January 2004, aged 82.

The following day, whilst going through his personal papers, which he kept in an old wartime suitcase, I came across a small notebook which would unlock his wartime story.

It would seem that he wrote a secret memoir some fifty years after the War, late at night when he was alone. In it, he doesn’t explain what prompted him to put pen to paper. Was it to exorcise his demons, or did he mean me to find it and read the things he couldn’t bring himself to tell me? I will never know.

It was very difficult reading the memories of my wonderful, modest, loving Father so soon after his death; but I couldn’t put the book down.

It told how he had watched in horror as his home city of Birmingham was bombed, and his desperate frustration of being too young to “join up”

When old enough he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve and was selected for Flight Engineer Training.

He joined his crew on 622 Squadron in early summer 1943. They carried out 11 Op’s (crashing on return from a Berlin trip) before being selected for Pathfinder training, and subsequently joining 7 Squadron PFF.

In all, the crew completed 64 Op’s together (5 as Master Bomber) before being declared “Op’s expired” and going their separate ways in September 1944.

I learned that Dad had suffered terrible air sickness for his first 300 flying hours, but persevered. The Ground Crew gave him an empty biscuit tin so he wouldn’t make a mess of their aircraft.

His memoir was liberally peppered with many, many sad stories, and the names of his young friends and colleagues who had perished in the skies over war torn Europe. There were also recollections of terrible things he had witnessed and could never erase from his mind. He was, however, very proud to have served with Bomber Command, and especially of being a Pathfinder.

I spent five years researching my Dad’s crew (known as “The Lucky Crew” whilst serving with 7 Squadron at RAF Oakington) and was pleased to discover they all survived the war and returned to a normal life in England, Australia, and New Zealand.

My Father’s secret memoir is one of the reasons why I became a volunteer with the IBCC, and subsequently joined the staff. It’s a great honour and privilege to preserve the memories of those who had to endure the bombing war on all sides of the conflict, and to share their stories with the world.

An excerpt from the original memoir

Tom Jones DFC. 19th April 1921 – 4th January 2004

To read Tom’s log book please click here

RAF Swinderby Fuzing Point Shed

Across the country bit by bit most of our Bomber Command airfields are disappearing, but thanks to the work of the various Heritage Centres and Museums up and down the country some parts are being preserved for future generations some Airfields have all but gone completely now, only small pockets of their previous use remain.

One such pocket was discovered at the now disused RAF Swinderby, the owners of the land had no idea of the history of it when it was bought as Industrial Land to set up a factory. Indeed the site seemed well away from any remaining sections of the airfield.   The whole site had been cleared when the owners went to view it, the surface scraped and piled on the very far boundary which was covered in brambles and rubble, so no one thought to look beyond the pile of debris, until one lunchtime some bored employees decided to clear a path through and explore…to their surprise they found part of a very derelict building, obviously someone had previously tried to destroy it as most of the supporting struts had been cut through and removed. Just enough was left to photograph and record for the archives, and with the help of the Airfield Research Group it was identified as the RAF Swinderby Fuzing Point Shed, (Part of a Type C bomb store from the original 1940 layout).

Introduction

To commemorate the site’s earlier history Di Ablewhite, Alan Morris and Celia Morris started to investigate what remains of one of the Fuzing Point sheds which was part of RAF Swinderby’s Bomb Store. They are recording as much as they can before it disappears altogether. Working with advice from the Airfield Research Group, and particularly with the help of Peter Hamlin, the following information has been obtained for archive.

Location – SK 89641, 62658

Rough plan to give an idea of approximate location (not to scale)

Dimensions of Swinderby Fuzing Point Shed

         Length – 66ft                             Width – 16ft                          Head Height  – 7’ 9”

Manufacturer – Dorman Long & Co. Middlesbrough, England

Photo showing inside of a similar Fuzing Point Shed 

Similar view into the remains of the Swinderby Fuzing Point Shed

The following information and descriptions have come from Peter Hamlin who was an RAF Armament Fitter albeit post-war (1956 – 1970). He worked in bomb stores amongst other tasks so ‘missile preparation’ including bomb fuzing was part of his job.

Practically all structures on a military airfield in the British Isles were prescribed by an Air Ministry drawing with a unique number. For example, the ‘Bomb Store 50 ton Type C’ on this site was AM Drawing No 5416/40 and the Fuzing Point shed was (probably) 15963/40 Fuzing Point Heavy or 15964 Fuzing Point Light. The difference was in the internal shelves, racks and drawers to suit components for ‘light’ or ‘heavy’ bombs. The standard Nissen came in 16 feet width and 24 feet width, the length being in multiples of 6 feet, usually six sections, so 36 feet long. Fuzing Points were usually 60 feet long to take a train of trolleys. (Swinderby’s is 66 feet long.)

The frame consists of Tee section steel curved ribs with timber purlins. Internal and external sheeting was galvanised corrugated steel (better known as corrugated iron) laid horizontally. The end walls could be timber framing, timber clad or half brick. FP sheds were half brick with double width timber doors in timber frames at both ends, to enable bomb trains to be towed through. (Swinderby’s appears to be corrugated iron on a wooden frame.)

Photo showing exterior of southern end door with original camouflage paint

The earth traverses were to protect external structures and stores in the event of an accidental detonation. Technically they are known as ‘interceptor traverses’ because they are intended to catch and retain fragments of bomb casing. Surprisingly, a high explosive bomb sitting on a stack of similar bombs and detonating accident tally will usually just scatter the other bombs through blast effect. What can and does cause propagation – where other bombs detonate sympathetically – is fragments from the first bomb striking the cases of other bombs with great velocity.

In the early war Bomb Store the Fuzing Point Sheds were set slightly below ground level (as Swinderby’s is) to give extra protection and enable reduced traverse height. Later versions were ground level with higher ETs. But, it all depended on available safety distance. Regulations prescribed minimum safety distances between other buildings in the bomb store and also to the nearest service (RAF) and civilian occupied buildings.

Photo showing the earth traverses at the vandalised North End

Accidents were rare due to safety practices and usually involved faulty bombs or anti-handling bomb pistols during fuzing.

There were three standards of airfield bomb store built by the RAF, the pre-war 1936/37, the 1940 early war version Type C (which this version of Swinderby’s is sited on) and the 1942 version Type D. Swinderby had both. The Type C layout was inefficient when trying to support two or three operational squadrons requiring much double handling of receipts and issues and returns. When the airfield was upgraded to Class A standard with three hard runways, a supplementary Bomb Store to the 1942 standard was built in the south but now obliterated by post-war gravel pits and artificial lakes.

Scores of other airfields that had pre-war or 1940 standard bomb stores were given supplementary 1942 bomb stores. Where possible these were built next to – and connected to – the original bomb store but, where space was unavailable, in a separate location.

The bombs as brought from the store had transit fittings to protect the base and (in some types) provide a parallel rolling surface. The transit fitting were removed with bombs on the trolley.

Next, the bombs were ‘fuzed’ according to instructions from the Operations Room. Each bomb could be ‘fuzed’ in the nose only, tail only or both nose and tail. There was a bewildering array of Pistols and Fuzes to give instantaneous or delay detonation and even long delay. A Pistol was a purely mechanical item with no explosives and had to be used with a separate detonator. A Fuze contained a small amount of explosive and did not require a separate detonator. Fuzes were used mostly for air burst.

After the bombs were ‘fuzed’ the separate Tail Unit was installed and safety wires from the Pistol or Fuze led out through a grommet. The bomb train was then towed to the aircraft on dispersal for the ‘bombing up’ crews to load.

HE Bombs were just part of the load. Incendiary bombs were formed the greater part. Then there were Flares, Mines, Torpedoes, Pyrotechnics, Ammunition for guns. The bomb stores also kept Ground Defence items such as Grenades, Mortar Bombs etc. When a bomb store was to be ‘sited’ the designers took into account the terrain of the area and slotted the structures in locations where they could take advantage of natural screening features. The road had to be kept as level as possible with minimum gradients due to the tractor/trolley load involved. It is likely that Swinderby’s FP became semi-underground because soil was cut away to maintain the road level. (See below)

Photo showing original floor surface

The road systems were almost always single lane and a ONE WAY system enforced. The bends and corners were limited to a minimum radius to allow bomb trains easy passage. A single lane reduced the amount of materials required and speeded up the construction. FPs were usually built on a parallel loop road to allow through traffic to pass.

 Remains of original loop road system

Please respect that this is private land, and no public access is allowed.

Vera Atkins

Vera Atkins was the head of the French Section of SOE (Special Operations Executive).

She was born Vera Maria Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Romania in 1908. Upon her father’s death, the family emigrated to London and Vera anglicised her mother’s maiden name and became Atkins. Her pro-British views saw her recruited by British security and she was part of the team that helped evacuate Poland’s Enigma code breakers. She was posted to work in the Netherlands however, when the Nazis invaded, Vera was forced to escape back to England with the help of the Resistance.

Back in England, she became SOE assistant to French Section and served in a civilian capacity until in August 1944.  Vera was commissioned as a Flight Lt in the WAAF, before being made head of the French Section.

This position saw her oversee the recruitment and deployment of agents into France. In a job known as ‘Housekeeping’, she was responsible for 37 female agents.  The agents were trained to use a unique protocol when speaking to London, but signs that the circuits in France had been broken were missed. Vera was believed to have ignored clues that the radios were now in German hands, resulting in 27 agents being arrested and killed.

Perhaps guilt led her to search diligently for the missing agents after the war. There were still 51 missing. It was discovered that 118 had disappeared and of those 117 had been killed.  As part of a War Crimes unit she was able to confirm the agent’s deaths and thus give them a grave

 The Special Operations Executive was a British World War II organisation whose purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis power and to aid local resistance groups. Very few people knew of the group’s existence, those who did often referred to it as ‘The Baker Street Irregulars’ after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as  “Churchill’s Secret Army”  and the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”.

The IBCC has recorded and preserved 100’s of first-hand accounts of life during the War, they are available for free for everyone on the IBCC’s Digital Archive.

Like this blog? Visit the IBCC’s Blog Space to read more.

Noor- Un- Nisa Inayat Khan

Noor- Un- Nisa Inayat Khan was known as Nora. She was born New Years Day 1914 in Moscow, Russia. She was the eldest child of an Indian father and American mother. In 1914, she moved to London, and then Paris, where she studied at the Sorbonne and the Paris Conservatory. She fled back to in England, when Germany invaded France.

Wishing to serve, Nora joined the WAAF and trained as a wireless operator, and by June 1941 she was at Bomber Training School. She was reported as kind, keen and hard-working. With the support of Vera Atkins, an Intelligence Officer in the French Section, Nora joined the SOE (Special Operations Executive).

In June 1943, she became the first female wireless operator to be dropped into occupied Europe, where she made her way to Paris and used the cover of a ‘child’s nurse’.  Betrayed by a collaborator, Nora was arrested in October 1943 and interrogated before attempting to escape twice. She gave the Germans no information, but they were able to fool the British into believing that they were still communicating with their agent and this resulted in the captured of newly dropped agents.

Nora managed to escape in November 1943, but was quickly recaptured. As punishment, she was kept shackled and in solitary for ten months, before being transferred to Dachau Camp. It was here that she and three other female SOE agents were executed.

For her service, Nora was Mentioned in Dispatches, and posthumously awarded the George Cross and then the Croix de Guerre and in 2011 a bronze bust of Nora was unveiled in Gordon Square, London.

The IBCC has recorded and preserved 1000’s of first-hand accounts of life during the War, they are available, for free, for everyone on the IBCC’s Digital Archive.

Want to find out about Vera Atkins?  IBCC’s Blog Space to read more.

Sergeant Oscar KL Jensen 

Oscar Jensen was born on 3^rd February 1916 and grew up in Manitoba, Canada. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air force and trained as a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner in February 1941. He transferred to Great Britain in April where he commenced training on Vickers Wellingtons.

At mid-day on 9^th August 1942 he took off aboard Wellington L7845 ZT-Z on a cross country flight from Number 20 OTU at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. An hour after take-off the aircraft crashed on Muckle Cairn, Angus; killing Oscar and two of his Canadian colleagues. The crash was attributed to the port engine cowling detaching and fouling the propeller.

Like so many Canadians, Oscar had travelled thousands of miles to serve with Bomber Command. He was killed whilst training, a fate shared by so many young men; their number not included in the 55,573 who are recorded as being lost during operational flying.

Below is a transcript of a letter in a newspaper that was loaned to the archive some time ago. It’s written by a total stranger to Oscar’s father, Einar Jensen, in Carman, Manitoba.

Dear Sir,

I hope you will pardon me taking the liberty of writing to you. I have put off doing so for two weeks but still feel I must write, so here I am.

Three young Canadian officers were laid to rest in a cemetery not far from where I live. The name of one was Sergeant O K L Jensen, your son, I expect. Need I say our heartfelt sympathy goes out to you and yours in your loss. I expect all the information you got was “killed on active service.” I am not allowed to add anything to that meantime.

I thought you might like to know where your boy’s last resting place is. The cemetery is a little country one on high ground about three miles from here. The funeral was on the 14^th August. A friend and I went to see the graves a day or two later and found them covered with wreaths and bunches of flowers. The cemetery keeper told us the coffins were covered with flags. The bugle sounded the Last Post and there was a firing party present. They each have their own resting place, not all in one grave. I wished I could have taken a snapshot to send to you, but at present we can’t get film for the camera. If we are spared till the war is won I will try to send a little snapshot of the place. Who knows but someday you may come over and see it yourselves. On the Sunday our minister spoke about the gallant lads who had given their lives and he prayed for the homes and loving hearts out in Canada that would be mourning the loss of their dear ones.

A lot more Canadian boys have given their lives lately and there will be many more sore hearts.

Somehow I felt a personal interest in the three lying not so far away. I’m just a plain working woman and can’t write a grand letter, but if it helps you parents just a little bit to hear about your boys, I will feel glad I wrote.

With Deepest sympathy, yours sincerely,

(Miss) M. J. Robertson

More on Oscar and his crew can be found here

A TRUE FRIEND          By Tony Trevor

This wartime recollection appears by kind permission of John Dimbleby

It is late afternoon on the 7^th January 1944. Everett’s bus is doing its usual normally incident free village run back from Lincoln to Atterby. However, this time it is different. The loud screaming noise of a Merlin engine in trouble was the first thing that turned the passenger’s attention away from their thoughts of everyday things. Then the sight of the flames quickly destroying the wings and spreading completed the horrific sight before them. One of our Lancaster’s had crashed and it looked bad. There was nothing for the shocked inhabitants of the bus to do but continue their journey and hope and pray that everyone was all right. In situations such as that a person can feel impotent and useless. You wish there was something you could do to help. However, for one passenger; Emma Sellars, when she alighted at Bishop Norton she knew that she had a task to do, and after depositing her shopping at home, she set off to fulfil it.

Dunholme Lodge is an area squeezed in between the A46 and the A15 about two miles to the north of Lincoln. For fifteen months during 1943 /44 it served as a Bomber Command base for 619 and 44 (Rhodesia) Squadrons. One of the new recruits to the latter, was Claude Dimbleby, who took up his post as a Mid- Upper Gunner on the 31st of May 1943. This also coincided with his 20^th birthday. Being a local lad, his home was just a few short miles away in Bishop Norton, so he had the opportunity of being able to sleep in his own bed much of the time. In contrast his pilot, Flight Sergeant Matheson, a Canadian, did not see his homeland for two and a half years. What he, Claude and the others did see was quite a lot of Germany. Their mostly nocturnal visits took them to places such as Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and they even popped over to Milan on one occasion.

Most crews were expected to complete thirty missions but after 27, Flt Sgt SA Matheson was seconded to a training unit. The rest were stood down but Claude had, through a bout of sinus trouble missed one trip, so was put on stand-by, ready to fly with a crew who found themselves a gunner short.

The moment arrived when Flying Officer Mercer and his crew happened to find themselves in need of a rear gunner and Claude was required to make up the numbers. This would not be his usual slot, but the Mid- Upper Gunner of W-William, Sergeant Bill Welch, offered to swop places. “I’ve had no real experience of that position” he told Claude, “so I wouldn’t mind giving it a go.”

They left Dunholme Lodge and headed for some practice firing ranges on the Wash. It was on their return that things started to go badly wrong. I will let Claude take up the story:

‘Engine overheating caused an overshoot of the east/west runway. This overheating then prevented us attaining enough airspeed to go round again. The inevitable was going to happen. We flashed past a wind pump tower at Grange-de-Lings Farm, a frightened worker fleeing down a ladder as fast as he could. From my position, I could see we were not going to clear a line of trees that now represents the northern boundary of Riseholme College.’

The damage was extensive. I’ve already described the flames, but all propellers were smashed, and Claude’s turret had lost its top, courtesy of a tree bough.

The crew beat a hasty retreat, but a head count revealed one member missing; Bill Welch although still conscious, could not make his escape due to his legs being trapped. His crew mates made frantic attempts to free him, but to no avail. When the medics came on the scene, all they could do was as Claude describes it, ’give him an injection to take away his pain before the flames arrived!’ How awful. That does not even bear thinking about.

Claude, Bill Welch and all their comrades were volunteers, young, brave lads. Acts of selflessness and courage come in all forms however, as Emma was to prove that night. She was a close friend of Claude’s Mum, and when she realised there was a good chance that her friend’s son may well have been on that plane, she made it her business to pay a call. Nothing was said about what she and the others had witnessed from the confines of the bus. To Claude’s Mum it was just her friend calling for a cuppa and a chat, even if to Minnie’s surprise she did stay rather longer than usual. Emma’s heart must have skipped a beat when the phone rang, and she realised the call was from the base! Claude’s survival, coupled with Bill’s death must have induced mixed feelings that night. If the outcome had been less in Claude’s favour, she was there ready to give support. To my mind, she was another wartime unsung heroine.

On the 60^th anniversary of the accident at 3-20 pm, Claude’s son John laid a wreath on the spot, in memory of Mid- Upper- Gunner Sgt William Harold Welch.

For more information on the project or to search the Losses Database or Digital Archive please click here

Sgt Grey Doyle Cumberbatch 1383404

One of the war graves in Long Bennington village Churchyard is that of the above airman. He lost his life when Lancaster 111 ED549 HW-S from 100 Sqn which took off at 18.32 from Grimsby on the 5^th March 1943 on a Gardening operation (mine laying) and crashed at 3.08 while trying to land at Langar airfield, Notts. They had been diverted from base due to fog.

Sgt Grey Doyle Cumberbatch was one of 12 young men known as ‘The Second Barbados Contingent’ who were recruited specifically for the Royal Air Force. The twelve young men included Errol W Barrow, who survived the war and went on to become Barbados’ first Prime Minister (1966-1976)

Barbados Postal Service issued a set of stamps commemorating their men who served in the Royal Air Force in WW2 and the above photo was one that was used. Sgt Cumberbatch is on the front row far left, and Errol Barrow is on the front row 3^rd from the right

G.D Cumberbatch was the eldest child and only son of Charles Wilkinson Cumberbatch and Ocatavia Ceciliy Cumberbatch née Jordan. He was born 2nd June 1921 and baptised 3rd July 1921 as Greystone Doyle Cumberbatch at St. Lucy Parish Church. He was only 21 when he was killed.

Relative, Bob Cumberbatch, states that on his voyage from Barbados to England he travelled on the SS Maaskerk in first class. The Barbados Second Contingent consisted of 12 well educated young men, six died and six lived.

On the 22^nd September 2012 a Memorial service was held in Plungar and a Memorial unveiled to the crew. Afterwards Grey’s sister, Nan Flora, came to Long Bennington to place flowers on her brother’s grave, and she shared more details about Grey, the fact he was a talented cricketer and pianist, and that the ship they travelled on had a piano but no one to play it, so Grey entertained everyone, every evening for the duration of the journey…..

A Navigator’s Story

This is the story told by the younger sister and a niece of a Bomber Command Navigator, who like all the brave Bomber Command colleagues have only just, 75 years on, started to be recognised for the ultimate sacrifice they made.

Our crew (as we always refer to them), like many bomber crews, were made up of seven men with different skills, we understand they chose each other as a crew and that personal chemistry was the deciding factor in their working together. We believe they met at Desborough in Northamptonshire in July 1944 where they started their heavy bomber training on Wellingtons.

They crew were, John Charles James, known as Jack, the Navigator from Manchester, he is the brother and the uncle referred to earlier. Donald Michael Roberts, known as Mick (Pilot) and  referred to as skipper (Farsley, Leeds); Frederick James Pape , Freddie , Rear Gunner (Bolton, Lancashire);  Harold Brickell, Mid Upper Gunner (Stockport), William Roberts, Wireless Operator (Reading, Berkshire); Charles Crookes, Bomb Aimer ( Lewisham, London) and George Whalley, Flight Engineer, from Glamorgan  (South Wales).

We are lucky enough to have the letters sent home from Stradishall in Suffolk where they were based as part of Number 3 Group with 186 Squadron, from November 1944 until April 1945. These letters tell a story of a close crew who shared chocolate cake sent by Jacks mother for them, along with spam and pickle sandwiches on the train back to their base. It would seem that Jack and his friend Freddie, would meet at Piccadilly station in Manchester and Harold would join them at Stockport en-route to Stradishall, after returning from leave.

The letters go on to tell, how Charles was sending a parcel home for his baby daughter, how Mick was being given leave to collect his older brothers MC, how they had their picture taken under the wings of their Lancaster, that they had at last got their own ‘plane and so were a happy crew again.

Their bombing raids were mainly in daytime over Germany to Kamen, Cologne, Dortmund, Datteln, Munster and Hamm. Their only night time raid was on the Friday 13 April 1945 to Kiel, and it was this mission on the return journey home where our crew all lost their lives, just as they were about to land back at base.  Sadly, two Lancasters (YPB 488 and YPB 483) were called in to land at the same time – resulting in a fatal crash in the early hours of the 14th April 1945.

The event is remembered well and noted by the late Philip Gray, a pilot at Stradishall, on that fateful day, his book Ghosts of Targets Past (1995), he goes on to say ” throughout the night and all of the following day the clean-up continued. 10 bodies were found, and there were three survivors”.

So the story continued, some 65 years on when we found the letters by chance in 2010, amongst them, some from the parents to other crew members’ families about their terrible loss of much loved sons, brothers and fathers, so close to the end of the war.

This resulted in us wanting to know more about these men and their lives as a bomber crew and resulted in a visit to Stradishall to meet a very special gentleman, Jock Whitehouse who has worked tirelessly over the years to keep the memory of 186 Squadron alive, and who gave us vital information about the collision, he even gave us a piece of the Lancaster (PB 488) they had flown in that had been retrieved over 40 years later from the field they crashed in. Of course we had to make a visit to the former base, and then went onto the local village church St Margaret’s where a rose was planted in their memory, we are told it flowered the year after being planted.

More recently, hearing of the launch of the long overdue International Bomber Command Centre, there were discussions about ordering a memorial stone for a much loved brother and uncle as part of the ‘Ribbon of Remembrance’ initiative. Then, the Navigator’s little sister, who was then 82 said, ‘’Jack would not like that, look at the letters again, they were a crew and they each deserve a special memory, they lived and died together’’.  More research has revealed that some of the crew, have no surviving relatives, and so a memorial stone has been ordered for each of them, and a request that they are placed next to each other as a team, just as they were in 1945.

To remember a loved one in the Ribbon of Remembrance, please click here

AVM Sir R.A. Cochrane – provided by Geoff Raebel, Australian Bomber Command Association Editor

 It was a particularly bitter night in the winter of 1944 as the Warrant Officer made a last check of the dispersals of his Flight at 463 Squadron, Waddington. Snow swirled around him as he trudged from bay to bay, it was not a night to be out. Under the wing of a Lancaster something moved, instantly alert the W/O cautiously approached a man. To put the other off-guard he bellowed at him “Who the blazes are you?”

The man pulled pack one shoulder of his greatcoat to reveal his shoulder flashes “Cochrane, AVM.”

The W/O snapped to attention while doing a double-take and simultaneously threw up a salute “Sir” It was the Commanding Officer of 5 Group, Bomber Command.

“Who are you” Cochrane asked and the W/O identified himself then Cochrane continued “I was just visiting your CO and decided to take a tour on the way out. The driver bogged the Hillman over there” he pointed into the night. “He went off to find the Guardhouse a half hour ago to rouse the Officer of the Day” The W/O took it all in as Cochrane continued “Is there any shelter about?”

“Come this way sir” he beckoned “The Erks have a humpy, it’s only a couple of minutes”

The W/O pushed open the door of the shelter made of canvas and scrap timber surprising the fitters inside and called “Ten – shnn” The Australians smirked until they saw the officer behind the W/O and they jumped to their feet. “Gentlemen, Air Vice Marshal Cochrane” the W/O introduced.

“As you were” said Cochrane. The men open mouthed, thought, they rarely see Rollo except when on Squadron Parade where on earth did their Group Commander drop from.

Relaxing, one of the men offered Cochrane a box to sit on while another plied him with a hot cup of tea in an old chipped tin mug from the iron stove.

When he had almost finished the door burst open again letting in a shower of snow. A Pilot Officer stuck his head in “Right you lot, on the double outside, we have an officer lost nearby!”

Nobody moved, the Pilot Officer began to puff up, in the face of the usual insubordination where popular pilots were known by their nicknames, then his eyes landed on Cochrane. He snapped to attention crashing his head into the door lintel before he could salute. A fitter caught him and put him on a box beside Cochrane. Other startled members of the search party crowded into the humpy saluting Cochrane as they came in.

“Well Pilot Officer” Cochrane started “I’ll bet you’re glad you found me. Now have you got any transport, I should be getting back to Group Headquarters”

“Sir, yes we can lend your driver a car and swap them tomorrow” the Pilot Officer replied

Cochrane looked around the crowded humpy “Excellent, thank you gentlemen for your hospitality on a cold night, it has been most instructive. Pilot Officer, my compliments to your Commanding Officer and I must be on my way.”

The Erks sat in awe as they watched the humpy empty, a brush with fame.

To find out more about AVM Sir R.A. Cochrane see his biography here

You can read our other blogs here

Image By Royal Air Force official photographer Stannus (F/O) – This is photograph CH 14564 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.Transfered from en.wikipedia 2007-03-17 (original upload date) Original uploader was Greenshed at en.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3217591

During the lead up to the WW2 it was realised that aerial activity was going to take a much more prominent role than previously seen. Studies of the Spanish Civil War revealed that aerial conflict led to an increase in burn injuries and a subsequent increase in the need for treatment facilities to deal with the casualties. The Emergency Medical Service was developed in order to cope with this anticipated demand. One of their centres was established at the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital under the leadership of the New Zealand plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe.

Archibald was made CBE in 1944 and then Knighted in 1947, in recognition of his pioneering work in the treatment of deep burn injuries and reconstructive surgery. During the early years of the war, victims of burns from RAF aircrews were taken to his hospital located in East Grinstead which was soon to become world famous. They challenged the existing perception that disabilities were life-limiting and went on to mentor the patients in order to move back into general society with a rebuilt mental attitude to match their renewed physical state.

Patients would socialise together at the hospital during their ongoing treatment and convalescence and, on 20^th July 1941, their conversation turned to the idea of setting up a club. As they were, in effect, guinea pigs in the developing techniques of plastic surgery, it was decided that “The Guinea Pig Club” would be an appropriate name.

The Guinea Pig Club was set up as a result of this conversation and developed to include three types of membership:

• The Guinea Pig. These members consisted of Allied Air Force aircrew members of WWII who had undergone at least two operations, at the hospital, for their injuries.
• Honorary Member. These consisted of Surgeons, Doctors, and Scientists involved in the development and implementation of the techniques of treatment.
• Club Benefactors. These members became known as “Friends of the Guinea Pig Club”.

Mr. McIndoe was installed as the President of this new club but other committee members were drawn from the patients themselves. It is testament to their approach to their injuries and recovery that allowance was made to their committee duties to reflect their abilities. For example, the Secretary was excused excessive letter writing due to his badly burned fingers and a member with burned legs was selected as Treasurer as this would prevent him from “doing a runner” with the Club Funds.

Although the original Club was primarily a drinking club to be disbanded at the end of the war, it went from strength to strength, was well supported, and had a membership of 649 Guinea Pigs by the end of the war so it was decided to keep the Club in existence. The membership at this time was predominately British at approximately 62% with 20% Canadians, 6% Australians, 6% New Zealanders and 6% from other countries.

This membership started out with pilots of fighter aircraft but as time went on this changed to more bomber crew members and the injuries went from hands and faces to include more widespread areas of the body.

Reunions were arranged and attended by members. These reunions used to be on an annual basis in East Grinstead and also for other occasions. These would be attended by members from all over the world. The aim of the Club, nearly 80 years after formation, is to ensure that the Guinea Pigs or their widows are taken care of if they are in need of financial assistance and if medical advice is required. A newsletter was also published annually in order to maintain communication between members.

Sadly, Sir Archibald McIndoe passed away in 1960 and from that time H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh took over as the President of the Club. In their 60^th anniversary year, 2001, members agreed to continue holding their annual gatherings at East Grinstead until the membership fell to only 50 members. In reality, the last reunion took place in 2007 which attracted over 60 attendees and as a result of the advancing age and increasing frailty of the membership it was decided to wind down the reunions.

As the years have passed, the surviving original members have dwindled to just a handful, some of which have been interviewed for the IBCC Digital Archive.

To access the Archive, please follow this link, https://internationalbcc.co.uk/history-archive/digital-archive/ where you will be able to search for interviews with Jan Black, Desmond O’Connell, William Holmes, and Sandy Saunders and others.

Post WW2, new generations of burns victims, who were injured in the Falklands, Iraq, and Afghanistan conflicts etc. have all been treated using techniques developed by Sir Archibald McIndoe and his pioneering team.

In 2014, DV202 KM-Z  was featured in a BBC programme called The Lancaster: Britain’s Flying Past, hosted by John Sergeant, who also hosted the IBCC Opening Ceremony in 2018.

The 44 (Rhodesia) Sqn Lancaster was on an operation to Peenemunde on the night of 18th August 1943, taking off from RAF Dunholme Lodge.  The aircraft crashed into the Kolpinsee near their target, with all crew lost.

In late October 2019, the Thorpe family brought to the IBCC two medals in their original postal box and gifted them to the project.  The 39-45 Star, and Aircrew Europe had been awarded to Sergeant LF McDermott posthumously.

Elaine places a poppy for Sgt McDermott

Research by the IBCC team uncovered that McDermott had been part of the crew serving on DV202 which had been featured in the BBC documentary.  The documentary had focussed on fellow crew member, Air Gunner, Flt Sgt Stanley Shaw.  His daughter, Elaine Towlson, visited the exact spot of the fatal crash to lay flowers in tribute.  The remnants of the plane can be seen lying in the shallow waters of the lake

On Saturday 7th March 2020, Elaine brought in a collection of memorabilia for digitisation relating to her father. She also took time to lay poppies for each of her father’s crew.  It was an emotional visit for both her and her son, Russell.  Whilst at the centre, they were shown McDermott’s medals, poignant because Elaine remembered meeting “Mac” several times.

To find out more about the crew members please click their names.

Harding, RC (P/O) RCAF, Pilot

Prendergast, L (P/O), Navigator

Weston, TN (Sgt), Flight Engineer

Quance, WH (Sgt), Wireless Operator

McDermott, LF (Sgt), Bomb Aimer

Pynisky, P, (F/O) RCAF, Air Gunner

Shaw, S, (Flt.Sgt), Air Gunner

For more information on the project and to plan a visit click here