Sunday 11 September 2016

For Dad, my Hero, on his Birthday - Miss you

For Dad on what would have been his 93rd Birthday (11.9.1923)

I had a wonderfully happy childhood and I remember with fondness the hours Dad played with me and my older sister Sue when he was our very own "buckaroo". He used to get on his hands and knees and we would jump on his back holding on for dear life as he bucked and writhed about trying desperately to make us fall off, Sue and I giggling our heads off as we clung precariously onto his shirt as it rose up over his head. We used to grab onto his hair, but it always slid thru our hands as our grip couldn't fight the greasiness of Brylcream...whenever I smell Brylcream now it takes me right back there.  After he'd bucked us both off, he'd sit up bright red in the face, pull his shirt down, comb his hair back with his hand and enthusiastically get back into position on all fours for us to clamber on him again. We always gave up before he did. He just never tired. Mum always insists that playing this game is why he always kept a good head of hair.

Another game we used to play at home and in the car was "who could keep a polo in their mouth the longest". Dad always won!! Even after the longest of times when we thought we'd beat him, he would very slowly and triumphantly stick out his tongue having retrieved the extremely thin polo from its hiding place in his cheek, much to our utter disbelief and annoyance! He was so competitive.

Dad loved playing games, as we all did and was just like a big kid full of enthusiasm. If he'd had a tail, I'm sure he'd have wagged it.  He beat me at an egg and spoon race when he was 89 years old!!





Dad loved dressing up.
Taken at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Street Party in 2012
When we discovered the brilliant card game  "Cards Against Humanity" (better described as an extremely rude version of Blankety Blank) at Christmas, shortly after his diagnosis, he couldn't get enough of it. The TV went off and we'd play for hours with tears of laughter and hilarity. It was also a learning curve for us innocent daughters and boyfriends. When Mum, in her naivety, asked with a frown what a certain word or phrase meant, Dad would play charades with her and she would immediately know the meaning.  Cue brain bleach!! In the last couple of days before Dad passed away we managed to play a few games with him around his bedside. Wonderful happy memories.

Family holidays we had growing up were very few as Mum and Dad just couldn't afford it but the holidays we had were always enjoyable and memorable. One funny memory in particular is the time we stayed in a chalet in Hemsby, Norfolk. Dad couldn't shave for a few days as there wasn't a shaver socket, so he had a few days' growth on his chin and started looking like a convict. On the only sunny day he decided to put on his garish, skimpy, stripy swimming trunks to go to the beach (we'd never seen them before!), his little lily-white legs poking out beneath them. He stood in front of us all outside the chalet, bucket and spade at the ready, with that daft grin on his face awaiting our approval ... we all disowned him and he was left wondering in mock bewilderment what we were all laughing at πŸ˜‚ priceless.

I remember the long car journeys when we visited relatives in Sussex, before the M25 was built. We used to stop for a wee break and something to eat at an old greasy spoon in Chertsey, which was run by a friendly Italian family who got to know us well over the years. To pass away the time on the journey, Sue and I used to play silly games which drove Mum and Dad mad. We would sing in unison a tuneless song which we made up called "I like your new....."  We used to fill in the blank word with something we could see, anything  like ... "I like your new ...neck.....lace, I like your new ....watch...I like your new...tie ..and we used to put pause after the "new" and put in extra syllables so it went with the song. We wouldn't stop til we matched the same word and would collapse in giggles much to Mum and Dad's relief as that usually meant a short respite from our little ditty. Whenever we started the song in the car Mum and Dad would just look at each other rolling their eyes and groan. We still did it in recent years when we were all "growed up" just to wind Mum and Dad upπŸ˜‚

Sue and I used to argue on the back seat about who was on who's side until Dad used to look in the mirror glaring at us and said sternly "if I have to stop the car ...." we shut up then as that was enough to quieten us down, until we started singing our next annoying song "are we there yet?" or "I can see the sea...ee"πŸ˜‚. On the local roads when there were no other cars around, we used to sing "go wigg..erly,  go wigg...erly" and Dad used to weave the car about resulting in us falling about the back seat giggling our heads off, bearing in mind this was a couple of years before seat belts on the back seats were invented πŸ˜‚

Dad and our older brother, Dave, used to play-fight regularly on the sofa which one time resulted with Dad suffering a broken rib and Dave a broken collar bone. Try explaining that one to the doctor!
We all love winding Mum up as she's so gullible. Dad regularly joined in, or just chuckled at us all whilst Mum asked why he didn't ever stick up for her, to which he just answered with that famous cheeky grin of his, his eyes twinkling. He had a wicked sense of humour and we always had such a fun time going there for dinner once a week after work. Dad regularly laughed until he had tears in his eyes, like the time I was fed a piece of cucumber, which is one of my most favourite vegetables especially fresh from Dad's greenhouse. Unbeknown to me that slice of cucumber had been laced with mustard! I coughed and spluttered announcing loudly "cor that made my eyes water!" to which Dad replied through tears of laughter "and mine" πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

When the youngest sibling, Sharon, was a toddler Mum used to go to bingo with her friends leaving Dad looking after Sharon. Once whilst he was up a ladder decorating the lounge, she stuck her hands in a tin of emulsion and another time she emptied her potty onto the floor and I won't share with you what she did with it!! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜±

In the heat of the glorious summers we used to have, water fights in the garden were commonplace. Dad and Dave had us in hysterics whilst each of them tried to go one better by leaning out of back bedroom windows chucking down bucketfuls of water at each other and all of us being chased round with the hosepipe. Crazy-foam fights up and down the stairs were also a staple diet of our childhood.
Christmas was always special, but not quite as poignant as Christmas just past as we knew that it would probably be the last time the whole family would all be together, so we made it one to remember.  (Dad received the devastating news mid-November that he had terminal stomach cancer😒). We surprised Mum and Dad Christmas morning by decorating the living room Christmas Eve with old-fashioned paper chains which we'd made ourselves, gawdy crepe chains, honeycomb bells and a tacky artificial tree decorated with multi-coloured flashing lights. We'd plied Mum with drink to get her to go to bed early Xmas Eve so we could plan our surprise, but by the time she finally went up, the “decorators” were slightly worse for wear which made even the smallest of thing hysterical and made worse trying to stifle our giggles from Mum and Dad upstairs.

Christmas Day was always a day of laughter and playing daft games. The TV was never switched on until late evening. Last Christmas Sharon managed to find a hysterical game involving crackers and racing Brussel sprouts. It was absolutely brilliant as you will see ...



It was also a time to wind Mum up big time. For some reason, she's always had some kind of weird dislike for the amount of ties Dad has collected over the years, so you can imagine we used to fuel this by buying ties for Dad for birthdays, Father's Day, Christmas and even presents from holiday. This is the reaction that we got this Christmas! (I can't share the previous year as she did rather a lot of swearing in it!)



Christmas was also the time for funny family secrets to come out, the most memorable one being when Sue and Geoff, who were in the early stages of courting and the hilarity that ensued involving tropical fish flapping about under the bed πŸ˜‚.  Dad used to keep tropical fish and even had a tank in Sue's bedroom. One night Sue had crept upstairs to have a cuddle with Geoff who was sleeping in her bed, as he had to drive to Leeds University early the following morning. After expertly dodging the creaky floorboards on the stairs and landing, she quietly opened the bedroom door and flipped the light switch on, the shock of which caused one of the fish in the tank in there to jump out in fright. They had to stifle their giggles whilst trying to retrieve said fish which was flapping around under the bed and collecting dust on its scales. The following morning Dad had noticed said fish looking a bit worse for wear, and I think Sue may have told him the fish had been fighting. The truth came out years laterπŸ˜‚

At our family get-togethers I'm always reminded of the day I put a spinning top on top of my head as wicked sister Sue thought it would be a good idea, so me being the gullible little sibling obeyedπŸ˜‚. It was a friction powered one which you had to roll on the carpet to charge it. Suffice it to say, my very long hair was a complete mess afterwards as the spinning top just "ate" it, a bit like when you see candyfloss being made and it wraps itself round the stick. I had to have it cut out so was left with a rather fetching bald patchπŸ˜‚

Dad was a champion vegetable grower and frequently swept the board at his local horticultural shows which in turn led to him making his own homemade wine and winning various competitions. He even carpeted the loft, decked it out with wine racks and fermenting demijohns and also had a swivel chair up there much to the delight of his fellow wine-making friends… an early man cave if you will. 

In 1992 his village Wine Club organised a trip to the Annual World Conker Championships in Ashton, Northampton. You could've knocked me down with a feather when we got a phone call later that day to look out for him on local TV news as he was THE WORLD Conker Champion of 1991. Sharon and her boyfriend Martin were there to witness this momentous occasion. 


Dad with Ruth Madoc from Hi-di-Hi

Pantomimes with Dad's village Wine Club were infamous....He loved dressing up and one of the most memorable characters he played was Snow White. He nicked mums lipstick and blusher, found a long black wig  and stuffed apples down his top for bosoms. After he had eaten the poisoned apple his "bosom" hilariously dislodged itself when he fell to the floor doing his best to make it look real. We were in fits watching him trying "act" unconscious whilst trying to rearrange his apple bosoms. We have video proof of the whole thing....priceless! These are little excerpts from the two Pantomimes when Dad first arrived on stage (taken on my phone at Christmas whilst watching it again with the whole family last year). It gives you the idea of how he loved to dress up and act the fool ....




Whilst growing up Dad never mentioned what he did during the War. Sometimes when watching old war films, Mum used to say that Dad was in the Pathfinders but we didn't really know what that meant, just something he did in the war. Dad never spoke about it, like so many of these extraordinary men. 

It's only during the last 15 years or so that we gradually found out what he actually did in Bomber Command.  With the advancements in technology, the internet and Dave emailing historian Kevin Bending from 97 Squadron association, who was researching for the book he wrote about the Squadron (Achieve Your Aim), which led to Dad finally revealing many of his memoirs. 

Kevin put Dad in touch with Dirk Ducupeyre, who had corresponded with him over a book he was writing about the raids on his home town of Courtrai and how the Pathfinder Force had minimised civilian casualties. A trip to Belgium ensued for Dirk's book launch where Dad was treated as royalty by all who attended. 

With the power of Twitter and Facebook I connected with our very special "Bomber Command family" who got to know Dad through my posts and found out all about our escapades over the years. The incredible coincidences we encountered along the way, the two most memorable ones were our first meeting with Chris Keltie (How we met Chris Keltie) when Bill Chorley's book of bomber command losses was dropped on the floor whilst Chris was packing up his stuff to leave. It fell open on a page highlighting a 97 Sq tragic formation flying accident. Dad immediately recounted what had happened as he was in the actual formation and had witnessed the two aircraft crashing in mid air.  A few months later on our way home from East Kirkby after Chris Keltie's book launch we tried to find the crash site in Crowland, near Peterborough. I tweeted about it which Di Ablewhite saw and asked for more information, a few tweets later and to our utter disbelief we discovered that the propeller used for Di Ablewhite's memorial to the crew she had researched about a few years before had actually come from one of the two crashed Lancasters! She had often wondered what the story was behind that propeller. Here's Dad with the propeller at  Di's Memorial site.



We took Dad to numerous Pathfinder gatherings, Black Tie Dinners, 97 Squadron reunions, visits to Coningsby and East Kirkby, book launches and signings, not to mention all the places and people we met whilst researching for Sharon and Martin's wonderful documentary, Finding The Pathfinders.

Another trip to Belgium for filming about Courtrai was arranged and was funded by the generosity of a very special friend I met on Facebook, to whom Dad and the family are eternally grateful. The film premiered at The Kinema in The Woods, Woodhall Spa on Dad's 90th birthday and the wonderful flypast by The BBMF Lancaster (The City of Lincoln) over the Kinema afterwards was awesome! She flew so low she set off the car alarms! 





A few days before that at a birthday barbecue we hosted for Dad we had another awesome flypast right over the house much to the neighbours' and Dad's utter delight!
Excuse my screaming!
We'd also played a hilarious game of passing the balloon between the legs which Dad thoroughly enjoyed with all the young ladies there! 

One of the most precious memories I have of the visits to RAF Wyton for Pathfinder Sunday was in August 2012 which commemorated the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Pathfinders. Wyton is indeed the home of The Pathfinders. I'll never forget the look on Dad's face when it was announced after lunch that The City of Lincoln was going to land on the Camp and the veterans and their guests had the honour of actually boarding her. The look on the veterans' faces was priceless and the way they clambered aboard, maybe not as quickly as they used to, was truly humbling.

A month or so later we had a VIP tour of Coningsby when Dad actually got to sit in his Mid Upper Gunner position ...we were all in tears.

In November that year we had a very special tour of Just Jane and Dad got to sit in the cockpit.

 
Sean with Dad and I in the cockpit - video courtesy of Chris Keltie

Had a few tears and a rather funny moment up there which you'll see on a previous Blog Post

Not a day goes by when I don't think of Dad or his name comes up in conversation. I have so many wonderful memories, photos and videos to look back on.

Dad's wicked sense of humour stayed with him throughout his illness, even in the last few days when he was so very poorly. One poignant memory I have is when one of the lovely District Nurses came to see him the day before he passed away and went beyond the call of duty to make sure he was comfortable maintaining his dignity throughout. Afterwards, he smiled weakly and thanked her, asking how she did the job she did, then reached out his frail arms towards her, she leant in towards him and he kissed her on the cheek thanking her again with tears in his eyes, then whispered "don't tell 'er downstairs!" A priceless moment and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so did both! That moment will stay with me forever.  She even visited us the day after we lost Dad. The carers, nursing staff and everyone at Macmillan were absolutely wonderful to him and all the family.

Shortly after Dad passed I received an amazing gift from a close friend of mine which was a Star named after him. We often look towards the southern stars to see if we can see his devilish wink in the sky.



Forever in my heart my darling Dad, you touched so many people's lives, from those who knew you and those who got to know you through posts on Facebook and Twitter. Rest in peace.

Love you with all my heart  xxx

Sunday 11 August 2013

Finding the Pathfinders - not long now!

What a hectic few months since I last blogged! We've been busy researching Dad's crews from 100 and 97 Squadrons for Sharon and Martin's upcoming documentary "Finding the Pathfinders" and in between attended Chris Keltie's book launch at East Kirkby and Newark Air Museum. We've been up and down to Lincolnshire so many times over the last few months, our car knows its way there now. We also went to Yorkshire and Suffolk to visit graves of Dad's crewmates and next week we're off to Belgium for a couple of days to film where Dad bombed in Courtrai and to meet a very special man - more will be revealed in the documentary so check out the fabulous trailer in this link and book your tickets now Finding the Pathfinders

Just as a reminder, it is being screened on Dad's 90th birthday on Wednesday 11th September at Kinema in The Woods, Woodhall Spa. Doors open at 11.10. Flypast (subject to weather and serviceability) approximately 12.30pm (time yet to be confirmed)

One of our many trips over the last few months was in May when we visited Waltham, near Grimsby. Waltham was home to 100 Squadron and is now home to a well-stocked museum; we were shown around by Sharon's friend, Roger who was extremely knowledgeable and told us stories about all the fascinating artifacts there. Each and every item had a very special story behind it .....I would loved to have spent more time there.


The Waltham Museum was full of  fascinating memorabilia


A haunting image of one night's mission to Duisburg



100 Squadron Memorial in Waltham

We met up with Mike, the son-in-law of Harry Wood, Dad's Wireless Operator in 100 Sq who shared some stories with us for the documentary. Here he is with Mum and Dad outside the Kings Head in Waltham. We took Dad to the pub thinking it may jog some memories for him as it would have been one of his local drinking establishments as it was within staggering distance of the base, but he didn't remember, sadly.




Martin looking very pensive in the background ... he's used to being behind the camera



When Dad walked onto the deserted airfield, it brought a lump to my throat ....especially after I had this poem in my head which my friend, Dave, sent to me shortly before we went .... *gulps*


Beautifully poignant isn't it

Twitter and Facebook have been invaluable helping us in our search for Dad's crews. Friends, Julian, Julia, Di and Dave have been incredible and have been like dogs with bones investigating all lines of enquiry for us!

I must just share the story of how I "met" Dave on Facebook. After the incredible Dambusters week in May, The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight posted a Facebook update to thank everyone for all their support over the week. I saw a comment by a Dave Donaghy which struck a chord with me "what strikes is the sheer volume of support and love for these magnificent aircraft and all that they represent, the bravery, the sacrifices, the sheer determination of a nation at war, a time when Great Britain shone out like a beacon, these beautiful aeroplanes must be kept and cherished forever". I "liked" his comment and said something like it was a lovely heartfelt comment and I couldn't have said it better myself and thanked him for making me cry. The very next day he sent me a friend request and I told him about what we were doing with Dad and sent him a link to the Finding the Pathfinders trailer and he was totally hooked from that moment onwards. Within a couple of days he booked his ticket and was doing his own researches into finding Dad's crews. He bombarded me with so much incredible stuff he'd found. He worked night shifts so said it helped ease the boredom. I don't think he or I will EVER forget the message I sent to him asking how his night shift was doing ..... but I missed off a crucial letter!!! I still blush when I think of it!

Shortly afterwards Di, Julian and Julia got involved through Twitter and Facebook and Julia opened up a Facebook chat for us all to share the information we had found. Sharon also made a Finding the Pathfinders Facebook page 

As a way of thanking our Research Team we invited them to the special Family Reunion Day at East Kirkby on 24th July where some of the families from Dad's crews got to meet Dad and we spent an emotional day filming with them. It was such a shame that some of the families we've found couldn't attend this wonderful event because of work commmitments etc.  BBC Look North were filming there all day and the following day a wonderful piece was shown on TV. Sharon has a copy of it on DVD but needs to find out about copyright before she lets any of us have copies.

A few of us were privileged to get on board Just Jane when her fabulous Merlin engines were fired up. It was an exceptionally hot day and inside Just Jane was like an oven! Sharon and myself proudly stood with Dad under his position of Mid Upper ready for when the engines were fired up .... what a very special moment for us which was captured on camera by Steve Crier, great nephew of Andy Barr, Dad's Flight Engineer from 100 Squadron. Sharon also had a hand-held video which she kept pointing at myself and Dad - dread to think what my face is like! 


Taken by Steve Crier

Arriving for filming (pic courtesy of Stephen from Laburnum House)





Dad sitting proudly in Cockpit


Sharon being filmed for BBC Look North



Standing under his Mid Upper position



Steve Crier with Dad



Mum and Dad with Mitch Reid (son of Dad's pilot, Bill on 97 Sq) with Bill's wife

Family Reunion

After a highly emotional and enjoyable day, a few of us went back to Laburnum House B&B with the lovely Stephen and Sue who run this wonderful Bed & Breakfast which has its own Lancaster Suite, Wellington Room and Hampden Room. Sue had made us some refreshing iced tea and gorgeous homemade lemonade. If ever you're in Lincolnshire and need a base to stay to explore, then look no further....you are guaranteed a very warm welcome and Sue is a fantastic cook too!

After lots of chat and laughter we headed out to Sean's pub for dinner, The Blue Bell Inn  at Tattershall Thorpe .... which I can type better than I can say... too many s's in it for my lisp to cope with... ok, so there's only one, but for some reason I just cannot say it! 


Mum has a very soft spot for Sean and he always makes a fuss of her


I don't think she'll ever be the same again!

Sean asked Dad to sign the famous ceiling of The Blue Bell .... seeing Dad's name alongside names of fellow comrades from 70 years ago was a "gulp" moment for sure!

We had an excellent meal and many laughs with Stephen and Sue. Shirley, Sean's girlfriend, who cooked the meal came out of the kitchen to meet Dad.

After the meal I was reading out loud an article which had just been published on BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-23424107  Sean's waitress was listening intently and after I'd finished she asked with tears in her eyes and her voice cracking with emotion that she wanted to shake Dad's hand ... she then disappeared off into the kitchen in floods of tears, bless her heart. Dad seemed slightly bemused by it all - so typical of him!




I'm going to jump back to June now which is when we attended Chris Keltie's book launch weekend. On the Saturday it was held in the Briefing Room at East Kirkby on a bright sunny day with a few torrential downpours. During one of Dad's eye-witness accounts, the sound of the torrential rain lashing down on the briefing room roof and the roar of the thunder and lightening was an eerie experience ... you felt like you were transported back to 1944  as we struggled to hear Dad's voice above it as he recounted his memories ....



Dad with Pam Livingstone, daughter of  Bill North's Bomb Aimer, Norman Jarvis, 
Chris Keltie and Rhys (Bill's son) and
Bill North himself overseeing the proceedings



Pam reading eye-witness accounts about her father from the book


Dad doing his duty - a bit of book signing

Bill North's crashed plane

Chris Keltie presented a very professional and extremely emotional book launch. There were moments when I don't know how he held it together and his voice cracked with emotion when he spoke about his beloved neighbour and friend, Bill North. There were many tears amongst his captive audience I can tell you and not just me!

At the end Dad carefully got a piece of paper out of his pocket and tentatively stood up to read out a brief tribute of his own to Bill North. It had everyone, including him, in tears. "This story should have been told long ago. I consider Bill North should have had a Decoration of at least DSO or even a Victoria Cross as he was able to bale out, but he put his own safety on hold to try and save his comrades who could not bale out and decided to try and crash-land in unknown territory and almost certain death". 


To read the fabulous 5 Star reviews of this wonderful book and to purchase click here Riding in the Shadow of Death

The following day saw us visiting the Cockpitfest (and yes I remembered to put the "pit" in this time!) at Newark Air Museum. A very special person attended this event, Mid-Upper Gunner, Dennis Bartlett, the only surviving member of Bill North's crew. The moment when these two Mid-Upper Gunners met was extremely moving.







Di and I trying to compose ourselves (tissues in hand)
after witnessing the wonderful moment when Dad met Dennis


This book launch was captured on camera by Martin ... every time I watch it I am moved to tears. Book Launch Video at Newark  The sensitive way that Martin zoomed in on these two veterans' faces gets me every time....you can almost see the memories flashing through their eyes ...

Shortly afterwards we all went outside to await the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast. The unmistakable sound of those Merlin engines were soon within earshot. We huddled together with Dad watching this wonderful spectacle ..... there wasn't a dry eye to be seen.





During the book launch, various eye-witness accounts were read out, and we were reminded of the horrific crash that Dad witnessed. This occurred on 23rd June 1944 during a daytime flying formation exercise, Dad being piloted by Bill Reid. Six Lancasters from 97 Squadron were flying in two V formations of three. Whilst attempting a gentle turn Van Raalte's aircraft sideslipped over Perkins' aircraft and dropped suddenly, removing the entire tail from Perkins' aircraft and smashing the nose of its own, pieces of wreckage narrowly missed Dad's plane. Both planes immediately spun out of control and all of the occupants in both aircraft were killed with the exception of one, Sgt Coman, who managed to bale out. Sadly, he was later posted off the station as LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre) unsurprisingly he had lost his nerve and was unable to fly again.  What a horrific experience for all of these brave men who, just a few hours later the surviving crews were up again on a raid to Limoges. Huge respect to them .... lest we forget.



Dad showing Mitch Reid the wreckage of the tragic training exercise on 23rd June 1944.
This was the first Mitch had heard of it as his Dad never spoke of it ...



Mitch showed us his Dad's poignant last entry in his Log Book after two tours "That's The Lot Boy!"
I was in bits when he showed me this

Whilst looking at the pictures and information about this tragic crash I noted that it had happened over Crowland, near Peterborough, so I suggested that we try to find the crash site on our way home. We drove up and down Cloot Drove but couldn't find it. We stopped and asked several people and knocked on a few doors, but nobody knew anything. Its so very sad that this hasn't been marked in any way. A service was held for the 60th anniversary where a wooden cross was laid, but there appears to be no permanent marker. It will be 70 years next June.....and also the day of my 50th birthday.

On the way home from Crowland I sent out a random tweet that we had tried to find the crash site. This made Di's ears prick up. She replied saying "Did you just say Crowland?" I said yes, why?  To which she replied "OMG .... that's where the propeller to my memorial came from ...." A few gobsmacked tweets followed that I can tell you! 

Over 10 years ago Di was asked by a family friend if she could do an investigation into a plane crash which he witnessed in his village, Staunton-in-the-Vale, Nottinghamshire. The memory of this crash had stayed with him and since that night he had wanted to know more about what happened and who the men were. He handed Di a piece of wreckage from the crash site. After many years of painstaking detective work Di managed to find out about the crew of Lancaster W4270 and when it came to making a permanent memorial to them she wanted to find a Lancaster propeller as she thought it would make a fitting tribute. She went to the Lincolnshire Aircraft Recovery Group and they said she was in luck as they had a propeller that came from a crash site in Crowland .... *cue hairs on back of the neck standing up* - this was such an incredible coincidence that even now we are still trying to get our heads round!!

Di told me she had often stroked the propeller of her Memorial and wondered what the story was behind it .... and now we know. Here's Dad with it ... a poignant moment ... what was going through his mind I wonder? ....








More details of Di's story of The Last Crew of Lancaster W4270 here


When we get back from Belgium next week, Martin will have the enormous task of editing all the pieces together whilst Sharon will be preparing her moving narrative. It's sure to be an emotional and fitting tribute to our Dad and the thousands of brave men of Bomber Command. Sadly, the number of veterans still with us are dwindling, so their stories need to be documented. I feel so lucky to still have my Dad and whenever I've needed a question answering during research for the documentary, I've been able to ring him up or 
pop round to see him.  

I'm so very proud of my Dad. Next Friday, 16th August I'm extremely honoured to be attending The Pathfinder Dinner with him at RAF Wyton. To be amongst these incredibly brave men and to be able to chat with them is so very humbling. Looking forward to their cheeky humour too!

One final reminder if you haven't yet purchased your tickets to the screening of Finding the Pathfinders ... Buy Tickets Here!


                                                          

Sunday 11 November 2012

The next instalment of my amazing journey with my Dad


Today, being Remembrance Sunday, seemed a fitting time to update you on my Blog.

Having watched Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance this morning, I was in floods of tears, a wonderful and extremely moving tribute to all our heroes, past and present, but the bit that really moved me was the piece 41 minutes in, when Bomber Command finally got  the recognition they deserved. When those heroes of a Lancaster Squadron crew stood on a projection of their beloved aircraft in their relative positions, I was in bits. 

Some of you may have seen my Twitter and Facebook posts over the last few weeks about the soon to be published book by Chris Keltie, the true life story of his neighbour and very good friend, Bill North, a Lancaster Bomber Pilot from 61 Squadron. Sadly Bill died last year but he was able to encourage and help Chris with it in the early stages. It is called “Riding in the Shadow of Death” and it is an amazing and touching story of courage and comradeship. Extracts from the book can be found here. Extracts from Riding in the Shadow of Death  I was in tears when I read it and every time since. 

I first “met” Chris Keltie on Twitter as I had seen this tweet in my Twitter stream of the Daily Telegraph article “Lost Lancaster crew identified after 68 years by wireless operator's wedding ring”. Daily Telegraph article

I tweeted Chris that I had read this incredible story and checked my Dad’s log book to find that Dad actually flew in that aircraft ND 739 just 3 weeks before ND 739 was shot down on 6th June 1944, D-Day.  

It was one of the most highly decorated crew to be lost. The crew members who died were led by Wing Cmdr Carter, DFC, with Sqdn Ldr Martin Bryan-Smith, DFC, Flt Lieut Albert Chambers, DFC, Flt Lieut Henry Jeffery, DFM, Acting Flt Sgt Guy Dunning, DFM, Acting Flt Sgt Frank Watson, DFM, Australian Flt Lieut Ronald Conley, DFC, and Canadian Flt Lieut Herbert Rieger.

As you will see from this page from Dad’s log book Wing Commander Carter was his pilot on a couple of occasions. Dad also knew Squadron Leader Martin Bryan-Smith.



After a few chats with Chris on Twitter he asked me if Dad would mind meeting up with him as he would love to have a chat with him about his Bomber Command experiences. We arranged it the following week and I was there too and had a wonderful time listening to Dad chatting to Chris. One thing that Chris wanted to do was to cross-check Dad and Bill’s log books and we quickly realised they had actually flown together on a few missions. This was incredible to see as Dad and his crew, being the Pathfinder Force were marking Bill’s targets for him, adding colour and depth to Chris’s book. How amazing is that! There were a few times that we all got tears in our eyes.


Dad was answering Chris’s questions about the role of the Pathfinders and how they marked the targets and even set him some homework!



Not changed much has he!

Me, Dad and Chris Keltie

When Chris was ready to leave, I was helping him get all his papers and books together. One of the books, "Bomber Command Losses", fell open on a page as if it was *willing* us to read it …. it showed two losses from Dad’s 97 Squadron on the same day, 23rd June 1944 (my birthday but not in 1944 I hasten to add!!) It was a formation training exercise where two aircraft tragically collided mid-air. Dad was in that very same formation and he immediately recalled the names of the two pilots involved, Perkins and Van Raalte - see later on in this blog for details of what happened.  

Chris K and I are still trying to get over the shock of why that page should have flopped open eerily like that! Chris said he has had some surreal experiences whilst writing his book, and is very sure that Bill is looking over his shoulder, guiding him.


The following weekend we took Mum and Dad to the annual reunion of 97 Squadron in Horncastle. Chris K asked if I could possibly do some “networking” and chat to some of the veterans to see if there were any stories he could use in his book, so that was my homework … not that I minded at all - I love meeting those wonderful veterans, all heroes, every single one of them and some of them quite cheeky too!

It was a wonderful evening and we ended up being sat on the “naughty table”. Funny how that always happens!!  Kevin Bending and his other half, Bev were on our table and we all hit it off immediately and had such a lovely time. I think we laughed all night! Kevin met Dad a few years ago whilst researching his book, Achieve your Aim (97 Squadron’s Motto) Achieve Your Aim

The Naughty Table



                                               Having a giggle with the Veterans


Whist at the reunion I met Bob Lasham, DFC and Bar. He flew 53 ops, so between him and Dad they did 100. Incredible!  Dad and he have met on a couple of occasions before. 

Bob was a pilot and his crew used to call him Dad as he was the oldest, at 23!!! I asked Dad if he remembers Bob being at Coningsby with him. He said he knew of him but didn't know him that well although on checking Dad's log book, Bob is down in Dad's log book as his pilot on three occasions during training ops (20.4.44, 4.7.44 and 10.7.44) Dad asked Bob if he remembered his pilot, Bill Reid .... he said he remembered him very well. 

They spoke about the tragic accident which took place whilst training on 23rd June 1944 as mentioned above. Van Raalt's Lancaster was caught in the slipstream of another aircraft with the result that Van Raalt's Lancaster side-slipped over Perkins' Lancaster, then as everyone in the formation watched in utter horror (can't believe Dad and Bob witnessed this!), Van Raalte's Lancaster then dropped suddenly and collided with Perkins' Lancaster, removing the entire tail section from Perkins' plane and smashing the nose section of Van Raalte's plane. Both aircraft disintegrated and plunged into the fields below (near Crowland, Peterborough). Dad said the aircraft missed them by inches! There was just one survivor from the two crews, a wireless operator who managed to parachute out, suffering burns, very nearly landing on the burning wreckage. He never flew again. Dad said the station hushed it up and the surviving crew member was posted as LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre). So sad. 

On checking Dad's log book I see he was up again later that evening on a mission to Limoges…. so just HOURS after witnessing that horrific accident, they all went up again! It just goes to prove that these brave young men suffered so much heartbreak and saw so much tragedy but they still managed to carry on with their duties. Absolute heroes, all of them. I am so unbelievably proud of them all.

A moment of reflection

Dad's plane bottom right - Pilot "Bill Gee DFC" is incorrect. It should in fact be "Bill Reid DFC"

Remains of the two aircraft can be found at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby. The picture above is taken from there.

Then the Deelen op came up in conversation. Bob and Dad were both on this op. Dad remembers this one very well as it was his last op of his second tour, 15th August 1944. It was a daylight trip. Bob said one of his gunners saw a bomb from above fall past and hit the aircraft below, completely severing the rear turret and remembers vividly the aircraft fall apart and the turret tumbling down, with the rear gunner still inside it. Dad said two bombs falling from aircraft above them passed within about 5 feet of their tailplane. Their plane was damaged from the explosion of aircraft behind and the perspex in the rear turret shattered. A memorable experience for Dad's last mission!

Bob also mentioned another op to Munich in April 1944 (dad was on this one also). He said that they had just completed their marking run when they were coned by searchlights. He put the Lancaster into a dive and applied full power, they then heard loud thumps and bangs, not knowing what had hit them but knew they'd lost an engine. He managed to keep control of the plane flying on three engines. On landing they realised that they had been struck by incendiaries falling from one of their own aircraft..... it could even have been Dad's plane!  Makes me go cold listening to these stories.


Last weekend we visited East Kirkby for their annual Fireworks Display and Night Taxy Run where you can really get the feel of a WW2 airfield at night. It was such a shame that there was a technical hitch with the searchlights as that really would have added to the atmosphere.




We had an incredible time and were extremely privileged to actually get on Board Just Jane! Sean, who I also “met” on Twitter is the safety officer and historical guide and aircrew for AVRO Lancaster NX611 “Just Jane”. A huge heartfelt thanks to Sean and everyone at Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby


Just Jane firing up her Merlin engines getting ready for 3pm taxy run
 (Pic courtesy of Stephen of Laburnum House)

Video courtesy of Chris Keltie


Immediately after the taxy run Sean whisked Dad and I away for a static tour of Just Jane. He said it was his way of showing everyone’s gratitude of what Dad did for the country and treated him like an absolute hero. Chris K also came up with us to take pics. I had only just stepped on to her and could see Dad way in the distance easily negotiating the main spar! At 89 he puts everyone to shame with his agility!

I found that clambering over the main spar and through the narrow aircraft really gave you a feeling of what those young men did and it went through my head as I got my leg stuck on the main spar, how on earth could those young men, in full kit, manage to get out in an emergency. Incredible!!  As I said to the boys, I had never had my leg over as much as I did that afternoon!

We finally made it to the cockpit with Sean giving us fascinating facts and information the whole time. He asked if I would like to sit in the hot seat which I jumped at!  Sean is so passionate about Bomber Command and so knowledgeable. He is a fantastic guide and I could have listened to him all day … there were indeed a few tears.

Sean and Dad reflecting


Sean, me and Dad - that smile on Dad's face says it all

Sun glinting through Just Jane's cockpit as Dad languishes in the pilot's seat!!

Whilst clambering down from the pilot’s seat, I managed to get stuck or rather “something” seemed to have got stuck between my legs ….I looked down and looked up questioningly at Sean to ask him what it was. He said it was a trim to which I replied “oh good, I needed a good trim!” …. It just came out .... then Dad quipped  “oh did your bush need a trim?” Oh my, I could have died with embarrassment if I hadn’t been laughing so much!!

I then proceeded to get down in the bomb aimer’s position and Sean was telling us about all the bombs, the knobs and switches, absolutely fascinating stuff! I think Dad learned some things too! He certainly is a mine of information!

Sadly our tour was then at an end as Sean had to go and do his Kit Talk which was interesting too! He's so knowledgeable and doesn't come up for air!

Sean doing his Kit Talk


Sean, me and Dad

Sean, Dad and Chris K

After a delicious hog roast, the raffle was drawn. First prize was a 7pm taxy ride. Mum, Dad and Chris were all warming up in the car so I said I would listen out for the raffle armed with all our tickets.

Can you believe that the first number drawn was blue 271 .... the 3 blue tickets I had were on the top of the bunch of tickets I was holding and all I could see was 270 ... my hands were so bloomin' cold I couldn't separate them quickly .... I was shaking so much as I really thought Dad had won! Chris K rang me as he was convinced we had a winning ticket between us, but sadly no. Unbelievably close!!



It was then time for the 7pm taxy run, the highlight of the evening, which we all shared with Chris K and his lovely wife, Wendy. As Just Jane fired up her engines we were totally mesmorised. You can never fail to be moved by such an awesome sound. We all had tears in our eyes as she taxied towards us. What an incredibly moving sight on a cold and frosty night, the airfield lit by moonlight - truly breathtaking and totally overwhelming, tears coursed down our cheeks. Dad was moved too, but Dad being Dad, took it all in his stride! 



Sean with Dad and I in the cockpit - video courtesy of Chris Keltie


The following fantastic photos of Just Jane are by kind permission of Stephen from Laburnum House B&B



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The evening ended with an amazing firework display, a perfect end to a perfect day.



Watch this space for news on Chris's book launch.

Whilst I still have your attention I thought you might like to hear about my younger sister, Sharon. She and her partner, Martin, have a small film company called Ermine Street Project .They are  working to produce a documentary entitled "Finding the Pathfinders" where they are attempting to trace any surviving members of Dad's crews, telling their stories and tracing the current family members. They are currently researching and applying for funding and hope to make this documentary early next year. The screening will be at Kinema in the Woods Woodhall Spa which is central to several of the Lincolnshire Bomber airbases.

Watch this space for news!