Britain at War Magazine 2015-10 (102)

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BRITAIN’S BEST SELLING MILITARY HISTORY MONTHLY

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THE GREAT WAR KITCHENER AT GALLIPOLI

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OCTOBER 2015 ISSUE 102 UK £4.50

www.britainatwar.com Should you wish to correspond with any of the ‘Britain at War’ team in particular, you can find them listed below: Editor: Andy Saunders Assistant Editor: John Ash Editorial Correspondents: Geoff Simpson, Alex Bowers, Mark Khan Australasia Correspondent: Ken Wright Designer: Dan Jarman EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: Britain at War Magazine, PO Box 380, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 9JA Tel: +44 (0)1424 752648 or email: [email protected]. ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: For all aspects of advertising in ‘Britain at War’ Magazine please contact Alison Sanders, Advertisement Sales Manager Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 or email: [email protected]. GENERAL ENQUIRIES: For general enquiries and advertising queries please contact the main office at: Britain at War Magazine Key Publishing Ltd PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261 SUBSCRIPTIONS, BINDERS AND BACK ISSUES: Britain at War, Key Publishing, PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA Email: [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS, BINDERS AND BACK ISSUES HOTLINE:+44 (0)1780 480404 Or order online at www.britainatwar.com Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Managing Director/Publisher: Adrian Cox Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Production Manager: Janet Watkins Group Marketing Manager: Martin Steele ‘Britain at War’ Magazine is published on the last Thursday of the preceeding month by Key Publishing Ltd. ISSN 1753-3090 Printed by Warner’s (Midland) plc. Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd. (www.seymour.co.uk) All newsagents are able to obtain copies of ‘Britain at War’ from their regional wholesaler. If you experience difficulties in obtaining a copy please call Seymour on +44 (0)20 7429 4000. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part and in any form whatsoever, is strictly prohibited without the prior, written permission of the Editor. Whilst every care is taken with the material submitted to ‘Britain at War’ Magazine, no responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or Key Publishing Ltd. Whilst every effort had been made to contact all copyright holders, the sources of some pictures that may be used are varied and, in many cases, obscure. The publishers will be glad to make good in future editions any error or omissions brought to their attention. The publication of any quotes or illustrations on which clearance has not been given is unintentional. We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication.

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From the

Editor

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XACTLY AS the last issue of Britain at War was being sent to print, the National VJ Commemorations were being held in central London at Horeseguards and Whitehall. Ahead of those events the nation was urged to especially remember those of ‘the forgotten army’ by John Chrisford, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion. Certainly, it was the case that those who served and suffered in the Far East did so in some of the toughest conditions ever faced by the British & Commonwealth Armed Forces of the time. Understandably, perhaps, the fight in Europe was very much on ‘home soil’ and those in Britain at the time were directly affected by that fighting. When the war in Europe was over (and even before it was won) those serving in the Far East were often overlooked. The perception and awareness of the British population as a whole as to what was going on in the Far East was at best patchy and, at worst, almost non-existent. After all, that was a war a long way away. And it didn’t directly affect those back home. Worth remembering, too, that it wasn’t just servicemen caught up in events under Japanese aggression but that many thousands of civilians, including women and children, found themselves interned under harshly cruel conditions. Quite rightly the Royal British Legion, and the British Government, have sought to highlight the service and sacrifice of those in that theatre and to honour them in the recent 70th anniversary commemorations. Interestingly, the RBL also released a video highlighting the fact that the British nation’s awareness of what those in the Far East endured is as lacking now as it was then. Seeking to redress this, the Legion issued the following statement: ‘The British and Commonwealth campaign in the Far East was the longest of the Second World War and involved 2.5 million Service personnel. Around 300,000 soldiers in the Far East became Prisoners of War and 100,000 of these died as prisoners before seeing the war end. They suffered atrocious treatment in camps with food severely rationed and disease rife. Torture and even execution were commonplace. When Japan’s surrender came in August 1945, those who fought and suffered in the Far East wouldn’t arrive home until well after the victory celebrations in Britain were over. Many prisoners of war had to wait months for ships to bring them home, and some Allied Forces personnel wouldn’t return to the UK for nearly two years. As the national custodians of Remembrance, the Legion ensures the memory of those who have fought and sacrificed in the British Armed Forces is kept alive, now and for future generations. On the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, the Legion is proud to stand alongside many worthy Service organisations, notably the National Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) Fellowship Welfare Remembrance Association and the Burma Star Association, to ask the nation to join together and publicly recognise our ‘forgotten’ veterans.’ Britain at War is proud of its record in remembering this forgotten army and, in this issue, we carry features on the fighting at Kohima and of the courage of a Sikh officer in Burma. We certainly join with the Royal British Legion in recognising our ‘forgotten veterans’. Indeed, we are honoured to do so. To us, they are certainly not forgotten.

Andy Saunders (Editor) www.britainatwar.com

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FEATURES 24 FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF

48 THE NORFOLKS AT KOHIMA

34 ‘YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!’

68 REBEL WITH A CAUSE

John Grehan explains how Winston Churchill and the Royal Naval Division desperately clung onto Antwerp in 1914, saving the BEF from encirclement and destruction. Dramatic brushes with death experienced by RAF pilots shot down during the Battle of Britain are selected by Andy Saunders.

In the second of a two-part article, Peter Hart continues the tale of the Norfolk Regiment at Kohima by drawing on the gripping accounts of the hardened survivors. Steve Snelling recounts the story of a VC-winning young Sikh officer hailed a hero of the Raj for his dauntless valour on a Burmese battlefield.

Contents ISSUE 102 OCTOBER 2015

34 'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!' 4

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68 REBEL WITH A CAUSE

Editor’s Choice 91 BLACK HORSE SPITFIRE

Andy Saunders joins the recovery effort on the remains of a Spitfire donated to the war effort by the staff of Lloyds Bank.

96 HOLDING THE CROSSROADS

How the 21st Independent Parachute Company tried to keep the Germans at bay in the last crucial days of Operation Market Garden.

102 GALLIPOLI: THE FATEFUL DECISION

We describe Lord Kitchener’s personal visit to the Gallipoli peninsula and the impact it made on the crucial decision he faced: either continue with the battle or prepare for a theatre-wide withdrawal.

80 THE LONGEST VOYAGE

From Kiel to New York’s Central Park, via London, Robert Mitchell details the strange tale of a successful German U-boat mine layer which ended up helping the Allies win the war.

REGULARS 6 BRIEFING ROOM

The latest news including the opening of the tunnels in Dover's White Cliffs. Also dates for your diary.

21 FIELDPOST

Your letters, input and feedback.

42 IMAGE OF WAR

January 1945, elements of 79th Armoured Division support an advance into the Roer Triangle.

44 RECON REPORT

Our editorial team scout out new books and products and review a new title on the wartime history of MI5 100 years on, a study of Gallipoli from the Turkish perspective and our Book of the Month, The Secret History of the Blitz.

56 FIRST WORLD WAR DIARY

Our monthly look into the key dates of the First World War reaches October 1915. Multiple shocks include Edith Cavell’s execution and major developments in the Balkans.

76 FINGERPRINTS OF WAR: KENT’S FLYING BOMB CHURCH

60 LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Chris Goss details a series of low-level Luftwaffe raids in the Battle of Britain which targeted RAF airfields.

In the first of a new series, Alex Bowers searches out the evidence of war all around us in the towns, villages and fields of Britain.

108 GREAT WAR GALLANTRY

Delving into the detail of the awards announced for October 1915 in the London Gazette, plus Lord Ashcroft selects his ‘Hero of the Month’.

114 THE FIRST WORLD WAR IN OBJECTS The Soldiers’ Small Book comes under the microscope.

FREE BOOK!

Claim your FREE Spitfire Pilot or Doctor’s War book when you subscribe to Britain at War. See pages 58 and 59 for details

NEWS FEATURE 16 BBMF ENGINE FIRE 96 HOLDING THE CROSSROADS

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the repair operation after the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster engine fire in May. www.britainatwar.com

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News • Restorations • Discoveries • Events • Exhibitions from around the UK

Drowned WW1 Royal Marine identified after nearly 100 years

ABOVE: RNAS Culdrose Chaplain Tudor Botwood conducting the Rededication ceremony. ABOVE RIGHT: William Whitmore with his wife Margaret and daughter Kathleen. (CROWN COPYRIGHT 2015)

A ROYAL Marine who died as his ship was torpedoed has been identified after nearly a century, and has had his grave near Padstow rededicated with full honours. Stoke-on-Trent born Lance Corporal William Whitmore died after jumping overboard the armed merchant SS Anna Sofie, which was torpedoed by a German submarine about 4 miles west of Trevose Head on 23 July 1918. The ship was traversing a favourite

haunt for German submarines, who scored kills in the notorious hunting ground so frequently that the stretch of sea off the coast was dubbed ‘U-Boat Alley’. Researchers John Buckingham and Peter Smith made the discovery after many hours of painstaking work, having nothing to go on apart from the burial date. The breakthrough came when a reference to the sinking in local archives and an inquest report from 23 August 1918 were

found. These stated that the body of a Royal Marine was washed up just over three weeks after the Anna Sofie sank. Casualty records suggested this was the only body at that time in that area, and a written account from a survivor of the sinking confirmed Whitmore jumped overboard and disappeared in rough seas. With this information, the researchers are confident that they have finally identified Whitmore. Members of his family,

townspeople, and senior Royal Marines attended a ceremony to rededicate his grave. However, there perhaps a sting in the tale, as the researchers have suggested local authorities should have identified Whitmore in 1918. The Inquest noted Whitmore’s distinctive tattoo, a figure of a woman with the letter ‘M’, on his forearm. His wife, Margaret, had a similar tattoo, and this could have been confirmed by Margaret or by his service record.

New Museum For Portsmouth Dockyard

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THE ROYAL Navy’s oft overlooked ‘Spitfires of the sea’ and their home building, Portsmouth Dockyard’s Boathouse No.4 are now remembered by the opening of a new working museum. As part of a £6 million project overseen by Peter Goodship and the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

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Trust, the new museum is housed in the newly renovated boathouse and features a free interactive exhibition on an all new mezzanine floor paying tribute to the efforts of the Royal Navy’s small boats and crews from the days of Admiral Nelson up to the Second World War. ‘Small boats have played a vital role but they are often overlooked’ explained Goodship,

A long lost First World War medal has been returned to its rightful family eight months after its discovery. The medal, awarded to a Pte Albert Stedman, was uncovered in a former 1920s tip site (now a quarry) by Terry Hall whilst digging for bottles. After the corroded metal was thoroughly cleaned, a name and a service number could be made out, whereupon Mr. Hall took on the laborious task of returning the lost honour. Intricate research eventually uncovered Graham Perrin, 55, as the grandson of Stedman. Graham said receiving the medal was a shock as his grandfather, like many of his generation, never spoke about the war. He said: ‘Terry has helped me to piece together my family’s history… I am very grateful.’

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‘between the wars especially Britain was a world-leader in building these craft.’ Although the museum serves to tell the stories of the men who served in the boats, such as Augustus Agar VC, who sank the Soviet cruiser Oleg in 1919, it has to be noted that the exhibition features a number of surviving boats which are likely to become future icons, including

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Two Liverpool veterans, Billy Bell, 90 and Tommy Bunn, 93, have been recognised for their efforts in the Second World War. Both men served in the Border Regiment in Burma, and were surprised with the awarding of ‘Citizens of Honour’ civic awards at the VJ celebrations hosted by Liverpool’s Burma Star Association in August.

a motor gunboat which guided landing craft to Sword Beach on D-Day, and a high speed launch used to rescue airmen downed in the Channel. The ground floor of the massive hall, where landing craft, launches, and fast patrol boats were built and maintained, sees a return to boatbuilding as future generations of shipwrights are to be trained at there.

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Canadian Police are investigating the theft of Second World War medals belonging to the son of a Canadian veteran of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The medals were stolen from his home in Hawkwood, northwest Calgary. The medals were displayed in a frame with a photo of Sgt. Dan Hartigan taken prior to his jump into Normandy on D-Day.

Exhibitions from around the UK • Events • Discoveries • Restorations • News

Royal Army Chaplains’ Memorial Unveiled THE CONTRIBUTION of chaplains in the British Army has been commemorated by the unveiling of a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The memorial honours all those who gave their lives in their service with the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department as well as celebrating all who have served in the formation. Over 200 people attended the ceremony, including most serving army chaplains, and Chaplain General, Reverend Doctor David G Coulter, who performed the dedication service. They were joined by Lieutenant General James Everard. Rev Dr Coulter stated: ‘I think chaplains spend so much time

supporting other people that it is important we spend some time supporting each other. The memorial is not just for those who died but also those who served in the past and present and those who will serve in the future.’ The dedication was preceded by a 500-mile cycling pilgrimage across France and Belgium completed by 12 members of the department. They visited the graves of their predecessors who died in the First World War, their five-day trip taking them to 81 cemeteries. 4,000 army chaplains served in the First World War and they won numerous gallantry awards including three Victoria Crosses. The ‘Royal’ prefix was bestowed in 1919.

Forgotten Tunnels Opened

FORGOTTEN WARTIME tunnels carved into the White Cliffs of Dover in just 100 days have been restored and opened by The National Trust. The Fan Bay Deep Shelter was built on the orders of Winston Churchill to provide accommodation for the crews of the 6-inch guns sited there. It was part of a series of large artillery installations intended to counter similar German batteries on the other side of the Channel. The complex of tunnels provided safe accommodation and amenities for 190 troops. Above ground, a pair of sound mirrors were also uncovered

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A 94-year-old RAF veteran from Sheffield has been labelled a ‘wonder’ after raising £7,000 to honour his fallen comrades. It took Bill Carline 18 months to collect donations for the new memorial dedicated to the 19 Frecheville men who died in WW2, with leftover funds donated to armed forces charities. The memorial unveiling coincided with VJ Day commemorations.

having been hidden with soil. Following a successful public appeal, 50 volunteers spent two years digging out 100 tonnes of rubble to restore the tunnels after they were blocked up in the 1970s. The tunnels are described as a ‘time capsule’ as a stone carving and graffiti were found. It is now possible to descend the 125 steps and explore the tunnels. The National Trust is also now asking for help to identify the men from 172nd Tunnelling Company, the 203rd Coast Battery and 540th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery – or any others who served at the installation.

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Portsmouth experts are examining newly ‘discovered’ ensigns flown by British warships at Jutland. The centenary of the 1916 battle will be marked with services and the opening of Jutland veteran HMS Caroline. The National Museum of the Royal Navy made the find while searching for relics from ships including HMS Warspite, Bellerophon and Indomitable.

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RFA Darkdale: Divers Avert Danger

DIVERS HAVE carried out a clean-up operation on an important Royal Fleet Auxiliary wreck site off the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. RFA, Royal Navy and MOD Salvage and Marine Operations Division personnel also raised the Blue Ensign over the tanker RFA Darkdale, which lies at a depth of 140ft. Not anticipating an attack, Darkdale was torpedoed by U-68 while anchored off St Helena on 21 October 1941. Suddenly ablaze, she rapidly turned over, broke apart and sank, killing 41 of her crew. Darkdale was carrying over 4,500 tons of fuel oil and other fuel products when she arrived off St Helena in support of Allied warships, but refuelling the carrier HMS Eagle and County-class heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire in the month before her sinking would have reduced this. According to the MOD, she was the first British ship to be sunk south of the Equator in

the course of World War Two. To clear up the wreck, the navy dive team worked to remove 38 live shells from the ship's guns, disposing them in water 2,400 metres deep, where they can no longer be a danger. The MOD divers then removed the bulk of the oil, equalling over 12,000 barrels, from the holds. Perhaps surprisingly, the oil was found to be usable, and was pumped on board the tanker Golden Oak to be taken for reprocessing. While a trace of oil remains, it will slowly leak as the wreck’s condition degrades and as the ship resettles. It is not possible to extract it, but the team are very confident that they have successfully averted a potential environmental disaster. The Blue Ensign, like the one Darkdale would have flown, was raised on behalf of the dive team as an act of remembrance, commemorating the 41 personnel who died.

(CROWN COPYRIGHT)

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The Ministry of Defence is searching for the relatives of an airman and a soldier killed in the Netherlands. The graves of Sergeant Gerard Stanley Walters and Lance Corporal Donald Stabler Noble were discovered recently and the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre wishes to trace any relatives so they may attend their burial services. Walters, 20, born in Stratford, London, died on 3 April 1943 as his Halifax, flying from RAF Lissett, was downed in Wapenweld. Noble, 22, born in West Leeds, died in South Arnhem on 4 October 1944. He was with 4th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, but had seen service with the Royal Berkshire and the Royal Warwickshire Regiments. Anyone who may have any information regarding the two service men is invited to call Louise Dorr on 07917428269.

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VJ Day Commemorations

Just as we went to press with the previous issue of Britain at War, the United Kingdom stood poised to remember those caught up in the war against Japan, which ended 70 years ago. London

Britain’s ‘Forgotten Army’ was certainly on everyone’s minds on VJ weekend as major national commemorations held in London were attended by thousands of veterans and spectators both in remembrance of those who fought in the Far East and to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day and the end of World War Two. As the capital was the focal point of commemoration, other cities were happy to postpone some of their proceedings to allow veterans to attend. London’s commemorations began in Trafalgar Square, where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh along with other senior Royals attended a Service of Remembrance and wreath laying at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church. At Horse Guards Parade a memorial event, which included a moving drumhead service and more wreath laying, was attended by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall. Actor Charles Dance

recited the Kipling poem ‘The Road to Mandalay’, a preferred marching tune for the 14th Army in Burma when set to music, and classic hymns were also sung. At both London events Viscount Slim, son of the famous Field Marshal who led British troops in Burma, read the poignant Kohima Epitaph. This was followed by a parade of over a thousand veterans and their descendants, led by the pipes and drums of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and escorted by serving personnel down Whitehall to Westminster Abbey. Later, at a garden party given at Westminster Abbey, the Duchess of Cornwall was led onto the dance floor by Royal Navy veteran Jim Booth, 94, whilst all the Royals and Ministers present made time to talk to veterans and their families of whom at least 350 attended. The London events were joined by a flypast, which opened the drumhead service and involved a Dakota, Hurricane, and Typhoon overflying the Horse Guards commemoration.

Belfast

Belfast’s City Hall was illuminated in a red light to mark VJ Day as a large screen positioned on the lawn in front of the building showed highlights of the VJ Day commemorations at events in London. The event was also marked by the Northern Ireland War Memorial, who staged a two minute silence at their headquarters in Talbot Street. Belfast City Council used VJ Day as an opportunity to renew its call for Belfastian veterans to attend a civic lunch as VIP guests on 2 September 2015, the day the surrender of Japan was formalised. Veterans, or relatives and friends acting on their behalf, were encouraged to contact the City Council with their name, contact details and a brief outline of their wartime service.

Cardiff

A National Service, where First Minister Carwyn Jones gave a reading, was held in Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, on 16 August, a day after a series of events

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Edinburgh

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was among those who paid tribute to those who served in the Far East at a commemorative VJ Day service at Canongate Kirk, where she highlighted the importance of remembering those who fought as well as those who were captured before inviting a number of veterans to join her at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

BELOW: Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker Fort Victoria marked VJ Day by spelling out VJ70 on the ship’s flight deck. The crew, and 849 Naval Air Squadron photographed their efforts from a Sea King SKASaC helicopter.

(OWEN COOBAN, CROWN COPYRIGHT)

(RUPERT FRERE, CROWN COPYRIGHT)

across Wales to mark VJ Day. On VJ Anniversary Day itself, the Cardiff branch of the Burma Star Association held its service at St John’s Church, also in Cardiff. The church has received the association’s standard, now to be displayed alongside the Burma Star window inside the church, as the organisation has opted to lay up its standard, due to the natural decline in numbers. Elsewhere, 300 people attended a parade from Llandudno Pier Head to the war memorial, where a traditional drumhead service was held.

(RUPERT FRERE, CROWN COPYRIGHT)

(RUPERT FRERE, CROWN COPYRIGHT)

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King’s Royal Hussars Mark 300 Years

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OVER 130 officers and soldiers from the King’s Royal Hussars have marked 300 years of the regiment in a parade attended by their Colonel-in-Chief, HRH The Princess Royal, in their home town of Tidworth, Wiltshire. The regiment was formed in 1715 in the midst of the Jacobite rebellions and has fought in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, with their antecedent regiments amassing centuries worth of battle honours. The troops paraded in their distinctive crimson trousers, an honour bestowed on them by Prince Albert when one of the regiment’s forerunners, 11th Hussars, escorted the Prince to his wedding in London, impressing him so much that he ordered they wear

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The British military has bid farewell to its base on the Dutch-German border in Elmpt, Germany after over 60 years, with the 16th Signal Regiment and 1st Military Intelligence Battalion parading through the town. The base had a 49-year history with the RAF, and was the hub of British air activities in Europe, before being taken over by the Army in 2002.

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his livery as a mark of distinction. Leading the parade, Lieutenant Colonel Justin Kingsford stated: ‘I could not be more proud of the boys… When you join as a King’s Royal Hussar, you inherit 300 years’ worth of history and the amazing tradition and heritage… through every campaign the Army has been involved in. It was a very proud moment to be commanding the Regiment on parade at such a seminal moment.’ The Princess Royal said: ‘…I am glad that you have chosen such a fitting way of marking this anniversary. A very visible representation of the discipline, teamwork and professionalism of this Regiment. May I congratulate you on the excellent standard shown on parade…’

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Bay-class landing ship RFA Lyme Bay has successfully rescued a fisherman who was rapidly drifting out to sea while visiting the Turks and Caicos while halfway through an exercise. The grateful fisherman was towed back to shore after his motor had been sheared off, but unfortunately for the crew, they had to decline the offer of ‘several thank you beers’.

Against a backdrop of Challenger 2 MBTs, the regiment perfectly demonstrated their drill choreography, proving that the days of practice were well worth it.

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The Tower of London has been lit up with images of Afghanistan war veterans to raise money for wounded service personnel. The display was switched on by Carol Vorderman, as part of her role as Group Captain and Ambassador for the Air Cadets. The Haig Housing Trust, the group behind the event, aims to highlight it’s work in providing secure housing for ex-service personnel.

The KRH were then inspected by The Princess Royal before Yeoman Warders and old comrades joined them as they marched off at the end of the parade.

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A group of British civilians, who were interned in Shanghai as children during WW2, are to be reunited aboard HMS Belfast to commemorate the 70th anniversary of a children’s party held on board on 1 October 1945, to mark the end of the war. On that day, the young internees were treated to cake and sweets, as well as swings and slides built by the crew.

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Ohio Survivor Dies

ALLAN SHAW, the last surviving crew member of the legendary tanker SS Ohio, has passed away aged 91, according to the Times of Malta. The Ohio was arguably the most important ship of what has been suggested to have been the most important convoy of the war. The bomb battered tanker, barely floating and lashed to accompanying destroyers, arrived at Malta in August 1942 and the ship’s vital cargo of fuel and oil spared the island fortress from capitulation. Allan Shaw frequently visited the island nation to commemorate Operation Pedestal, the effort to

get the convoy through a ring of Axis forces besieging the island, and had since become a popular figure on the island. Reflecting on the event, Shaw explained that he was not expecting the mass crowds of people lining the harbour waiting for the Ohio and other ships of the convoy to arrive. For Allan Shaw and the crew of the nearstricken tanker, the convoy operation was just the same as any other. That said, to the residents and defenders of Malta, this now highly celebrated event had a lasting outcome on them, and the legacy of the SS Ohio will never be forgotten.

D-Day Veterans to Receive Delayed Medals GOVERNMENT DEFENCE minister Mark Lancaster has told MPs that hundreds of British veterans of the Normandy Landings will receive their Legion D’Honneur, the French government’s highest honour, before the end of 2015. He went on to say that although delays ‘might be understandable…that does not make them acceptable’. Last summer, the Ministry of Defence was contacted by the French government which stated its desire to recognise the feats of those surviving veterans of the Normandy Campaign and the wider war in France throughout 1944. it was expected that a few hundred veterans would apply for their medals, but over 3,000 applications

were actually received. The delay of several months has been put down to sheer demand on defence officials, applicants from other nations, and the complexities of the scheme. However, measures are now underway to ensure that the process runs more smoothly. French authorities have prioritised cases where waiting recipients are seriously ill or are nearing their 100th birthday, while British and French defence and diplomatic staff have improved checks on applications and built in flexibility in order to fast track special cases. All cases where awards have not been made are to be resubmitted at a rate of 100 per week.

Museum Displays Pen that Ended WWII

ABOVE: SS Ohio enters Valletta harbour. (IWM)

More POW Records Now Available Online

PLACES TO VISIT

ONE MILLION records of service men, women and civilians taken captive during the Second World War have now been published online for the first time at Findmypast. The publication, in association with The National Archives, marks the 70th anniversary of the end of conflict on all fronts and the liberation of the notorious Changi Prison camp, located on the eastern side of Singapore. For the first time online, relatives and historians can search through the records of some of the most infamous POW camps of World War II. Included are the records

for Stalag Luft III, the Nazi camp renowned for the mass escape by British and Commonwealth prisoners that inspired the film The Great Escape, and the Far East Prisoner of War camps immortalised in films such as The Railway Man. The records cover the period 1939-1945 and contain the names, ranks and locations of Prisoners of War, along with the length of time spent in camps, the number of survivors, details of escapees and the nationalities of prisoners. Britons represent the largest number, followed by Dutch, Americans and Australians.

THE HISTORIC pen used by General Douglas MacArthur to officially end the Second World War has gone on display in a Chester Museum. The pen was used by MacArthur to sign the formal documents relating to the surrender of Japan at a ceremony aboard the USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. The pen, now of international importance, was gifted to Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, who witnessed the surrender. Percival was the ill-fated

Allied commander of the Malayan Campaign and of the garrison at the fall of Singapore in 1942, and was taken prisoner along with tens of thousands of his men. Widely lambasted, recent history has been kinder to Percival, noting the years of underinvestment in the region and the inexperience of his troops as factors in his total defeat. The pen has now been handed back to the Chester Military Museum, and is now part of a permanent public display.

ABOVE: The pen used by MacArthur and gifted to Percival.

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Edith Cavell – ‘The ‘Cavell’ Van Outside the Forum, Bethel St, Millennium Plain, Norwich, 5-17 October To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Edith Cavell's execution, the story of the famous local will be told in Norwich with a free mini museum housed in the railway carriage which carried the body of the heroic nurse from Dover to London.

Remembering the West Indian Contribution to the First World War Army & Navy Club, Pall Mall, London, 19 October Reserve your free entry in advance through the National Army Museum in order to attend Dr Richard Smith’s fascinating lunchtime lecture marking the untold contribution of West Indian soldiers in the First World War.

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Military Revival Old Buckenham Airfield, Old Buckenham, Norfolk, 4 October Head to this historical United States Army Air Force base at Old Buckenham to witness a large gathering of military vehicles, re-enactors, and aircraft battle it out in one arena and be put through their paces in another.

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Dazzle Camouflage HMS Belfast, London, 24 October–1 November 2015 Set aboard the iconic warship, take the opportunity to participate in this twice daily event for all the family. Learn how and why HMS Belfast acquired its distinctive dazzle pattern, and take part in an animation workshop.

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Exhibitions from around the UK • Events • Discoveries • Restorations • News

| BRIEFING ROOM

RCAF Battle of Britain Squadron reborn

ABOVE: RCAF CF-18; the Canadians have operated their version of the Hornet since the mid-1980s. (RCAF VIA ANDY THOMAS)

THE ONLY Royal Canadian Air Force squadron to have flown during the Battle of Britain has been reformed after a hiatus of 17 years, reports Andrew Thomas. During a formal ceremony at CFB Cold Lake, Ontario on 30 June the Commander of the 1st Canadian Air Division, Maj Gen David Wheeler, returned the Unit’s Colours to the new Commanding Officer, Lt Col Joseph Mullins. 401 Sqn, nicknamed ‘the Rams’ is Canada’s oldest fighter squadron and flew throughout WW2, having originally formed as 1 Sqn RCAF in 1937, flying the Siskin. In 1939 it graduated to Hurricanes and took these to England early in WW2. It flew throughout the Battle of Britain claiming 30 destroyed and

a similar number of probables or damaged. To avoid confusion with 1 Sqn RAF in 1941 it was renumbered as 401 Sqn and flew through the rest of the war with distinction. It is the only RCAF squadron to wear the Battle Honour ‘Battle of Britain 1940’ on its colours and it later became the top scoring unit in the 2nd Tactical Air Force during the campaign in North West Europe, ending the war with 186 confirmed victories. Appropriately, 401 Sqn now flies the formidable CF-18 Hornet fighter. As part of the RCAF restructuring in which its two super-sized CF-18 Squadrons have been split, 433 Sqn at Bagotville, Quebec which flew with distinction

in Bomber Command during WW2 has also been reformed. Also at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, the Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit (MPEU) responsible for CP-140

Aurora development has been designated as 415 Sqn, which during the Second World War flew in both Coastal and Bomber Commands. 

Thunder Over the White Cliffs

PLACES TO VISIT

THE SOUND of cannonfire can once more be heard over the White Cliffs of Dover with the recent revival of firing displays by the newly restored First World War AntiAircraft gun at Dover Castle. The rare 3-inch gun was obtained by English Heritage in 1994 and in the last few months has undergone crucial restoration work to make it the only one of its kind to be in

full working order. The £490,000 project has been backed by a £272,600 Heritage Lottery Fund grant as well as support from the ‘Friends of Dover Castle'. The 100-year-old weapon has now been installed at the historic castle to re-create one of the anti-aircraft emplacements first put in place in January 1915 to protect Britain’s frontline against Zeppelin airships

and, later, large aircraft bombers. Specially trained volunteers in authentic uniform (including Britain at War's Alex Bowers) first fired the gun publicly on the weekend of August 1st and 2nd with large crowds attending for the event ‘1915 – Dover at War’. Paul Pattison, Senior Properties Historian for English Heritage said: ‘Dover Castle was critically

important to the defence of Britain during the First World War, standing guard above the English Channel and helping to defend the nation from the new threat of aerial warfare.’ Firing displays of the gun will be available for public viewing every weekend until the end of October. Search 'Dover Castle' at www. english-heritage.org.uk.

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Black Poppies Imperial War Museum, London, 31 October Join Stephen Bourne at London’s Imperial War Museum at 14:30 as he presents an illustrated talk about Britain’s black community and the First World War, exploring both the military and civilian wartime experiences of black Britons. There is also an accompanying display.

Western Front Association Event ‘Futureshock: Tales from the Devastated Zone’ Rob Thompson explores the lessons learned by the BEF during their occupation of the Devastated Zone, created by the Germans in their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917. Join him at 14:30 on 10 October 2015 at the Manor School, Nether Poppleton, York.

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Shuttleworth Season Finale Airshow Old Warden Aerodrome, Nr. Biggleswade, Bedfordshire Do not miss the opportunity to view Collection aircraft up close as they are put on static display before taking to the air.

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Western Front Association Event ‘The French Foreign Legion in the Great War’ Join Branch Chairman Martin Willoughby at Pimperne Village Hall, Dorset, at 17:30 in 10 October 2015 for a new and insightful talk on an elite unit.

www.britainatwar.com 15

BRIEFING ROOM |

Baofttalein Brit

7

ARY 5th ANNIVERS 1940-2015

News • Restorations • Discoveries • Events • Exhibitions from around the UK

The ‘Hardest Day’ Anniversary at Biggin Hill

ON TUESDAY 18 August, 75 years to the day after the original event, the Battle of Britain ‘Hardest Day’ Commemoration took place at Biggin Hill, writes Claire Bracher. Eighteen Spitfires and six Hurricanes gathered in a unique tribute to ‘The Few’. In honour of the pilots, engineers, armourers, operations staff and ground crew who so bravely defended their country, Biggin Hill played host to the largest fighter formation since the Battle of Britain itself. It was an emotive sight. At around 1pm, the 24 formidable warbirds took to the skies to fly in formation. The unforgettable roar of Merlin engines filled the sky whilst the air-raid siren rang out across the airfield. Split into three flights, the first flew down to the Isle of Wight, over the Solent and Portsmouth before returning back to Biggin Hill; the second flew east across Dover, Hawkinge and the national memorial at Capel-le-Ferne; the third flight flew over West Malling, Detling and Gravesend before returning to patrol overhead Biggin in an act of protecting the airfield whilst the first two elements returning from the Isle of Wight and Dover landed. Among the 3000 spectators watching the display were the military and civilian veterans of the era, including veterans Mary Ellis, Joy Lofthouse, and Squadron leader Tony Pickering, who flew on 18th August 75 years ago. Later, guests were able to take a flight line walk enabling them to get close to the aircraft and meet the pilots. It was a truly fitting tribute to Churchill’s Few, with net proceeds being

donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund. In August 1940, Biggin Hill was in the thick of the fighting for airspace above South East England. On the 18th, the battle reached its peak. On what became known as ‘the hardest day’, key sectors at Biggin Hill experienced their greatest challenge. From around midday onwards, 32 Squadron (with Hurricanes) and 610 (County of Chester) Auxiliary Squadron (with Spitfires) were continuously airborne, protecting Biggin Hill from total destruction. Continuing on into the evening and with much damage done, 32 Squadron lost seven Hurricanes and 610 Squadron two Spitfires. There was no loss of life remarkably although there were injuries. Despite the RAF losing a significant number of aircraft, the Luftwaffe took an enormous blow, suffering huge losses to both aircraft and morale. With a station motto of ‘The Strongest Link’, Biggin Hill played an extremely important part both during and after the Battle of Britain. The airfield became home to many fighter squadrons and received continual bombing by the Luftwaffe. The Biggin Hill Spitfires, known as the ‘Biggin Hill Wing’, roamed over enemy territory attacking anything that posed a threat. By 1944, as the fighting moved further into the continent, Biggin Hill’s role began to alter and it became a barrage balloon centre. After the war it became a base for Fighter Command housing Meteors and Hunters until in the early 1990s it was downgraded to the Aircrew

ABOVE: An armourer of No. 3101 Servicing Echelon adjusts one of the machine guns on a Spitfire at Biggin Hill, Kent.

Selection Centre, pending final closure. Today, the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar runs with a very clear purpose: that of keeping the memories of Churchill’s ‘few’ alive. The Hangar is home to a fantastic collection of Spitfires together with a Hawker Hurricane Mk I, Europe’s oldest flying Harvard and a 1944 ex-USAAF Piper L4 Grasshopper, all of which are ready and able to fly. As well as enjoying the chance to tour the Hangar and sit in a Spitfire, visitors are able to view the current restoration work being carried out by The Spitfire Company (Biggin Hill) Ltd. With authentic rebuilding at the heart of their work, the Spitfire Company restores previously scrapped or crashed Spitfires. Wherever possible, the original material from the aircraft is incorporated together with original parts. A team of skilled engineers works meticulously to ensure

BELOW: Spitfires and Hurricanes gather for the Biggin Hill Hardest Day Commemoration. (CLAIRE BRACHER)

16 www.britainatwar.com

that the magnificent aircraft are restored back to their full glory and made airworthy. As a result of the CAA regulations being relaxed, the Hangar is also now able to offer the ultimate ‘Fly a Spitfire’ Experience: a truly unforgettable flight. The Hangar is also available for conferences, meetings, seminars, dinners and lunches; it can accommodate up to 150 people and offers a unique setting close to London in which to host reunions and open days. The team is very conscious of what the venue represents. Spokesman Robin Brooks told us, ‘We dedicate the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar to all those personnel both male and female who lost their lives or were injured whilst serving at RAF Biggin Hill.’ www.flyaspitfire.co.uk www.bigginhillheritagehangar. co.uk Telephone: 01959 576767

Exhibitions from around the UK • Events • Discoveries • Restorations • News

| BRIEFING ROOM

Battle of Britain Hurricane Recovered AS BRITAIN at War went to press, the MOD-sponsored ‘Operation Nightingale’ team were completing a project to recover the buried wreckage of a 303 (Polish) Squadron Hurricane from the South Downs near Brighton.

ABOVE: Richard Osgood, the MOD Defence Infrastructure Organisation archaeologist, explains the project to Sgt Wunsche’s daughter and granddaughter at the crash site of the Polish pilot’s Hurricane. (MARK KHAN)

On 9 September 1940 Sgt Kazimierz Wunsche was shot down during an engagement with Messerschmitt 109s and forced to bale-out of his Hurricane, P3700, leaving the aircraft to crash vertically to earth and bury itself deep in the downland chalk. On the 75th anniversary of that event the wreckage was recovered in the presence of members of Sgt Wunsche’s family, Polish veterans, members of the Polish armed forces and representatives of the Polish Embassy. Among items salvaged were the remains of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and the propeller hub, along with various cockpit components. These items will be conserved and placed on permanent display in the history room at RAF Northolt, the airfield from which the aircraft had been operating that day. On the exact anniversary of the incident, just as engine parts were being retrieved from the site, the

ABOVE: Sgt Kazimierz Wunsche, right.

Hurricane operated by the Historic Aircraft Collection flew over in salute. Appropriately, the Hurricane had recently been repainted in the exact colours and markings worn by Sgt Wunsche’s Hurricane when shot down on 9 September 1940. The ‘Operation Nightingale’ team

who conducted the archaeological excavation across four days are part of an initiative to provide rehabilitation to injured service personnel through archaeology. A more detailed report on this unusual project will follow in the next issue of Britain at War.

Learn to Fly a Spitfire

Are you a qualified pilot with an ICAO PPPL? Have you ever wanted to fly a Spitfire? Your chance may have arrived. THE VICKERS Supermarine Spitifre and Duxford enjoy a unique and very special link. The story started on 30 July 1938 when Spitfire Mk1 K9792 landed after a high speed pass. Three days later it was confirmed that Duxford-based 19 Squadron would be the first unit of the RAF to operate the new fighter. The young men getting to grips with their new mount could hardly have imagined that nearly eighty years later there would still be pilots on that same aerodrome learning mastery of the same

aircraft type. But that opportunity is now available. Since the mid 1970s the Imperial War Museum has run the former RAF aerodrome. Private historic Spitfire operators also use the facilities, notably the Old Flying Machine Company and The Fighter Collection. Today HFL/ARCo produce a stream of resurrected airframes, including latterly a number of MK1 Spitfires. One such operator is now writing the next chapter in Duxford’s Spitfire history. Since 1992

Classic Wings has been providing passenger flights from Duxford in a range of historic aircraft including the dH Tiger Moth and Dragon Rapide. Its offering has been extended to include the immensely popular ‘Wing to Wing’ package, where a Spitfire formates with the Rapide to give passengers amazing viewing and photographic opportunities. In 2014 a change in regulations permitted the company to sell flights in a two-seat Spitfire to the general public. These have proved

hugely popular, and have now led to the ultimate Spitfire flight experience: namely, instruction on and, if standards are met, the chance to fly a Spitfire solo. It looks as if the wheel might have turned full circle as once more pilots will train to convert to the iconic Spitfire at Duxford, just as in 1938. Naturally, you’ll need an ICAO PPL and a medical before you can be accepted on any of these very special courses. Details from Classic Wings on [email protected]

BELOW: Getting close to a Spitfire. Now properly qualified private pilots have the opportunity to convert to the iconic type.

www.britainatwar.com 17

NEWS FEATURE |

BBMF Lancaster: The Repair

BBMF Lancaster Engine Fire Repair After the engine fire suffered in May, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster had been undergoing repairs at Coningsby. Britain at War was granted privileged and exclusive access to the team’s work. Andy Saunders reports. JUST OVER 70 years ago the sight of a Lancaster returning to its Lincolnshire base with at least one engine out, and perhaps even burning, was relatively commonplace. And if that Lancaster got down safely it would often be repaired and turned round in no time at all. Very often, an engine would be replaced and battle-damaged airframes sent off on another long-range sortie over the Reich, perhaps within 24 hours. Fast forward to an unfortunate episode on 8 May this year when the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster PA474 suffered an in-flight engine fire in its starboard outer motor as it returned to its RAF Coningsby base. Britain at War has been given unique access to the jewel in the BBMF’s crown to

see how the repairs are going and to help understand some of the challenges involved.  When fire broke out in the Lancaster’s engine whilst inbound to Coningsby, the fire suppressant system was activated and the engine shut down as the bomber was skilfully piloted in to land safely, albeit with the fire still burning. As it came to a halt, RAF fire teams were quickly on the scene and extinguished the blaze before the flames could take hold and cause more injury to this historic airframe. All the same, the damage sustained was more serious than might at first have been apparent to the naked eye. The outcome could have had more serious repercussions if the Lancaster had been too far from an active airfield or, worse, when transiting the North Sea a matter of days earlier when returning from the Operation Manna events in Holland.

BELOW: Work in progress on Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Avro Lancaster PA474 after its engine fire in May. Six months’ work has been completed in three thanks to the fine team effort.

18 www.britainatwar.com

CAUSES AND FIXES

The cause of the fire was discovered to be fuel pooling in the hot supercharger and igniting, with damage not only to the engine itself but also to the surrounding structure of the engine bay. It was this harm which meant that rectification of the problem was far more than a simple case of replacing the afflicted engine. In fact, damage to the structure forward of the firewall was the real headache, as the BBMF’s Senior Engineering Officer Kev Ball explained: ‘Everything forward of the firewall is not an Avro product but Rolls-Royce instead. We have the Avro drawings that would theoretically allow airframe parts to be constructed, but not for any of the cowling and engine bay structures.’ Fortunately, the BBMF currently holds a stock of 17 Merlin engines; others are constantly coming through the re-conditioning loop after

BBMF Lancaster: The Repair

| NEWS FEATURE

BELOW: Working on a Lancaster engine 1944 style. (WW2 IMAGES)

ABOVE: Newly fabricated lower engine cowling.

the Battle of Britain, however, they have risen magnificently to the challenge. W/O Ball enthused, ‘It has been fabulous how the BBMF team, Airframe Assemblies and Retro Track & Air have all pulled together to get her back in the air and to supply parts to meet our needs. I can’t speak highly enough of them in what has been a magnificent effort.’ Steve Vizard, Director of Airframe Assemblies added: ‘It has truly been an honour to work with the BBMF in getting the Lancaster back into the air. In doing so, my chaps pulled out all the stops and compressed six months work into three in what was an amazing team effort working against the clock and against the odds. The chaps didn’t just go above and

beyond what was expected of them because they had to, but because they wanted to. Very appropriate in this Battle of Britain anniversary year. Real 1940 spirit! ‘ As Britain at War went to press the work was still ongoing, but the wonderfully crafted new firewall was already in place, the replacement engine hung back on its mounting and final work on the new cowlings taking place. Airframe Assemblies fitters and engineers are working alongside BBMF technicians hoping to complete the task before the end of the important 2015 display season.  With thanks to the BBMF for help with this feature and to Sarah WarrenMacmillan for supply of images.

ABOVE: Working on one of the engines.

every 500 hours, with major work on the engines contracted out to Gloucestershirebased Retro Track & Air Ltd. Thus, finding a ‘spare’ XX series engine was not a problem in this instance, with the real problem being airframe based. Although post-design support for the engines is available from Rolls-Royce, it was decided that the easiest course of action would be to fabricate the damaged cowlings and the firewall itself, using the damaged examples and the other three undamaged engine bays as patterns - the use of construction from patterns being a well trodden path for the Isle of Wight based Airframe Assemblies who were engaged by the MOD to undertake the work. Of course, and as the BBMF is keen to point out, the issue could not have arisen at a worse time, coming as it did during the 75th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Britain. During this period the Flight’s establishment of 30 engineers have been stretched to manage the huge workload of the Spitfires and Hurricanes whilst dealing with the Lancaster repairs at the same time. In the finest traditions of RAF ground crew during

ABOVE: Jordan Dove (left) and Mike Douglas of Airframe Assemblies at RAF Coningsby working on the newly fabricated cowlings.

ABOVE: Burnt and melted engine cowling.

ABOVE: Warrant Officer Kev Ball, who has overseen the repairs.

www.britainatwar.com 19

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LETTER OF THE MONTH

'Bismarck' Watercolour Sketches

Dear Sir - I read with great interest your news feature on the salvage of the ship’s bell from HMS Hood. It is wonderful to see such a poignant and meaningful artefact respectfully salvaged from the wreck of this heroic yet tragic ship. Its recovery, however, prompted me to sort through the papers of my late father who had served at the end of the Second World War as a Lt Cdr intelligence officer with the Naval Intelligence Department. Unfortunately, he died in the 1960s when I was then too young to take much interest in his wartime service but have since garnered a little information from other family members who are older than me. Amongst Dad’s paperwork were these watercolour sketches which I always understood to have been recovered from the offices of Admiral Karl Dönitz and which were spirited away

by him, probably quite ‘illegally’ as his personal war trophies. The originals were in a leather folder, with gold blocked lettering marked ‘Bismarck’. ‘Bismarck’ Sadly, the

folder has long since vanished but the paintings remain. Quite how they might have apparently survived the subsequent sinking of Bismarck is a bit of a mystery

to say the very least, if they were indeed with the artist on board the German ship. Unless they were painted after the event, from memory, of course. Whatever the story, they seem to have been painted by one who was there and witnessed the sinking and the salvoes fired by Bismarck in the fateful engagement. It is difficult for me to properly decipher the German text, or even the apparent name of the artist, but I can only assume that whoever executed these pieces of art must have been a witness. I hope your magazine will be interested in sharing these historic pieces of art with its readers. Certainly, they must be a unique record of a tragic episode and one which would also shortly see tremendous loss of life on the Bismarck, too. Maybe one of your Bismarck readers might be able to shed some light on the back-story of the artist? Robert Edwardes, Northumberland. By email

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'Britain at War' Magazine, PO Box 380, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 9JA | [email protected]

Casualty of 'Black Saturday'

Sir - Reading your excellent piece about Tangmere’s Few (September issue) brings to mind another member of 43 Squadron killed on ‘Black Saturday’ 7 September 1940 (although not buried at Tangmere) and a great friend of Squadron Leader Caesar Hull – Flight Lieut. Richard Carew Reynell, known to one and all as ‘Dickie.’  Dickie Reynell was born in 1912 in Reynella, South Australia where his family owned a large winery estate. His father was Lieut. Colonel Carew Reynell, who had been killed at Gallipoli in 1915 whilst serving with the 9th Australian Light Horse. Dickie came to England in 1929, originally to study at Oxford University but soon joined the University Squadron and having discovered a love of flying, abandoned his studies in 1931 and joined the Royal Air Force, with whom he served in 43 Squadron based at RAF Tangmere. In 1937, Dickie Reynell left the RAF in order to join Hawker’s as a Test Pilot and

was involved from an early stage in the development and testing of the Hawker Hurricane. Indeed, he demonstrated the Hurricane at the Brussels Air Show in 1938 in front of a distinguished audience including Erhardt Milch, at that time Secretary of the Reich Aviation Ministry.

In common with many test pilots, Dickie returned to the RAF during the Battle of Britain and found himself back with some familiar faces at 43 Squadron. He had in fact, been due to return to Hawker’s to resume his duties on September 7th but offered instead to fly with 43 Squadron for one more day before returning, which was to prove a fatal decision. As recounted in your article, 43 Squadron was in the thick of the action on Black Saturday and whilst over Blackheath, southeast London, ‘Dickie’s’ Hurricane V7257 was engaged by a Me109. In the ensuing dogfight, ‘Dickie’s’ Hurricane exploded and whilst he was thrown clear, his parachute failed to open and he fell to the ground, landing in the vicinity of Dartmouth Grove, Blackheath. The Civil Defence Incident Log from the time records that the ‘RAF Parachutist’ as he

was referred to was discovered still alive but ‘badly injured’. Not surprisingly, he died before he could be taken to hospital. The wreckage of the exploded Hurricane was scattered over a large area of Blackheath, with the engine plunging through the roof of nearby St. Ursula’s Convent, where it was at first thought to have been a German bomb. In 2013, the excellent Shoreham Aircraft Museum unveiled a memorial stone to Richard Reynell on Crown Point, Blackheath, quite close to the scene of his death and I enclose photographs of the memorial at the time of the unveiling and of ‘Dickie’. Flight Lieutenant Reynell is buried at Brookwood Cemetery. Steve Hunnisett. By email.

MM For Rescue of RFC Pilot

Sir - I am trying to find out more information relating to the award of a Military Medal to a George Relf who was my grandmother’s brother. According to family lore he was awarded this for his part in the rescue of a trapped pilot who had crash landed upside down in ‘No Man’s Land’. Despite of the danger to himself he managed to release the pilot from his straps who had continually warned him that the aircraft was likely to catch fire at any minute and to stay clear.  This he achieved just before the aircraft did in fact catch fire. It was always believed in the family that the pilot was Australian which might be confirmed by the copy letter sent by his commanding officer advising him of the award.

22 www.britainatwar.com

George was in the Royal Garrison Artillery & at the time of the rescue on 21 or 23 March 1918 in the 245 Siege Battery. The award was issued under the authority of the Australian Corps Routine Order No.142 dated 24 April 1918. So far the family have been unable to discover the name of the pilot or the location of the 245 Siege Battery on the 21 March 1918. The only additional information we have is that George’s commanding officer at this time was Major Claude L. Penrose who later died from wounds on 1st August. This section of Siege Artillery was attached to the Australian Corps at the time. Any information that your readers may be able to supply regarding

this particular award or the 245 Siege Battery would be gratefully received. My great uncle had been wounded & returned to the UK. He received notification of the award on 1 May 1918 by Major Penrose. He never returned to the front again as the war had ended by the time he had recovered. Phil Hurford. East Sussex. By email Editor’s Note: We will always be pleased to receive requests for assistance from our readers and will be happy to consider publishing such requests when space permits. Please write to us at: contact@ britainatwar.com

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FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

FOUR DAYS THAT S

It was called the Race to the Sea, as the Germans sought to outflank the British army and cut it off from the Channel ports. The Germans would have succeeded had it not been for Winston Churchill and the Royal Naval Division which held Antwerp for four vital days in October 1914. John Grehan tells the story. RIGHT: The Royal Marine Brigade arrives at Ostend.

(ALL IMAGES FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED)

A

NTWERP WAS Belgium’s largest port and one of Europe’s most powerful fortresses. Its retention by the Belgians was essential if the Belgian Army was to remain in the fight against the German forces bearing down on their ultimate objective, Paris. Encompassed by a belt of fortifications that stretched around Antwerp for 95km, the Belgian National Redoubt (Reduit National) had been built over the course of more than fifty years and was composed of a ring of interconnecting forts and trenches. It had long been recognized that Belgium could not resist an attack by either of its powerful neighbours, France and Germany. However, these two countries were never likely to be allies. If Belgium was attacked by one it could expect the other to come to its assistance. The underlying principle of the formation of the National Redoubt was that the Belgian Government and its army would fall back on Antwerp if attacked, where they could then hold out until their allies arrived. That same principle still applied in 1914 and when the Germans invaded Belgium, the latter’s forces indeed withdrew to Antwerp after being pushed back by the advancing enemy. Throughout the first few weeks of the war Antwerp was not threatened, but on 5 September the Belgian Government warned the British Foreign Office that the National Redoubt would soon be in danger. Lord Grey, the Foreign Secretary, duly presented the message to his Cabinet colleagues. 

24 www.britainatwar.com

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

T SAVED THE BEF

www.britainatwar.com 25

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

ABOVE: Refugees escaping from Antwerp. On 7 September Lord Grey asked if the civilians should be encouraged to leave Antwerp. Churchill replied, ‘They ought to stay there & eat up continental food, & occupy German police attention. There is no reason why the civil population of Belgium not concerned in the defence of Antwerp, should come & live in England.’ MIDDLE RIGHT: Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty (right), in 1914. RIGHT: German soldiers heading through Belgium in 1914.

The fears were dismissed by Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, who did not believe that the Belgians would surrender Antwerp. Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, took the matter far more seriously. Six naval aeroplanes were sent to Antwerp and he arranged for a number of anti-aircraft guns to be sent there as the Belgians had expressed their great fear of raids by Zeppelins. In a letter to Grey, Churchill wrote in capital letters. ‘WE MUST HOLD ANTWERP’. Meanwhile, military intelligence reports indicated that it would not be long before the Germans were in a position to assault Antwerp and on 7 September the Belgians asked for 30,000 British troops to hold open the road between Ostend and Antwerp. This was because of fears that the neighbouring Dutch authorities would close off the River Scheldt, thus blocking sea-borne access to Antwerp. The request was refused.

COME ON, GERMANS!

By the end of September the Germans had occupied Brussels and were ready to turn their attention upon the Belgian National Redoubt.

26 www.britainatwar.com

They opened fire with 17-inch howitzers upon the ring of forts and on learning that the siege had begun, Kitchener sent Colonel Alister Dallas to Antwerp to report on the battle. On Dallas’ advice Kitchener sent some heavy artillery and personnel to strengthen the city’s defences. The Secretary of State for War told the Belgians not to mind the bombardment of their forts, but to entrench themselves with barbed-wire and challenge

the Germans to ‘come on’! This did nothing to help the Belgians who consequently announced that the seat of government was going to move to Ostend. The Belgian Prime Minister, de Broqueville, telegraphed London declaring that the situation was ‘extremely grave’ and that Antwerp could only be saved by outside intervention. Prime Minister Asquith took the situation far more seriously than did Kitchener. ‘The fall of Antwerp,’ he wrote ‘would be a great

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

the sea as almost happened a generation later in 1940. The severity of the situation was now understood by Kitchener and in a discussion that evening with Dallas, Kitchener decided that he needed to know exactly what was happening so that he could respond accordingly, albeit somewhat belatedly. They decided the man to send was the First Lord of the Admiralty who had earlier that evening left by train for France to visit the Royal Marine Brigade at Cassel. 

moral blow to the Allies, for it would leave the whole of Belgium for the moment at the mercy of the Germans.’ The French announced that they were willing to send a division of 15,000 or 20,000 men to Antwerp which they would happily place under a British general. These, though, were only territorials of uncertain quality. Asquith considered sending the recently-formed 7th Division of Regulars, but only if the French also sent professional soldiers, not part-timers. Reports indicated that morale in the Belgian army was near collapse.

ABOVE: The town of Antwerp, Belgium with the Cathedral of Our Lady in the background before the war. BELOW: Belgian soldiers with large field gun, during the Siege of Antwerp by the German Army.

This was made worse by news which came on 2 October. Two of the Antwerp forts had been battered into rubble by the German guns and enemy infantry had broken through the intervening ground, driving the Belgian troops out of their entrenchments. If Antwerp was to fall there would be nothing to stop the Germans sweeping down the coast to the Channel ports. The flank of Allied forces facing the Germans further east would be turned and the British Expeditionary Force cut off from

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FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

ABOVE: Another shot of Belgian field artillery in 1914.

TOP MIDDLE: Recruiting posters for the Royal Naval Division.

RIGHT: Belgian troops in the Antwerp trenches.

A message was sent to halt Churchill’s train, which went back to Victoria. At a meeting with Kitchener and others the position of Antwerp was spelt out; the loss of the city would immediately prejudice the course of the war. The Germans would be able to advance along the North Sea coast down to Calais. In such an event, Kitchener stressed, the BEF would be in extreme danger. A telegram had been received in which the Belgian Government had made up its mind to abandon Antwerp and make for Calais the following morning, 3 October. The rapidity with which the situation had degenerated was utterly unexpected and Churchill was staggered with the news. ‘That the great fortress and city of Antwerp with its triple line of forts and inundations, defended by the whole Belgian Field Army (a force certainly equal in numbers to all the German troops in that neighbourhood), should collapse in perhaps forty-eight hours seemed to all of us not only terrible but incomprehensible.’1 A message was sent to the Belgian Prime Minister, urging him ‘to make one further struggle to hold out. Even a few days may make the difference.’

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Almost as soon as this message had been sent, a telegram was received from Paris with the French now offering to send two divisions to Antwerp, which would arrive there on 7 October. After a full briefing from Kitchener Winston left for Belgium with his naval secretary, Admiral Hood. Kitchener, meanwhile, threw himself into the task of finding reinforcement for Antwerp, which included arranging for the Royal Marine Brigade to move to the city. Winston reached Antwerp shortly after midday. The outer ring of forts was still holding and at a meeting with

de Broqueville, a deal was struck. The Belgian premier agreed to remain at Antwerp providing that Britain kept open the road to Ostend so that, if Antwerp did fall, the Government would still be able to escape to the coast and then, potentially, to England. Churchill gave this commitment and decided to send his two Naval Brigades which he had set up in August and were in training. With the Royal Marine Brigade, this would mean that his entire Naval Division would be fighting together, with every prospect that Winston would

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

A Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Henry Stevens, was in charge of Churchill’s transport in Antwerp and he took the First Lord of the Admiralty on a tour of the city’s defences. He addressed some of the Belgian officers, ‘emphasising his points with his walking stick … He appeared on occasions to criticize the siting and construction of the trenches which had, I believe, been constructed by the Belgian Army … To me it appeared that Mr Churchill dominated the proceedings and the impression formed that he was by no means satisfied with the position generally. He put forward his ideas forcefully, waving his stick and thumping the ground with it … At one line of trenches he found the line very thinly held and asked where ‘the bloody men were’. He certainly was not mollified when he was told that was all that were available at that point.’2 Colonel John Seely, who arrived at the city the day after the First Lord of the Admiralty, recalled: ‘From the moment I arrived the whole business was in Winston’s hands. He dominated the whole place; the King [of the Belgians], ministers, soldiers, sailors. So great was his influence that I am convinced that with 20,000 British troops he could have held Antwerp against any onslaught.’3 Troops were, of course, the key to the defence of Antwerp, and Churchill

was convinced that he was the man to lead those troops. On 5 October, he sent the following telegram to Prime Minister Asquith: ‘If it is thought by HM Government that I can be of service here, I am willing to resign my office and undertake command of relieving and defensive forces assigned to Antwerp in conjunction with the Belgian Army, provided that I am given necessary military rank and authority, and full powers of a commander of a detached force in the field. I feel it my duty to offer my services, because I am sure this arrangement will afford the best prospects of a victorious result to an enterprise in which I am deeply involved. I should require complete staff proportionate to the force employed, as I have had to use all the officers now here in positions of urgency.’ To have given Churchill the men and the authority to adequately defend Antwerp would have raised him immediately from his Army rank of Major to General in a single step, apart from the fact that he would be abandoning the Admiralty at the very time it needed him most of all. His request was dismissed out of hand by Asquith. Instead it would be Major General Henry Rawlinson of the 7th Division who would take command of the forces in Antwerp. 

BELOW: This is captioned, ‘The horror of war, ghastly glimpse of Belgian wounded, Antwerp hospital’.

be able to command them in person. Winston telegraphed Kitchener to send these two brigades, asking him to route them through Dunkirk. They were to be provided with five days’ rations and 2,000,000 rounds of ammunition. Churchill managed to convince de Broqueville that Britain and France were determined to help defend the National Redoubt, though not all of his ministers were so persuaded. Nevertheless, Winston, with his famous energy and boundless confidence, sought to organize and encourage the defenders.

‘WHERE ARE THE BLOODY MEN’

The situation was explained to him by de Broqueville, who said that the outer forts were falling one by one. Five or six shells from the huge German howitzers were sufficient to smash the forts to their foundations, to kill their defenders even in the deepest casemates and to wreck the gun platforms. The Germans had already started to shell the inner forts and there was nothing the Belgians could do to prevent their destruction at the rate of about one fort a day. www.britainatwar.com 29

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

CHURCHILL VERSUS KITCHENER: 'NO, NO, NO, NO' A letter discovered last year has shed light on the difficult working relationship between First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, and Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener. Although it is well known that the two men were not close, a letter from Kitchener to Churchill apparently shows the strain the antipathy placed on important military judgements as well as highlighting the lack of preparations made by the British in the run up to the war. The letter was sent to Churchill on 27 August 1914, as Kitchener and his staff were battling to organise British and Belgian forces in their retreat to Antwerp. Although the technical competency of British troops was often first-rate, their numerically superior German foes were hardly lacking in skill or leadership, and in a number of determined struggles the British Expeditionary Force was blasting through a modest supply of ammunition. Kitchener requested supplies of ammunition from the Navy, adding ‘It makes me shudder to think of troops without ammunition.’ A handwritten reply from Churchill, at the foot of the letter, bluntly rebuffs Kitchener’s pleas, writing ‘No, no, no, no’. A sense of confusion and urgency comes across quite clearly, stating that half a million rounds had already been reallocated, and the Navy only had stocks of 10,000,000 for its own use. The First Sea Lord also staggeringly reveals that he was reliant on a supply of 2,000,000 rounds from Kitchener. The less-than-friendly blunt reply reveals the long standing wounds in a working relationship that had never been warm. The two figures first met in the Second Boer War, and reportedly despised each other even then. However, considering the positions of both Churchill and Kitchener as heads of the Navy and Army respectively in 1914, and the fact that both had experiences in the Second Boer War (with Kitchener leading the latter part), where logistics and communication were common issues, such lack of preparation in these key areas for the conflict ought to raise eyebrows. The 1914 war had been brewing for many years, with conflict narrowly avoided on several occasions. Inter-service rivalry, or personal antipathy, certainly should not have been allowed to get in the way of such basic failures. RIGHT: Commemorative relief depicting Siege of Antwerp. (BRIGADE PIRON)

BELOW RIGHT: The German Headquarters in Antwerp, Belgium.

FIGHT IT OUT

That same day, 5 October, Rawlinson reached Antwerp, as did the Marine Brigade, with the promise of the rest of the Naval Division to follow the next morning. That evening, the 5th, Churchill attended a Belgian Council of War, presided over by King Albert. The meeting, seemingly, went well and just after midnight Winston cabled Kitchener to say that the ministers had agreed to ‘fight it out’ at Antwerp, ‘whatever happens.’

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In the early hours of the 6th, the Belgians launched a counter-attack upon the besieging forces but it was repelled with severe losses. Consequently, as soon as the two Naval Brigades arrived they marched straight to the front line to bolster the demoralised Belgian troops. Churchill, on the other hand, returned to London. Even in so brief an absence his presence at the Admiralty was being missed. The man who had taken over was Prince Louis of Battenberg, the First Sea Lord, who found the pressure of the job too great. The Press had also learned that the First Lord of the Admiralty had placed himself in a position of great risk by going into a war zone and he was

FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

roundly condemned. ‘He should seek rather to earn the nation’s gratitude by a steady devotion to his proper duties,’ commented the Morning Post,, ‘than to dazzle the world by the gallantry of an ex-captain of dragoons.’ He was greeted with great warmth by his Cabinet colleagues, however, being described by more than one of them as a ‘hero’. But when he was asked what the prospects were for Antwerp he had to admit they were not good. On 8 October the French decided not to send the promised troops and Rawlinson’s 7th Division could not get beyond Ostend. Then a message was received from the commander of the Marine Brigade, Major General Archibald Paris, requesting permission to evacuate his men from the trenches. Churchill was furious, expecting Paris to ‘hold on even by his eyebrows’. With no help likely to reach Antwerp in the immediate future, the Cabinet, reluctantly, agreed to abandon Antwerp. The Belgians began their withdrawal that day, falling back on Ghent. This movement was completed by the night of 8/9 October. The Germans moved into Antwerp on the 10th. The Royal Naval Division had seven officers and fifty-three men killed, three officers and 135 men wounded

in the fighting. Nine hundred and thirty-six were taken prisoner by the Germans and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp near Berlin. In addition to these losses, 1,442 men, in the confusion of the withdrawal, crossed into Holland. Being in a neutral country, the Dutch authorities had no choice but to intern the men for the remainder of the war. Their actions, though, enabled the Belgian troops to slip away. The valiant, if ultimately futile, defence of Antwerp by the Royal Naval Division may have cost it almost 3,000 men, but it saved 30,000 Belgian soldiers who were able to fall back on Ghent and join the Allied forces.

ALTERING THE COURSE OF THE WAR

Though the press referred to the operation as ‘The Antwerp Blunder’, the true significance of the defence of the city/port was not understood at the time. The King of the Belgians, though, fully appreciated the efforts of Churchill and the Royal Naval Division. Writing in 1918, he said: ‘In

my opinion it rendered great service to us and those who depricate it simply do not understand the history of the War in its early days. Only one man of all your people had the prevision of what the loss of Antwerp would entail and that man was Mr Churchill … Delaying an enemy is often of far greater service than the defeat of the enemy, and in the case of Antwerp the delay the RND caused to the enemy was of inestimable service to us. These 3 days allowed the French and British Armies to move northwest. Otherwise, our whole army might have been captured and the Northern French Ports secured by the enemy. Moreover, the advent of the RND inspired our troops, and owing to your arrival, and holding out for 3 days, great quantities of supplies were enabled to be destroyed. You kept a large army employed, and I repeat the RND rendered a service we shall never forget.’ 

ABOVE: The Germans occupied Antwerp on 10 October and this photograph is of Hussars riding through the streets of the city. ABOVE LEFT: Results of the German bombardment of Antwerp 1914. ABOVE RIGHT: A photograph of a British Naval armoured train in action during the defence of Antwerp. (ILLUSTRATED

LONDON NEWS)

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FOUR DAYS THAT SAVED THE BEF 1914 – Race To The Sea

ABOVE: German troops in Antwerp’s Grote Markt plaza.

RIGHT: At least 30,000 Belgian soldiers were able to escape from Antwerp thanks to the efforts of Churchill and the Royal Naval Division.

Colonel Seely wrote that, ‘It may well be that he [Churchill] was right in his plan and that it would have succeeded; we could probably have held the place for many weeks, and if so, it would have altered the whole course of the war. However, it was decided otherwise. ‘Looking back on it, I am positive that the expedition was worthwhile, even on so small a scale. From all I learned and from all I saw, I think it very possible that had Winston not

brought his naval men to Antwerp the Belgian Field Army would not have escaped. Had Winston been vigorously supported, even this late in the day, the Germans would have been forced to detach such large forces that their advance on Ypres would have been stayed, and might have been prevented altogether.’4 Churchill’s defence of Antwerp did in fact alter the course of the war in so far as the extra few days that the German

army spent in front of Antwerp delayed their great flanking movement, as the historian Douglas S. Russell believed: ‘It may be said with assurance that the prolonged defence of Antwerp directed by Churchill gained an extra five or six days for the Allies, allowing them to reach the Belgian city of Ypres before the Germans could. By reaching this area of Flanders so near the English Channel with time to re-form, the British army was able to meet the German army and halt them at the first battle of Ypres.’5 Churchill and the Royal Naval Division had indeed saved both the Belgian army and the BEF and quite possibly prevented a German victory in 1914. The final words on the defence of Antwerp should be left to the Secretary of State for War. ‘Those few days,’ Lord Kitchener told John Seely, ‘were priceless.’ 

NOTES 1.

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Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis 1911-1918 (Barnes & Noble, New York, 1931), Vol. I, p.307. 2. Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, Vol. III 19141916 (Heinemann, London, 1971), pp.108-9. 3. J. E. B. Seely, Adventure (Heinemann, London, 1930), p.189. 4. Ibid, pp.187-8. 5. Douglas S. Russell, Winston Churchill Soldier, The Military Life of a Gentleman at War (Brassey’s, London, 2005), p.353.

The Western Front F_P.indd 1

07/04/2015 12:13

a t i t f e L u ‘ Yo ’ ! e t a L t i B 'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

Baofttle Britain

75th ANNIVERSARY 1940-2015

BATTLE OF BRITAIN COMBAT SURVIVORS The RAF fighter pilots shot down during the Battle of Britain who lived to fight another day were able to recount remarkable tales of courage, endurance and dry humour. Andy Saunders selects and adds some detail to a few such accounts made by the men themselves. ABOVE RIGHT: Pat Wells in the cockpit of his Hurricane, GN-O, 249 Squadron. FAR RIGHT: Fg Off Pat Wells, 249 Squadron, 1940. TOP: Flt Lt ‘Butch’ Barton of 249 Squadron with ‘Wifred’, the squadron’s pet duck. TOP RIGHT: Pat Wells carried out multiple attacks on a formation of Heinkel 111s before being shot down on what was later recognised as the first day of the Blitz.

Sky Black with German s

Fg Off Pat Wells, Hurricane pilot: 249 Squadron ‘I had been up on two squadron ‘Scrambles’ during the day and we were scrambled again in the latish afternoon. I was flying Hurricane GN – O. We climbed up with Flt Lt ‘Butch’ Barton leading, because the CO, Sqn Ldr John Grandy, had been shot down and wounded a day or so previously. Eventually, we were vectored onto a mass of German aircraft – He 111s, Ju 88s, Dornier 17s, Me 110s and Me 109s. The sky was black with them. I think this was at about 20,000ft. They were flying up the Thames Estuary and obviously bound for London. We made a copy-book beam attack from the north with full deflection, however, contrary to previous practice where Me 109s were always protecting the rear of the bombers,

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this time they had them flying on either side of the bombers. They came down on us as we were attacking and there were some casualties. I was the only one who escaped and got in a decent shot at a He 111 which started streaming coolant and oil from its right engine. I broke downwards and came up again hoping to join some friends but the sky was empty except for Germans! I made a couple of passes at the formation which drew immediate retaliation from the Me 110s, so I decided to wait for my damaged He 111 to turn for home, which he did quite soon. I followed and practised a bit of air-to-air gunnery on it; frontal, quarter and beam attacks – after which his right engine was windmilling, bombs were dropped

and undercarriage down. I was manoeuvring for a final blast up its stern when three Me 109s pounced on me and very shortly thereafter I had no controls, was injured and there was a small fire burning in the well of the cockpit. Records state that during this action 249 Sqn had a lot of losses and a nil score. Well, that isn’t quite true. My He 111 was at least a ‘probable’. I decided to abandon the aircraft which must have been upside down, because as soon as I released the harness I shot out like a cork from a champagne bottle. I estimate this must have been 18,000 ft. Maybe lower. I delayed opening the parachute until about 10,000ft to get away from the Me 109s which were reported to be shooting up pilots on parachutes.

'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

‘I decided to abandon the aircraft which must have been upside down, because as soon as I released the harness I shot out like a cork from a champagne bottle.’

7 September 1940 This I do not believe was true. My flying boots shot off at the jerk of the parachute opening! It seemed to take a long time to reach the earth and I had lost a lot of blood so decided to have a little sleep and must have passed out at about 6,000ft. I landed unconscious and on waking up found some Army people standing over me. I asked the usual question: ‘Where am I?’ and got the answer ‘Dunkirk’. Now, this was a little disconcerting until somebody qualified that statement with ‘The Dunkirk near Canterbury.’ The soldiers, though, had relieved me of my rather nice gold cufflinks while I was still unconscious. I was then taken to a civilian doctor in a small nearby town who gave me a couple of tumblers of whisky before I was taken off to hospital. When I

got there I found it was the Chartham Lunatic Asylum – not by any means the first disconcerting episode of the day. Whilst I was probably mad to have waded into so many Germans, I didn’t think I was yet quite that mad. Fortunately, I discovered that part of the hospital was now an emergency casualty station. From here, I was transferred to Rumwood Court Hospital near Maidstone and after about a week there, quite incredibly, a policeman arrived with my flying boots which I have to this day. He said nobody would touch them when they landed for fear of a German booby-trap! But I never saw my cufflinks again. After treatment and a bit of leave I re-joined 249 Squadron at North Weald on 1 November 1940.’  www.britainatwar.com 35

'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

ABOVE: Plt Off ‘Bill’ Millington of 249 Squadron was also shot down on 31 August 1940. Here, he is pictured with ‘PipSqueak’, the squadron’s pet dog. (KRISTEN

ALEXANDER)

TOP RIGHT: Plt Off Pyers Worrall, 85 Squadron 1940. ABOVE LEFT: The adjuster from the rudder bar of Pyers Worrall’s Hurricane. TOP MIDDLE: Sqn Ldr Peter Townsend was also shot down on 31 August joined Worrall and Millington in a Croydon hospital ward. ABOVE MIDDLE: Worrall, Townsend and Millington, were all taken to the nearby Royal Oak, Hawkhurst, for a drinking session after being shot down. They are reputed to have left there in a somewhat inebriated state!

Rudder Bar Shot Away

Plt Off Pyers Worrall, Hurricane pilot: 85 Sqn. ‘At 12.50 hrs I took off from as No 3 in Green section. As I took off, the aerodrome was being bombed and I lost the squadron owing to heavy oiling on the windscreen. I climbed after bombers at 25,000 ft SE of Tunbridge Wells. I circled above the last and highest Me 110 which had a roundel round the cross about the same size as a British one. I attacked once from the rear and above at 30 degrees from perpendicular and then from 50–100 yards dead astern with a six second burst. As I broke away the enemy aircraft wheeled down over to the left apparently out of control. I could not see the damage due to oiled up windscreen and goggles. As I broke away a cannon shell blew away the rudder bar and elevator controls and I prepared to abandon the aircraft which was climbing semi-stalled and out of control when a second attack of eight seconds was made on me. A cannon shell exploding behind the seat did not get through the armour plate. On landing, Private Jones J, 190 Field

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Ambulance, stated that he saw a twin engine aircraft in front of my machine go down to the left in smoke, and lost sight of it low down.’ The report is an immediate and factual rendering of his story that day, although his mother later wrote to his sister, Mary, outlining rather more detail: ‘I am writing this before breakfast for speed. We all came to the conclusion that you were saying your prayers very hard last Saturday between 10.30 and 12.30, as I was, during a raid over London. Pyers had just been talking to Bill who had taken a platoon of his Welsh Guards over to see Pyers’ squadron of Hurricanes at Croydon when the bombs began to fall around the Hurricanes. As Pyers went into the air his oil gauge broke and he and his goggles, mirror and windscreen were covered and drenched in oil. However, he had to go on and picking out his Hun at a great height he thinks he got his second ‘plane down but not being able to see behind through his mirror a

Hun got him and shot away back of his ‘plane and all the controls. In spite of being shot at by the Huns on the way down he made a wonderful descent from 25,000 ft which took about a quarter of an hour. So cool was he that he studied his map on the way down and found he was near Ashburnham and would you believe it but he landed where Claude was doing a tactical exercise. Claude took him to the Dressing Station as he has got some bits of shrapnel in the back of his leg. He then heard that his squadron CO was down a few miles away and they both went back to Croydon together. They are now at the General Hospital there, and Pyers is getting on very well and will soon be out. He has such a nice Squadron Leader who is in the bed next to him. He, poor fellow, has lost his toe.’ That ‘Squadron Leader’ was, in fact, Peter Townsend and he, Pyers and an Australian pilot named Plt Off ‘Bill’ Millington met up in The Royal Oak, Hawkhurst, after being shot down

'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors ‘I had done a lot of patrols, but didn’t see any German aircraft close up until mid-August and I was fairly frightened when it finally happened. I felt a nasty chill when I saw that black cross on the aircraft and thought: “My God! It’s going round the back of me.” I wasn’t going to let it get on my tail. I worked hard to make sure it didn’t, doing a high speed stall and getting around to follow it. Luckily, I had a height and sun advantage. I chased it, fired at it and thought I got it. It was smoking, went on its back and went down through the cloud. But looking back I’m sure that, as a nineteen year old newcomer, I was firing at it from too far away to have finished it off. I was shaking as I flew back to base. I kept seeing odd aircraft through cloud cover and kept wondering: “Is it German, or is it one of ours?” I had shot my bolt, both physically and mentally, and my main purpose was to get home as fast as I could. I wasn’t looking to do any more fighting that day. When I landed, I didn’t say very much. I didn’t say much for a full half hour. I was overawed.’ If Plt Off Tim Elkington was overawed by what had happened, then nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to experience the very next day:

31 August 1940 in the neighbourhood that day. More than slightly inebriated, Townsend was delivered to the local Cottage Hospital where the resident surgeon considered he would likely not need much anaesthetic given the quantity of alcohol he had consumed! Later, he wrote of Pyers Worrall: ‘During that fight, I was hit head-on and had to bale-out. As I floated down I saw a Hurricane plummeting earthwards; it was Pyers’ aircraft from which, thankfully, despite being wounded he had jumped with his parachute. Tall, well-built and with a sense of humour he was an excellent and brave pilot. I admired especially pilots like him who had little experience on Hurricanes, and even less in Battle. But they never hesitated to join the fray. We later had a long and rather painful ride in a lorry back to Croydon where, with ‘Bill’ Millington, we spent a couple of weeks in the same ward. I shall always feel grateful, as we lay there, for Pyers’ company and high spirits. He was a great chap.’

‘I was top weaver. That was a very exposed position, going back and forth over the top of the squadron, looking everywhere for enemy aircraft. Suddenly, I looked down and the squadron was gone! I was just sitting up there all alone, wondering what the heck to do. Then I saw a 109 going out over Portsmouth, so I went after it. 

Shot Down as Mother watched

ABOVE: Plt Off ‘Tim’ Elkington who was shot down on 16 August. BELOW: ‘Tim’ Elkington pictured in 2014.

Plt Off Tim Elkington, Hurricane pilot: 1 Squadron – 16 August 1940

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'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

RIGHT: The burnt control column recovered from the wreck of Plt Off Elkington’s Hurricane in 1976. Unfortunately, the control column top was stolen from Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in the 1980s where it was on loan. FAR RIGHT: Plt Off Elkington became the 22nd victim of Luftwaffe ‘ace’ Major Helmut Wick, seen here with the tally of victories on the rudder of his Me 109. BELOW: The Hurricane flown by Plt Off Elkington when he was shot down on 16 August 1940. It carried the cartoon character ‘The Jeep’ on its cowling – painted there just the day before being shot down.

Previously, I’d been jinking all over the place, waltzing all over the sky, making sure that nothing was sitting on my tail. But I straightened out to go after that 109 and that was my fatal mistake. Something hit my aircraft, and suddenly it was on fire. I tried very quickly to get out, got half way over the side and was thrown back in. I tried again and was again thrown back in. So I sat down in the cockpit and thought, and decided that if I really wanted to get out I should undo the radio and oxygen connections that were attached to me. I undid them, and looked at my watch. It was 1.40. I thought it was a good time to go, and out I went. At that time, my mother was living at Hayling Island which was right under where I was shot down. Against all the odds, she was out on the balcony looking at what was going on above. She saw a Hurricane chased by two Me 109s, saw it hit and

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saw the pilot bale out. It was me. Of course, she had no idea that it could have been me, and I had no idea she had seen it – although I had an ambulance girl telephone her later to tell her I was alright.’ Tim Elkington’s burning Hurricane crashed into a ditch on Manor Farm, Chidham, close by Chichester Harbour and exploded on impact, although with much of the wreckage being driven deep into the ground. As the wreckage burned, so it baked the surrounding yellow clay into slabs of

red brick in what must have been a fearsome blast-furnace heat. Plt Off Elkington, meanwhile, drifted down on his parachute over the sea, but was convinced that the actions of a fellow 1 Squadron pilot Sgt Fred Berry, had saved his life, as Sgt Berry protectively circled and, more importantly, caused his slipstream to gently waft Tim’s canopy back inland. Landing at West Wittering, the injured pilot would spend until the end of August in the Royal West Sussex Hospital, Chichester, before returning to flying duties on 30 September.

'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

Better Late than Never Fg Off Desmond Sheen, Spitfire pilot: 72 Squadron – 1st and 5th September 1940 Australian Spitfire pilot, Des Sheen was shot down and baledout twice over the Kent countryside during the Battle of Britain and left his own written record of both hair-raising episodes: ‘The first time, on 1 September, eight of us were airborne in the late morning to intercept a formation of enemy aircraft approaching towards Tunbridge Wells. I had just lined up a bomber to attack when I glanced behind and found six Me 109s bearing down on me. I mixed it with them for quite a time, but during the dogfight I managed to collect a shell in the engine. I broke away from the engagement but as the engine was running I climbed again to re-engage, but then the Spitfire started to burn and I was left with no option but to get out. I unstrapped the harness, pulled back the canopy and pushed the stick hard forward. The aircraft bunted, and I went out clean as a whistle. As I came down, I watched dogfights all around me and saw six aircraft go down

within just a couple of miles. I landed in a field near Hamstreet in Kent with nothing more than a slight bump and started to roll up my parachute, but moments later an Army Lieutenant arrived and started waving a revolver in my face. Clearly, he thought I was German as I was wearing the very dark blue Australian Air Force uniform. I ignored the revolver, exchanged pleasantries and my true identity was quickly established. I was at once taken to a fine house where I was served cocktails on the lawn. Well, it was Sunday lunchtime after

all. At the time, there seemed nothing surreal about standing on the lawn of a country house, quaffing cocktails and watching the progress of a battle up above that I had just so recently left. Looking back, it was completely surreal.’ Sheen had been taken to the home of Lord and Lady Oliver at Capel House, Orlestone, and whilst enjoying his drink, Lady Oliver thrust a correspondence card and pen into his hand and asked for his autograph. As he signed, the wreckage of his Spitfire burned across the adjacent fields at Court Lodge Farm and .303 ammunition cracked and banged in the flames. With hardly time to recover from his ordeal, Des Sheen was again shot down just four days later: ‘We had been sent down to the forward airfield at Hawkinge and after spending a short time in a shelter due to a shelling warning we were again ordered off. We had climbed to about

20,000 ft when I heard a warning of fighters above, but at exactly the same time my aircraft was hit. I was hit in the thigh and got splinters in the left hand and face. I think the oxygen bottle had been smashed because I passed out. When I came-to the aircraft was going down vertically and very fast. Large chunks were off the port wing and I had no control at all. I had no idea of height but knew it was time to leave. I undid the harness and was immediately sucked out of the cockpit but my feet caught in the top of the

windscreen and I found myself laying along the top of the fuselage. For no apparent reason my feet came clear and at once I pulled the rip-cord of my parachute. This opened with an almighty jolt and in seconds I went through the tops of some trees. My parachute caught in the branches, and I landed as light as a feather. I released the parachute and crawled to a clearing in the wood with a path running through it. Shortly afterwards a Bobby appeared on the proverbial bicycle. He pulled out a hip flask, bless him, and handed it to me. ‘You left it a bit late!’ he said.’ 

ABOVE: Fg Off Desmond Sheen who went on to have a distinguished career in the RAF and, post-war, in the aviation industry after retiring with the rank of Wing Commander. He died in June 2001. (KRISTEN

ALEXANDER)

LEFT: The correspondence card signed by Des Sheen on 1 September 1940 for Lady Oliver. Other pilots who baled-out in the area also signed later: Plt Off C A Cooke on 4 September and Sgt J Bell-Walker on 14 September. LEFT: ‘Ron’ Ronaldson who witnessed the crash, with the propeller after its recovery in the early 1980s.

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'YOU LEFT IT A BIT LATE!'

Battle of Britain Combat Survivors

A Spot of Bother Plt Off Cardale Capon, Hurricane pilot: 257 Squadron – 12 October 1940 ABOVE: The front page from Plt Off Cardale Capon’s flying licence. TOP RIGHT: Plt Off Cardale Capon, 257 Squadron 1940. TOP LEFT: The salvage instruction for the recovery of Carl Capon’s Hurricane. Noted on the document is: ‘Fuselage cleared. Engine in ground’.

‘Dear Mother and Father I expect you may have heard that I ran into a spot of bother yesterday afternoon, but I am OK. I’ve just got a sprained ankle and a couple of cuts from shrapnel. I will probably be out of hospital tomorrow, or even today if they put my foot in plaster. The Hun blighter must have come up behind me when I was at 27,000 ft. The cockpit caught fire and the wing or tail or something must have been shot off by cannon fire, because the aeroplane was immediately uncontrollable. I then got blown out of the cockpit like the shot out a gun and started a delayed drop. I didn’t go over and over, but shoulder first and I had a frightful job turning onto my face to see how near I was to the ground every so often. I could just

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manage a quick roll over onto my back again and could not see very well as I had some blood in my eyes from the tiniest scratch you ever saw. I pulled the rip-cord at about 1,000 to 1,500 ft and the ‘chute opened with me head first having fallen 26,000 ft, or nearly five miles! I did this so that Jerry would not get much chance to shoot at me on the way down. By the way, I don’t think this is far off the delayed drop record. It’s really rather nice once you have your ‘chute open, but very strange before you pull the rip-cord. Will probably get a couple of days leave, so will see you then. Cardale. 13 October 1940’ Known universally as Carl, Plt Off Capon’s Hurricane finally crashed to

earth at High House Farm near the village of Stone in Kent’s Isle of Oxney. Once the young pilot had had pieces of shrapnel removed from his body he returned to flying duties with 257 Sqn. Here, he resumed his place as trusted wingman to the CO, Sqn Ldr R R Stanford Tuck, although whilst having further pieces of shrapnel removed on 11 November he missed the infamous ‘Spaghetti Party’ when 257 Sqn intercepted a raid by the Italian Air Force over the East Coast. (See Britain at War, February 2015) Carl Capon was killed in a flying accident on 1 January 1941 when leading his section in to land at RAF Coltishall when a blizzard unexpectedly developed, causing Carl to crash. He was 20 years old. 

Paul Meekins

Military & History Books

new ou t!

Arnhem Bridge Target Mike One by David Truesdale, Martijn Cornelissen and Bob Gerritsen An Illustrated History of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment RA 1942-1945 North Africa - Italy - Arnhem - Norway

R.N.Sigmond Publishing 2015 Hardback. 235 pages. 3 maps. 282 b&w pictures. A3 fold-out aerial photograph.

£30.00 www.paulmeekins.co.uk phone/fax 01789 722434 email [email protected]

The Memorial Pegasus museum

is dedicated to the men of 6th British Airborne Division. The 1st liberators to arrive in Normandy on June 6th 1944. Archive films, a guided visit and many interesting and authentic objects enable the visitors to relive this momentous time. The original Pegasus Bridge is on display in the park of the museum along with a full size copy of a wartime Horsa glider.

Open everyday from February to Mid - December Only five minutes drive from the Brittany Ferries Terminal at Caen/Ouistreham

Tel: +33 (0) 231 781944 Fax: +33 (0) 231 781942 Memorial Pegasus Avenue du Major Howard 14860 RanvilleNormandy • France www.memorial-pegasus.org

IMAGE OF WAR

HÖNGEN, GERMANY January 1945

Churchill Crocodile tanks in winter camouflage from 79th Armoured Division accompany troops, likely from 52nd Lowland Infantry Division, while passing through Höngen after entering the Roermond-Sittard-Heinsberg Triangle during Operation Blackcock. Straddling Germany and The Netherlands, the Roer triangle was the scene of a fierce battle between 14 and 27 January 1945 that evicted Germany’s 15th Army from the area. (TANK MUSEUM)

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE BLITZ Joshua Levine



JOSH LEVINE is an accomplished historian who looks beyond the ‘accepted’ history of the Blitz to present a fascinating picture of war on the home front. He destroys the idea that the nation responded ‘as one’ to that momentous challenge, revealing instead a collection of individuals who may – or may not – band themselves together in various groupings. They do not provide a uniform response to a crisis - their reactions reflect a multiplicity of motivations and character types. Some pull together, volunteering their services and making the best of a bad job. But others react in a far more reprehensible manner: indeed looting, sexual promiscuity, profiteering, increased crime, foul murders, endemic racism, anti-Semitism and a culture of casual violence were all significant parts of the overall picture. Levine excels in making it apparent that no one element is dominant - sometimes ‘good’ and ‘bad’ behaviour emanated from the same individual. He is also not sanctimonious, recognising that the dreadful events that surrounded them triggered raw emotions that few of us could cope with. Some of the stories he recounts are heartbreaking. Tales of people reduced to desperate acts: their mental stability torn apart by the disruption of their world.

K BOOHE OF TNTH MO

The sudden shock of homelessness is evident as 250,000 people were ‘bombed out’ in the first months of the Blitz. A bleak existence beckoned. Many were torn from their communities and evacuated far from ‘home’, where they faced an unfriendly reception. One aspect that caught my eye was the sterling work of the Conservative MP, Henry Willink, who was appointed Special Commissioner for the homeless. He took vigorous action to repair the damaged housing stock and provide new homes. He also centralised the agencies charged with helping the homeless to allow easy access for the victims. Willink, himself a Great War veteran who served on the Somme, was truly an unsung hero. He typifies what Levine identifies as a burgeoning social, economic and political fluidity that shattered the mould of contemporary 1940’s society. Not everyone could be brave. The bombing triggered phlegmatic calm, but panic and helplessness featured too amidst all the heightened emotions. Air raid shelters were not necessarily places of safety and jolly singsongs. They could also be damp, smelly, rowdy, crowded, terrifying, and - when bombs did strike charnel houses. During the worst of the bombing the phenomenon of ‘trekking’ took place, where masses of people voluntarily left the city and bedded down where they could overnight. The book isn’t all despair - there

is the fascinating story of the development of an oil field in the sylvan depths of Sherwood Forest. Who had heard of this? Certainly not me! Up to a thousand barrels a day were soon being harvested. As the Middle East supplies were severed so production was further boosted by the import of American oilrigs and ‘roughneck’ oil workers - who were ironically housed in a monastery! They introduced concepts of efficiency and rule-breaking that were foreign to the British workers and cultural clashes over appearance, diet and suchlike make for interesting reading. By the end, some 2¼ million barrels of high grade oil had been produced. Other parts of the story are more familiar, the Local Defence Volunteers, The Home

Guard, the secret Auxiliary Units, German spies and fifth columnists and the internment of thousands of civilians as ‘aliens’ suspected of Nazi sympathies, the rise in sexual promiscuity, the black market and rampant criminality. Throughout, Levine reviews events in a measured fashion, before delivering verdicts that are sometimes scathing on authority or individuals. But above all we learn that there is not just one truth - the Blitz was a strange time when conventional moralities were often blurred or fragmented. The Blitz spirit coexisted with Blitz misbehaviour - it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. His final chapter looks at the welter of progressive forces unleashed by the Blitz and the war years; the strange amalgam of conservatives, liberals and socialists that, almost despite themselves, together built a near consensus for a post-war welfare state. Strange bedfellows for a new tomorrow. As the memories of the war fade, that consensus is now eroding. Profusely illustrated, chock full of interesting stories and thought-provoking, this book is recommended for anyone with an interest in the Second World War. REVIEWED BY PETER HART

Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 978-1471131011 Hardback. 357 Pages RRP: £16.99

Illustrations  References/Notes Appendices  Index 

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

The Britain at War team scout out the latest items of interest

MI5 AT WAR 1909-1918

How MI5 foiled the spies of the Kaiser in The First World War Dr. Chris Northcott



THIS STYLISH new and original title delves into an important historical aspect of Britain’s security services in their earliest years and provides an indispensable aura of clarity into the understandably murky past of those on the secret frontline. Although this book is one of several which have followed the recent authorised history of MI5, and while it is not the sole title looking into that service in the First World War, this analysis of the origins and contributions of MI5 in the organisation’s seminal years is based on the author’s PHD thesis, and therefore the content generated is among those that not only reflect the very latest in cutting edge and ground breaking new research into the agency, but was pieced together with a little assistance from leading military historians, in this case, Ian Beckett and Anthony Clayton. The book charts the development of MI5 from its humble beginnings as a small counter espionage unit first known as the Secret Service Bureau into what, by 1918, had become a well-established and significantly important intelligence and security agency. Starting off with the service in its earliest days as a small group operation, Northcott describes the original purpose of the secret service, which was tasked with ascertaining the potential extent of German backed/led espionage in Britain in what looked to be an increasingly unstable future. He then details the expansion of MI5 into much larger security service that was several branches strong, each with its own mission, and filled with hundreds of eager personnel. Although the spying game has likely been played for as long as armies have marched in the fields, those involved in MI5 were

tied to in a new form of military intelligence and espionage. Rarely had the stakes been higher, nor greater the threat to Britain’s security, than in the period following the outbreak of the First World War. The author discusses how the rather limited first role of the Secret Service Bureau developed into the numerous more expanded roles taken on by MI5, roles including the surveillance of ‘alien’ workers, and the investigation into suspected espionage. By setting this development amongst the complexities of wartime espionage, a period that could be argued as the most challenging for the fledging cloak and dagger service and its operatives, the author has successfully completed and presented a detailed and fascinating title which will surely be heralded as one of the benchmark studies into clandestine strategy and tactics and as a valuable assessment of MI5 during its busy early days. REVIEWED BY JOHN ASH

Publisher: Tattered Flag Press www.thetatteredflag.com ISBN: 978 0 9576892 8 2 Paperback. 274 pages RRP: £15.99 Illustrations  Appendices 

References/Notes Index 



| RECONNAISSANCE REPORT

THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY 1900–1945

DEFENDING GALLIPOLI

Andris J Kursietis

 THIS IS the latest title from a leading authority on Turkish history and follows six years of research. This highly readable academic work is based on Turkish archival sources and is one of all-too-few English language titles dealing with their perspective of the infamous and flawed Gallipoli campaign. While a sister publication by the same author deals with the heavy analysis of the source material, this title instead provides a flowing account of the Turkish story and seeks more comprehensive understanding of the Allied failures and how Ottoman forces affected the outcome of the campaign. While filling the gaps left by the many admirable titles on the Allied campaign is no easy task, this book goes someway to offer a balance. Publisher: Melbourne University Press ISBN: 978 0522 864 564 277 Pages RRP: £29.95

 THIS IS a comprehensive study providing biographical information on several thousand Japanese officers of Admiral rank who served the Empire between 1900 and 1945, from the time they attained flag rank and with photographs of most of the senior admirals. The book also includes an Order of Battle of the Japanese Navy (IJN) during these years, with a listing of the highest administrative and field commands and their commanders. To complete the overall scope of the subject matter, several chapters provide information about aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers of the IJN together with histories that include the dates the vessels were launched, their eventual fates, and photographs of these most important elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Publisher: Uitgeverij Aspekt www.uitgeverijaspekt.nl ISBN: 9 789461 536044 Softback: 523 pages RRP: £29.95

The Turkish Story Harvey Broadbent

THE SQUADRON THAT DIED TWICE Gordon Thorburn

TORNADO OVER THE TIGRIS Recollections of a Fast Jet Pilot Michael Napier

 A STYLISH and easy read that is rich in detail, this book utilises the author’s unique perspective and experiences with the Tornado to present a riveting story taking the reader through Napier’s earliest training days, through the height of post-détente Cold War tension, and into Iraq. The book recounts the five years spent in Germany practising low level flying across the UK and the continent, air to air combat over Sardinia as well as ultra-realistic exercises in the United States. The challenge of flying the Hawk as an instructor at the Tactical Weapons Unit at RAF Chivenor is also expertly told, as are Napier’s sorties, back in Tornado, over post-war Iraq, where the complexities of operating within a multi-national force are described, as is the fear and thrill of launching air-strikes against Iraqi air defence installations. Publisher: Pen & Sword www.pen-and-sword.co.uk ISBN: 9781473834132 288 Pages RRP: £25.00

 THIS GRIPPING title concerns 82 Squadron RAF, an ill-fated bomber squadron which suffered horrendous casualties in the early part of World War Two. In an affectionate retelling the squadron’s origins are detailed, as is the excitement brought by the arrival of new, state of the art, Blenheim bombers in 1938. The author vividly describes how 82 Sqn flew to war with this type, in May 1940, when twelve Blenheims left for Belgium as part of an increasingly futile attempt to stem the German advance – just one returned. Even in the face of the typically heavy losses that became normal for Bomber Command, this was a shock. Three months later, another twelve 82 Sqn Blenheims raided a Luftwaffe base in Denmark, and again only one returned. While the squadron survived and continued to operate, this story of near total destruction is new and remarkable. Amid horrendous conflict elsewhere, it is easy to see how countless disasters such as those that befell 82 Sqn were forgotten. At least now, they can be remembered. Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd www.johnblakepublishing.co.uk ISBN: 978 1 78418 419 3 288 pages RRP: £17.99 www.britainatwar.com

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The Britain at War team scout out the latest items of interest

NOVEMBER 2015 ISSUE

FIGHTER PILOT Helen Doe



ONE OF the high-scoring RAF pilots of the Battle of Britain, 20-year-old Bob Doe began the battle as a young man lacking in his confidence as a fighter pilot and convinced that he would be killed the first time he went into action. Instead, he survived the battle and the war as the third highest scoring pilot of the Battle of Britain being credited with 14 enemy aircraft destroyed and sharing in the destruction of two others. By the end of the war, which encompassed flying both Spitfires and Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain, being shot down once, being badly injured in a flying accident and going on to lead a Indian Air Force squadron against the Japanese in Burma, Bob had eventually risen to the rank of Wing Commander, decorated with the DFC and Bar and DSO. Author Helen Doe, being the daughter of this notable Battle of Britain hero, was uniquely placed to write this truly wonderful biography of her father. Not only was she able to draw upon her own knowledge and memories, but she also had access to her father’s Log Books, papers and memoirs – the latter already published in book form a few years before Bob’s death in 2010. Not only that, but Helen is also a historian in her own right, being a Teaching Fellow in

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ON SALE 29 OCTOBER 2015

the Department of History at Exeter University and also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Consequently, the book is meticulously researched and referenced and also expertly written in a fashion that makes it an exceptionally good read that has pace, action and engaging content. Additionally, the book includes a very good selection of images illustrating Bob Doe’s life, from boyhood through to retirement from the RAF. In fact, if one were to recommend a single fighter pilot biography of the Battle of Britain period then, to the reviewer, this would be it. Helen Doe takes us through her father’s flying life in considerable detail and is also able to draw on direct quotes from him, many of them made in broadcasts about the Battle of Britain. Of these, one in particular stands out for the reviewer where Bob Doe makes out his Combat Report after being mistakenly attacked and fired at by a ‘friendly’ Hurricane. At the end of his report into the episode he remarked: ‘Please note, I don’t like it.’ Quite apart from Bob’s own experiences during the Battle of Britain, Helen has used her father’s story to particularly showcase the two squadrons with which he served during that period; 234 and 238 Squadrons. In doing so, she tells us of Bob’s fellow pilot’s aerial battles and, very often, of their death in action. Quite clearly, and quite understandably, such losses had a profound effect on a young man thrown into a violent and bloody battle, although it was a battle that would eventually see him marked out as one of the outstanding fighter ‘aces’ of 1940. A highly commendable book and one that will become a classic in the genre of Battle of Britain pilot’s biographies. REVIEWED BY ANDY SAUNDERS

Publisher: www.amberley-books.com ISBN: 9 7814456 646114 Hardback: 288 pages RRP:: £25.00 Illustrations  Appendices 

References/Notes Index 



BLITZ SPECIAL To mark the 75th anniversary of the Blitz on Britain, our special supplement takes a fascinating look at twenty-five places, objects and iconic images from the sustained Luftwaffe air attacks that took place across the length and breadth of Britain between September 1940 and the Spring of 1941.

LONE WOLF

The greatest night-fighter pilot of the Blitz was a little-known hero, Flt Lt Richard Playne Stevens DSO DFC & Bar. What has been written about him has often been fanciful, based around myth and legend. Now, Andy Saunders and Terry Thompson tell Richard Stevens’s true story for the first time.

STAY-BEHIND CHAPLAIN When a beleaguered British column was cut-off by the Japanese and given the order ‘every man for himself’ Army chaplain Noel Duckworth chose to stay behind with the wounded in the face of what seemed almost certain death. Steve Snelling charts the story of an astonishing act of selfless courage by a man who became a legendary figure among Far East prisoners of war battling for survival in cruel captivity.

TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2) MAIN IMAGE: A British 3-inch mortar and crew. The mortar was the perfect jungle support weapon because its shorter range was not an issue in the close-quarter fighting typical in the jungle. It was comparatively lighter than other artillery pieces, also capable of rapid firing, and could be easily broken down and carried by a handful of soldiers or a mule. (JAMES LUTO)

I

N LATE April 1944, during the vicious fighting at Kohima, the 2nd Royal Norfolk Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Scott, had been launched on a daring right hook through the jungle to get behind the Japanese lines and capture GPT Ridge. The journey was murderous, but the Norfolks burst upon the Japanese and captured much of the Ridge on 4 May (see previous issue). As the troops charged down the ridge it appeared that their efforts were going to be crowned with complete success. Then, suddenly, they came under heavy machine-gun fire from a complex series of interlocking bunkers on a hillock protruding from the GPT Ridge, close to the Kohima road. They could go no further and the priority became consolidation of the gains they had made all along GPT Ridge. Sergeant Fred Hazell knew his lads had to get below ground if they were to survive: ‘Someone shouted out, “We’ve arrived - dig in - prepare yourselves for a counter-attack”. Fortunately at that spot there were plenty of old Japanese holes. At that time I had 12-14 men left, the others were wounded mainly. I dropped a couple of men in this hole, a couple of men there, a couple of men there. All the time you were being fired at. We didn’t appreciate at that stage when we stopped that there was this confounded bunker in front of us, with umpteen machine guns inside it.’ Under heavy fire, the men were organised into a rough battalion perimeter. It became apparent that officer casualties had been, three officers killed and five wounded. On the left, Sergeant Bert Fitt of B Company was aware of their losses. ‘Major Twidle got hit through the stomach and that knocked him out altogether. 

In the second of a two-part article, hardened survivors of the Burma Campaign provide a nerve-shattering account of hand-to-hand fighting, personal heroism and sacrifice to IWM oral historian Peter Hart.

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TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2)

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TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2) our own foxholes for the night. We put two rings round, we had an outer ring of defence and an inner ring. If anybody came to the outer ring, that was all right, we could let them come through and the inner ring would deal with it. They couldn’t get back out again, so we had them well trapped.’ The British soon discovered that the Japanese bunkers – soon to be known as the ‘Norfolk Bunker’ – dominated any direct route down the track to Jotsoma. This meant the battalion could not be supplied except by parachute drops. The Royal Scots, who should have been the ‘follow through’ unit, had already been assigned to cover against any possible Japanese attack from the high ground to the rear of the Norfolks. In these circumstances it was considered crucial to try and capture this thorn in their side while the Japanese garrison was still disorganised

ABOVE: British troops replenish vital supplies. RIGHT: Jack Randle VC. BELOW: Dakota drops supplies for American troops positioned about a mile away from the Japanese lines along the Myitkyina front. (IWM CBI 35851)

He had to hand over to Randle. Captain Randle was a very quiet, reserved man, nobody knew what his fighting qualities were. Randle was hit in the leg - more of a walking wounded. If you got hit out there we were so low in numbers, you couldn’t afford to stop for a minor injury. You had to carry on fighting and that was that. The CO, Scott, had been hit, a scalp wound, it wasn’t too serious. With him he was such a hard nut, that you’d got to knock his head off if you wanted to call it serious. We were very, very thin on the ground then, for leaders.’

Fortunately long years of training had imparted considerable tactical acumen to experienced NCOs like Fitt. ‘We then went round, because I had already consolidated my platoon in such a position that I was covering the right flank of the battalion. I inter-laced my light machine guns, I had three, so I could cover, with the right hand gun, right along the front of my company area. With the left hand gun I could do the same. So if anything happened all you’ve got to do is press the trigger of the guns and they’d have to walk through a stream of bullets. We dug by the loss of most of GPT Ridge. Lieutenant David Glasse was therefore ordered to make an immediate improvised attack without artillery support with his dismounted Carrier Platoon. Lieutenant Sam Hornor, the battalion signal officer, lost a close friend in that forlorn attempt. ‘David gave me his watch and said, “Take that and write to Louise, won’t you and see that she gets this.” I said, “We’re going to see you again shortly, David!” “I doubt it! I doubt it!” He just knew he was going to get killed. Off they went. They over-ran it, David Glasse got killed - and they couldn’t hold it because they were shot off it again by other bunkers below.’ The dead and wounded were left scattered across the objective. At this point the attack was suspended. The Norfolks had achieved considerable success, but, as is often the case, there was still much to do.

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TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2)

Sergeant Fitt had a miserable night. ‘We’d dug our foxholes and the next morning they were half full of water. It rained all night, it was a miserable night. We’d had a hard, very hard day and a heck of a fight coming down there. All in all I think the spirits of the blokes were getting a bit down.’ The larger than life personality of Colonel Scott was invaluable in maintaining the morale of his isolated battalion. Captain John Howard, a Norfolk attached as intelligence officer to the HQ of 4th Brigade, watched Scott rouse his men. ‘Two minutes with him and a man’s fears were calmed. The mud and the wet didn’t matter - nor did the Japs. His bravery was magnificent, that always inspires soldiers and the fact that he was still the same chap he’d always been. Most people rather tend to change in battle but Robert didn’t - he was still the same awkward bugger! He was about six foot two but very big with it - huge bottom! He was covered in mud but then so were the rest of us. His huge boots on his large feet, covered in mud, looked even bigger. His trousers were covered in dried blood - he’d stabbed a Japanese at some stage so I was told. He had grenades, a pistol and his dagger hanging round his huge waistline. He’d acquired a silk Japanese flag which he was using as a scarf. Like the rest of us he had four or five days of beard which is never very pre-possessing. He had a bandaged head, his tin hat had a ragged

bullet hole. “Oooh, I’ve got this bloody lumbago, I can’t get up!” He had a long stick to lean on, a headache, in a vile temper - enjoying himself wildly. “Take cover, you silly buggers, we’re being shelled! Everybody down - except me! I can’t, I’ve got lumbago, but the buggers can’t get me!” That was very cheering. “Oh dear!” he’d say, “We’re all going to be killed!” Well, the way he said it - it didn’t matter!’ On 5 May, the Norfolks had to endure constant sniping. A moment’s carelessness could be fatal, as seen by Private Dick Fiddament. ‘In the slit trench next to me was a chap, Corporal Payne, ‘Dolly’ we called him, I don’t know why. We were “standing to” and I heard a shot, we

knew automatically that it was a sniper. He’d poked his head up, he was quite a tall chap and this sniper shot him. The bullet entered the right hand side of his forehead. The front had gone, his brain was visible. We got to him, we put him down in the trench, covered him with a monsoon cape. He actually said, “You might as well fill the bloody hole up!”’ A Company Sergeant, William Robinson, was also badly hit and found that real life was not like the movies. ‘All this John Wayne business - when they just grab their arm and go down gently. That doesn’t happen! You feel as though you’ve been kicked by a horse. My leg went straight from under me and of course I fell to the ground. I didn’t know what had happened, I’d got a nice hole in my trousers, so I tore it to see what had happened. I put my field dressing on my wound - just above my knee on the left leg. I tied it as well, as tight as I could. I was bleeding fairly badly. They’d got their eyes on me, so discretion was the better part of valour. I crawled away to get a bit more cover. It was difficult pushing myself along with one leg, the left one was useless.’ Robinson was carried back to the medical officer (MO), Captain John Mather, who had managed to organise a Regimental Aid Post (RAP). The Japanese covered the road to Jotsoma and it was impossible for the Norfolks to retrace their steps through the jungle so the wounded were trapped in 

ABOVE: British troops in the ubiquitous Bren carriers advancing up the DimapurKohima Road. The carriers were of little use in the mountainous terrain on either side of the roads, which were little more than tracks. The DimapurKohima Road was the lifeline along which all reinforcements, stores and munitions had to pass and was also the route used by ambulances. The actions of the Norfolks opened up such busy roads so that vital supplies could again flow.

LEFT: An image of a Japanese soldier, removed from a body at Kohima. (JAMES LUTO)

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TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2) was ahead of us, roughly where this had happened.’ It was clear another attack had to be made, this time by B Company. Randle convened an ‘O’ Group to brief his platoon commanders: 9 and 12 Platoons were to make a frontal attack covered by the fire from 10 Platoon and elements of the Support Company under Captain ‘Dickie’ Davies. That night Davies had a poignant last conversation with Randle. ‘We talked about our families. What we planned to do after the war. All sorts of things. His son was born on the same day as mine and we wondered what they’d be like. He said, “This is a bloody awful shambles!” We talked over what we were going to do.’ On 6 May, B Company readied for the attack, scheduled just before dawn. Fitt had a last talk with Randle. ‘Captain Randle came up and he laid

ABOVE: A decorated Japanese flag captured by the Royal West Kent’s at Kohima. (JAMES LUTO)

RIGHT: A convoy of Japanese troops advances towards India, removed from a body at Kohima. (JAMES LUTO)

the RAP with no chance of evacuation. Mather did his best, but the number of wounded would build up. Captain Jack Randle remained at his post despite the knee wounds caused by grenade fragments in earlier fighting. That night, he and Sergeant Fitt conducted a reconnaissance patrol to investigate the string of inter-connected machine gun posts which collectively formed the Norfolk Bunker. Fitt takes up the story: ‘That night we went out on a patrol, to make contact with the enemy on the right of Norfolk Bunker immediately in between us and Kohima. We were lucky, we got back without losing anybody. We just carried on until somebody shot at us, and when they shot at us, well, we had to just give a quick dive to ground to observe what

RIGHT: Close-quarter fighting: an official photographer’s graphic representation of an infantry assault on a dug-in Japanese position. (STEVE SNELLING)

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beside me. He said “I’ve seen all the horrible things that happened to me in my past”. I said, “So have I!” I think that he had an idea that he would not come out of that attack.’ Supported by the covering fire they advanced into a hail of Japanese bullets. Fitt led a charmed life that day. ‘We got about half way to the base of the hill. Captain Randle had already been hit at least twice before we ever got to the bottom of the hill. He staggered twice, that told me that he had been hit fairly heavily in the upper part of his body. I shouted to him, told him to go down and leave it to me, because you could see that he’d lost blood. He said, “No! You take that left hand bunker, I’m going to take

TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2) this right hand one.” They were two light machine-gun posts and they were carving up the company terrible.’ Fitt managed to get in close and dealt with his prey in textbook fashion. ‘I got mine by coming up underneath and before they could spin a gun onto me I had a grenade in the bunker. You see they didn’t realise that I was coming up underneath them, I moved so quick. It had a protection cover over it. I managed to get a grenade in, pushed it in through the slit and after four seconds, WHHOOFF, it went up! I knew that anybody inside that bunker was either dead or knocked out. I immediately spun right because I thought I could have got to where Captain Randle was before anything happened.’ As it happened Fitt would be a helpless spectator for a final act of heroism by Jack Randle. ‘As I turned right I saw Captain Randle at the bunker entrance. He had a grenade he was going to release into the bunker and he had his protective weapon with him. I just stood there, I couldn’t do a thing to save him. If he could have held out for about three minutes I would have got on top of the bunker and knocked it out without getting hurt. But unfortunately he had been hit again at point blank range. As he was going down he threw his grenade into the bunker and he sealed the bunker entrance with his own body. So that nobody could shoot from it. But he had in actual fact got the occupants - killed them. I thought to myself, “That’s the end of Captain Randle.”’ There was no time for sentiment, for the two bunkers were just the start of the Japanese defensive system. Fitt rushed forward to the next bunker. ‘The bloke was just going to have his breakfast because he had a tin of curry there opened. I threw my grenade -

that was open, that bunker - and I shot him at the same time. That was where I used my last round of ammunition.’ Still he plunged on. In the next bunker he encountered a Japanese who emerged to meet him man-to-man. ‘Well, he knew damn well that if he stayed in there, he was going to get a grenade in, so he had to come out. He came out of his back door of the bunker and he was behind me. I didn’t see him when he fired. He shot me and he got me through the side of the face, underneath under my jaw. He took my top teeth out and fractured my maxilla and the bullet burnt along the side of my nose. It felt just as if somebody with a clenched fist had just hit me. I wouldn’t say that it hurt in the terms of being hurt. It didn’t hurt me as much as what a good punch had done in the past in a fight. I just spat out a handful of teeth and I spun round. ‘He was only a matter of a few paces away, facing me. He had a rifle and

bayonet and I had a light machine gun. I pressed the trigger and I’d got no ammunition, I’d used it. As he came towards me, I had that feeling that it was either me or him. When you get to hand-to-hand fighting like that, you realize that you or he’s going to get killed- so what do you do? You close in and you hope for the best. I was a good instructor in unarmed combat, I could go hand-to-hand or meet anybody with a rifle and bayonet, I knew how to deal with them and I could do it. I let him come and I crashed the light machine gun into his face. I threw it straight in his face. Before he hit the ground I had my hand on his windpipe and I literally tried to tear it out. It wouldn’t come if I could have got his windpipe out, I would have twisted it round his neck. We were tossing over on the ground. I managed to get his bayonet from his rifle and I finished him with that. He was the one that died, not me.’ 

ABOVE: The Japanese 33rd Army surrendered to the 17th Indian Division at Thaton, north of Moulmein, in the last week of October 1945. This was the Japanese Army that struck at India in the Kohima and Imphal areas early in 1944. Japanese commanders handed their swords to the 17th Indian Division’s Major General W.A. Crowther DSO. This image was taken during that handover ceremony. (JAMES LUTO)

BELOW: The view from Kohima ridge after the battle. (JAMES LUTO)

www.britainatwar.com 53

TEARING OUT THE WINDPIPE

The Norfolks at Kohima, 1944 (Part 2) RIGHT: The scene of devastation at Naga village near Kohima.  This picture was taken after the fighting and illustrates the fierceness of the battle that resulted from the stiff resistance by the Japanese.

This elemental confrontation was not the end of Fitt’s terrible personal battle. ‘I stood up and I had a call from 12 Platoon telling me that they were pinned down from another bunker, which I couldn’t see. I asked them whereabouts it was and they told me as best they could. I threw a grenade, it went over the top and a chap who could see it yelled back a correction. I threw a second one, it was short, hit the ground before (JAMES LUTO) it got to the open bunker and it bounced straight into the bunker BELOW: The War - the occupants in there obviously Cemetery were killed as well. There was still in Kohima, more bunkers over the other side. established in One of my corporals, Corporal 1946 by the Sculforte, he spotted another Commonwealth War Graves bunker, which was slightly over Commission and the crest to the left. He started going inaugurated towards it. I yelled to him and tried to by 14th Army’s stop him, but I couldn’t. He continued, commander, went about a further four or five paces Field Marshal and he was shot down.’ William Slim, the cemetery Fitt’s platoon were now on top of the is the resting position, but they had not captured place for 1,420 all of the reverse slope. At this point soldiers, 1,082 Captain Davies brought up his men: of them British, ‘I was told that as soon as I got 330 Indian, 5 Canadian, and 3 a signal from the bunker I was to Australian and a advance. My great worry at that time memorial for an was that I wouldn’t see them. My Bren additional 917 guns were shooting like blazes and I Hindu and Sikh was terrified they’d come out on the soldiers who were cremated. bunker and I’d shoot them. Nothing (P.YOONUS) happened. I sent a message back to battalion headquarters, “Shall I advance?” I never got an This article is taken from interviews answer. By this time I knew carried out in the 1990s by that I had to get forward, Peter Hart with the surviving I’d got to consolidate, so I veterans of the 2nd Norfolks took my gamble. When for the Imperial War Museum. I got down there on the Sadly, since then the years have bunker there was only taken their toll. Most have died, but their voices live on in the IWM archives. Peter Hart says, ‘I will certainly never forget Bert Fitt, truly a towering giant of a man.’

54 www.britainatwar.com

Fitt and about sixteen chaps there. Fitt had a bad wound in the face. He was very shaken from the pure physical effort. He shouted, “Randle’s killed!”’ Fitt was evacuated back to the RAP where he met Colonel Scott and Dr Mather. ‘The first words the colonel said to me was, “They got you then, Fitt?” I said “That’s right, Sir!” He said, “Let’s have a look!” The medical officer removed the field dressing. Colonel Scott stood in front of me and he went, “Ho, ho, ho! You never were any bloody oil painting!”’ Bert Fitt received the Distinguished Conduct Medal while Captain Randle was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Meanwhile, ‘Dickie’ Davies set to work on the Japanese bunkers Fitt identified on the other side of the hillock facing Jail Hill. ‘There were other bunkers down the ridge towards the road. We couldn’t throw grenades at them, so what you did was, you got your bayonet out and

made a hole in the top. Pulled the ring out of your grenade and dropped it in through the hole. There were shots going all over the place. I picked up a Sten gun and I thought I’d carry that instead of a rifle. Four Japanese got out of one of these bunkers we’d been dropping grenades in and ran down the hill. I pressed the trigger and nothing bloody well happened - my Sten gun jammed! They always jammed - a useless weapon. I threw it at them - I was so annoyed.’ Davies then tried to clear the battlefield. ‘We went out and got one or two of the wounded in. I saw David Glasse’s body and my batman and I got him up. I took his top, my batman took the bottom and his body fell in two. A machine gun had gone straight across his tummy.’ Davies endured a grim night as they anticipated a quick counterattack. ‘Towards the evening we had a mist. We were in our slit trenches during that night and the Japs had put tins out with stones in them. We heard these tins rattling and the Japanese were shouting because they wanted us to shout back, “Are you there, Tommy?” It was horrible, it really was, I was very scared. We were soaking wet, we had no cover.’ After a while Davies took shelter in the main bunker. ‘It was full of Jap dead. They sent us down some bully beef and my batman said, “Let’s have it!” I said, “OK!” He got his hankie out of his pocket - it was filthy, you can imagine what it was like - a khaki hankie. He put it over the tummy of a dead Japanese, just over his bare tummy. He pulled this warm bully beef out with his finger, put it on a biscuit and said, “Here you are, Sir!” I couldn’t eat it, I was sick!’ 

OVER 300 VARIOUS ITEMS AVAILABLE ONLINE

FIRST WORLD WAR DIARY THE FOCUS shifts to the Balkans in October 1915 as there is a new entrant to the Great War, a major Central Powers offensive in the region, and the opening of a major new Allied campaign in Salonika (now Macedonia). At home, there is shock after the controversial death of a British heroine, and another damaging air raid.

HOME FRONT

13/14 October The ‘Theatreland Raid’: Five Zeppelins cause 200 casualties in a severe overnight raid on London and the east coast. The first bomb hits the Lyceum Theatre, near Charing Cross. Others hit Aldgate, Moorgate, Woolwich and Holborn. Although at least 71 are killed, many of the raiders become lost and deviate from their course, with bombs falling as far away as Croydon, Guildford, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and even Folkestone and Hythe. It is the last of 20 raids in 1915, from which 37 tons of bombs are dropped and there are over 700 casualties.

WESTERN FRONT

13 October In the last stages of the Battle of Loos, the British 9th and 46th Infantry Divisions attempt an assault on the Hohenzollern Redoubt, near Auchy-les-Mines. Heavy casualties are sustained on both sides, most in the first few minutes of the advance, but ultimately German forces hold onto the position. The British later award two VCs pertinent to the action, one to Corporal James Dawson of the Corps of Royal Engineers, and the second to Captain Geoffrey Vickers of The Sherwood Foresters. 22 October Now aware of the devastating effectiveness of the machine gun if positioned and operated skilfully, and in order to meet increasing demands for the weapons, the British establish a separate Machine-Gun Corps. At the beginning of the war, each battalion only had a pair of Vickers machine guns, crewed by a small section led by a junior officer and NCO. Within six months, this doubled. However, more rapid expansion was required, as was specialist training, so schools were established in France and Britain, the need made more pressing once the heavy casualties sustained by the MGC are accounted for. By the end of the war, the MGC would consist of 124,000 men in 70 battalions, each operating 64 machine guns, but despite this expansion there would be a shortage of machine guns until 1917. Mobile elements of the MGC were developed to support cavalry, and these later became the Heavy Branch, and then the Tank Corps.

56 www.britainatwar.com

BALKANS

3 October Balkans: The first Allied troops arrive at Salonika in a multinational effort to aid Serbia against the combined Central Powers. However, with internal crisis in Greece, and a fast-moving Central Powers offensive, the Allies fail to be effective at this time. 4 October The Entente Powers deliver their ultimatum to Bulgaria demanding all attached German officers leave the Bulgarian army. The allegiance of a neutral Bulgaria was sought by both sides: the Entente wished to separate the Central Powers from the Ottomans, and prop up Serbia and Russia, whilst the Central Powers sought the opposite. In what Prime Minister Asquith described as 'one of the most important chapters in the history of diplomacy', Bulgaria would eventually affiliate with the Central Powers, a heavy diplomatic defeat for the Allies.

WAR AT SEA

28 October At 04:30 during a storm off Scotland's east coast, Devonshire-class armoured cruiser HMS Argyll runs aground, is wrecked and catches fire at Bell Rock, Dundee. The destroyers Hornet and Jackal retrieve her crew and there were no serious injuries.

OCTOBER 1915 WORLD MAP BELGIUM

12 October British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by firing squad after a German court martial finds her guilty of treason following her arrest for helping 200 Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium. Today, she is celebrated for her work saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination.

WAR AT SEA

23 October Almost immediately after completing repairs following a torpedo hit from the British submarine E9, the German armoured cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert is sunk by the British submarine E8 in the Baltic. Torpedoes from E8 strike the Prinz Adalbert’s magazine, causing a massive explosion. Of her 675 crew, only 3 survive – the largest single loss of life for German Baltic forces in the war.

SLOVENIA

18 October The Third Battle of the Isonzo begins. The Italians attempt to take Bovec and Tolmin from the Austro-Hungarians as Italian commander Luigi Cadorna trials new artillery tactics. He is moderately successful before being pushed back, and the battle instead serves more as a showcase of the abilities of Austrian commander Svetozar Boroević.

GALLIPOLI

15 October General Sir Charles Monro is appointed to succeed Sir Ian Hamilton as commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force after the dismissal of the latter. Monro would soon recommend the evacuation of Allied forces from the Dardenelles as German and AustroHungarian troops and equipment flood into the theatre following Bulgaria’s entry into the war.

BALKANS

BALKANS

7 October The final invasion of Serbia by Austro-Hungarian and German troops begins. After crossing the Drina, Save, and Danube rivers, Belgrade is taken on the 9th after a period of bloody street fighting. 5 October The long running National Schism, a period of political crisis in Greece, continues. Unable to bring Greece into the war, pro-Allied Greek Premier Venizelos is removed by Kling Constantine I, who is married to one of Kaiser Wilhelm’s sisters.

14 October Bulgarian forces launch their invasion of Serbia and the defenders are unable to stop the twin Morava and Ovče Pole offensives. By the 22nd, Bulgarian forces will have taken Kumanovo, Veles, and Vranje. 28 October Lieutenant General Sir Bryan Mahon, who previously commanded the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli, is moved with his division to the Balkans, and becomes head of the British Salonika Army.

www.britainatwar.com 57

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LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940 MAIN IMAGE: Low-level sortie viewed from the cockpit of a He 111.

T

HE FIRST attack against an airfield during the Battle of Britain to result in an RAF casualty occurred on 4 August 1940. Sgt Norman Dougal of 30 Maintenance Unit at RAF Sealand, near Chester, was injured in an air attack probably carried out by a Heinkel He 111 of I Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 27 (I/KG 27), four aircraft from this unit having been briefed to carry out attacks in the west of Britain. However, the first major attacks against

Baofttalein Brit

SARY 75th ANNIV-2ER 015 1940

60 www.britainatwar.com

RAF airfields began on 12 August 1940 with Lympne, Hawkinge, Kenley and Manston receiving the Luftwaffe’s attention. The following day, known as ‘Eagle Day’, would be an even worse one for the RAF. Unopposed, Junkers 87 Stuka dive bombers of IV (Stuka)/ Lehrgeschwader 1 attacked the Coastal Command airfield at RAF Detling in Kent, killing 24 personnel from the Station and from 53 and 500 Sqns as well as the Station Commander, Gp Capt

Edward Davis AFC. A further 42 personnel were wounded. Air attacks were also carried out against RAF Eastchurch in Kent and RAF Andover in Hampshire where two were killed and one injured. Similar attacks continued on 14 and 15 August 1940, but in addition to the major attacks on those days, the Luftwaffe also regularly carried out audacious attacks by one or two aircraft, the most effective of which occurred in the late afternoon of 16 August 1940.

LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940

AIRFIELDS CONFUSED

Hoping to use cloud cover, a total of 215 Heinkel 111s and Junkers 88s took off to attack airfields at Benson, Hendon, Northolt, Redhill, Brooklands, Gatwick, Heston, Heathrow, Feltham and Croydon. However, the cloud soon became a problem and many aircraft were forced to turn back. Despite this, a number of aircraft from KG 27 did make it as far as Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, where they attacked a number of airfields including Halton and an unidentified satellite airfield

10km south-east of Oxford (probably Stanton Harcourt). There is confusion about what happened, though. German records state that two He 111s of I/KG 27 successfully attacked RAF Benson hitting hangars, buildings and the airfield itself, destroying five aircraft on the ground and blowing up a fuel store. However, two crews, one of which was commanded by Oberleutnant (Oblt) Ottmar Dold of III/KG 27, also reported to have attacked Benson. Strangely though, Benson was not yet

fully operational and there is no record of any such attack. Meanwhile, at RAF Brize Norton, approximately 25 miles north-west of Benson, two German aircraft (said to be Junkers 88s) appeared out of the cloud and at 1740hrs dropped 32 bombs, of which three failed to explode. Those that did explode caused major damage to 6 Maintenance Unit which included three petrol bowsers damaged, one tractor rendered unserviceable, a number of Avro Tutor aircraft superficially damaged by 

The period of the Battle of Britain which saw Luftwaffe attacks directed against RAF airfields is generally considered to have taken place between early August and 6 September 1940. In fact, the Luftwaffe continued attacking RAF airfields throughout the entire battle as Chris Goss explains. www.britainatwar.com 61

LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940 the two airfields mixed up, especially when 30 minutes later, Harwell was attacked which resulted in two RAF deaths and four wounded. Again, there is no German record of any such attack but there is written evidence of an attack on an airfield ‘near Reading’ by three Junkers 88s.

SUCCESSFUL ATTACKS

ABOVE: The crew of a 9./KG55 He 111 gather around the tail of their aircraft marked with the tally of sorties flown against factories, airfields and military encampments.

RIGHT: Lt Walter Bornschein of 4./KG2 pictured later in the war.

flying debris and a bomb crater outside No.4 hangar which, records state, was filled in within an hour. However, substantial damage was caused to 2 Service Flying Training School with Nos. 1 & 2 Hangars gutted by fire, 46 aircraft destroyed, the roof of one barrack wrecked and electricity and water supplies disrupted. In personnel terms, 61-year-old civilian worker Fred Harden was killed whilst five airmen (LAC Ernest Bunning, AC2 Roy Carpenter, AC1 John Orr, AC 1 John Price and LAC Bob Talbot) and four civilians were injured. No Luftwaffe record makes mention of this devastating attack and so it seems likely that the German crews had got

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From now until 7 September 1940, airfields continued to be targeted, mostly by large formations of German bombers. But their tactics had to change following the failure of the massive attacks of 15 September 1940 and the switch of focus to London. Although the capital remained the main target for the remainder of the Battle of Britain, more attacks now occurred by night. The Blitz against cities remained the Luftwaffe's priority, but attacks against airfields were not entirely abandoned. From early October 1940, smaller formations of German bombers used speed, weather and altitude to attack various airfields. The first such attack of note occurred at 0700 on 1 October 1940. Led by Maj Joachim Hahn, Kommandeur of Küstenfliegergruppe 606, four Do 17s took off from Brest to attack RAF Carew Cheriton in Pembrokeshire. Arriving over the airfield undetected, and attacking from 30 metres altitude, they dropped forty x 50kg bombs and 240 x incendiary bombs, after which they machine gunned the airfield before heading back to France. The attack caused some damage and the death of AC2 John Greenhalgh. Another four ground crew were injured, including Dutchman Leading Engineer C Barthen of 312 Sqn. This was one of many successful attacks for Joachim Hahn and resulted in his award of the Ritterkreuz (Knights Cross) on 21 October 1940.

The following day, a similar attack occurred at breakfast time. Between 0505 and 0555 hrs, six Ju 88s of II/ Lehrgeschwader 1 lifted off from Orleans to attack the training airfield at RAF Penrhos in North Wales and the Coastal Command airfield at St Eval, Cornwall. Only two bombers successfully attacked, one at each airfield. At Penrhos, a single Ju 88 appeared over the airfield at 0715 hrs dropping four 250kg bombs from 100 metres altitude, causing slight damage and wounding Cpl Alan Pentin of 9 Bombing & Gunnery School. 45 minutes later, a Ju 88 appeared over St Eval dropping three bombs with unrecorded results but no casualties. This being the most successful attack on Penrhos to date, the RAF was forced to detach protective Hurricanes and Spitfires there as the nearest Fighter Command airfield was some distance away at RAF Ternhill, Shropshire. Such attacks didn’t just occur well away from London. At 1305 hrs on 6 October 1940, Hptm Walter Storp of KG 76 glided his Ju 88 towards RAF II/KG

LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940 Northolt to the west of London and from just 80 metres altitude, dropped two 500kg and two 250kg bombs hitting a hangar. He destroyed a Hurricane of 303 Sqn and damaged another two, killing pilot Sgt Antoni Siudak and AC2 Henry Stennett and wounding AC2 Kenneth Boyns. Despite 229 Sqn scrambling to intercept, Storp returned to France unscathed. It therefore came as no surprise that on 21 October 1940, Storp was awarded the Ritterkreuz, the day after the award of the Ehrenpokal (Honour Goblet) ; ten days later he was promoted to Major.

BUOYED BY SUCCESS

A classic example of ‘irritation’ attacks occurred on the evening of 8 October 1940 having had its origins five days earlier. On the evening of 3 October, five He 111s of III/KG 55 lifted off from Villacoublay near Paris to attack simultaneously at low level the airfields of Warmwell in Dorset and Ford in West Sussex.

It was hoped that attacking two airfields which were nearly 100 miles from each other would split the defences. Apparently, it did. Two He 111s appeared over Warmwell at 1915hrs at 50 metres altitude and dropped 10 bombs; 20 minutes later, three He 111s dropped 12 bombs from 40 metres altitude on Ford. The German crews were so low and so fast that they were unable to report the effects of their attacks, but at RAF Ford, bombs dropped on the 23 Sqn dispersal, killing AC 2 Bill Moon and AC1 Bill Pinder, whilst injuring another three ground crew as well as causing minor damage to buildings. Perhaps buoyed by their success, KG 55 would soon be back. On the evening of 8 October, twelve He 111s from Hptm Heinrich Wittmer’s III/KG 55 took off to attack the RAF airfields at Thorney Island, Ford, Shoreham and Tangmere in Sussex with three aircraft assigned to each target. At the same time, four groups of three aircraft from Maj Joachim Roeber’s I/KG 55 took off from Dreux to attack the airfields at Yeovil, Christchurch, Warmwell and Exeter. From Maj Fritz Kless’ II/KG 55, two groups of three aircraft took off from Chartres to attack Eastleigh and Lee-on-Solent airfields. Due to poor light, the Yeovil and Exeter aggressors failed to find their target, as did the three aircraft that were assigned Thorney Island. The latter three attacked the railway line towards Portsmouth, where a number of their bombs fell at Havant; eight civilians were killed when bombs were dropped on an alternative target near Yeovil and another three were killed at Havant. At

Eastleigh, bombs fell on a balloon barrage site manned by 924 (Balloon) Sqn, killing LAC Stan Blaylock, AC2 Fred Greening and AC1 Garfield Pring as well as wounding another five. A further two civilians were killed. At Ford, the three German aircraft reported dropping at total of 42 bombs of varying calibre, destroying a 23 Sqn DB-7 (serial AX850), which became the first of what would later be called the Douglas Boston to be lost as a result of enemy action. One Blenheim was also damaged, whilst not far away at Shoreham, another 42 bombs were dropped on the airfield, railway line and town. 

TOP: Low-level Dornier 17-Z aircraft roar in towards their target. ABOVE: Low level over England! A image depicting a typical lowlevel attack sortie flown over the British countryside by a He 111 during 1940. LEFTT: Major Fritz Kless, Commanding Officer of II./ KG55.

ABOVE & LEFT: A Heinkel 111 of 8./KG55 during 1940. Noteworthy is the ‘three little fishes’ emblem on the rudder. RAF Intelligence Officers inspecting the wreckage of the He 111 downed at Stansted Park on 8 October 1940 noted: ‘On rudder is a yellow shield with three red fishes’. www.britainatwar.com 63

LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940

ABOVE: Officers of III./ KG55 work on planning the final details of another sortie over Britain. RIGHT: Major Joachim Hahn, the Commanding Officer of Kustenfliegergruppe 606. FAR RIGHT: Lt Ulrich Flugge.

(1940 MEDIA LTD)

BELOW: Lowlevel Junkers 88s.

The airfield was declared ‘unusable’ after the incident, and one civilian was killed in Shoreham and another five at Worthing. Apparently, the airfields at Christchurch, Warmwell and Leeon-Solent were all successfully hit, with all strikes occurring in the space of 25 minutes.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION RAID

Two of the three attackers assigned to RAF Tangmere were commanded by Oblt Jürgen Bartens and Lt Ulrich Flugge, both of whom were observers rather than pilots. On board Bartens’ aircraft was radio operator Ofw Fritz Pons who had been told by Bartens: ‘It is your

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birthday, Pons. We’ll raid England to celebrate!’ Flying at extremely low level, they crossed the coast near RAF Thorney Island where Pons spotted what he thought was a Wellington, but was in fact a Bristol Blenheim of 235 Sqn probably flown by Flt Sgt Dick Nelson; neither aircraft opened fire but the RAF crew subsequently reported being shot at by their own anti-aircraft guns. Meanwhile, the German bombers apparently dropped 42 bombs on Tangmere, although according to records no such attack occurred. Meanwhile, the satellite airfield of Westhampnett was machine gunned; local reports show four high-explosive bombs falling at 19.20 in the parish of Westhampnett just to the south-east of the airfield but causing no damage. The raiders headed west out over Chichester, the German gunners now looking to shoot at any targets of opportunity before heading back to their airfield near Paris. Somewhere between Walderton and Stoughton on the Hampshire/ Sussex border, however, Sgt Maurice Fancey of 391 Company, 48 (Hants) Searchlight Battery ordered his detachment to stand to and he and Gunner Frank Cruickshanks manned the sole Lewis Gun. As the three He 111s approached, they

opened fire, after which the aircraft turned away towards Rowlands Castle. Here, another detachment commanded by Sgt Tom Bridgeman opened fire with their Lewis gun. Fritz Pons noticed light flak coming up from the starboard side and opened fire from his position in the top turret. At the same time, he was aware of an explosion off to the port side of his aircraft, after which he could only see one other He 111. Onboard the He 111 (codeS: G1+MS) the pilot, Fw Ernst Ens, struggled to keep control after the aircraft was evidently hit, but at such a low-level, he stood no chance. At Stansted House between Rowlands Castle and Emsworth, the stricken bomber collided with a tall pine tree, narrowly missing the house and its chapel, and ripping off part of its tail in the branches. The He 111 then hit the ground in front of the stately home and careered across the fields before eventually slithering to a halt, upside down, on the cricket pitch. At nearby Westbourne, PC Sidney Reynolds watched the Heinkel’s last moments and guessed it was going to crash near Stansted House. Pedalling like mad, he could see a wisp of smoke coming from the Park and four minutes later there was an almighty explosion which, it later transpired, broke every

LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940

55 was wounded over Eastleigh, Uffz Herbert Heinzl and Uffz Josef Bogner (observer and gunner respectively) of 8/KG 55 were wounded in another aircraft over Thorney Island and, finally, gunner Gefr Herbert von dem Heyden of 9/KG 55 was also wounded in the vicinity of Thorney Island. The raid, then, had not been without cost.

BOMBER COMMAND TARGETED

window in Stansted House and the chapel but luckily caused no major damage. On his arrival, he could see the remains of the aircraft blazing away but was not as yet aware of the drama that had just taken place on the steps of the house. Plt Off Gilbert Elliot from RAF Tangmere was staying there as guest of Lord and Lady Bessborough and on seeing the Heinkel crash, had rushed towards the scene to see if he could help. Local rumour was that one of the gunners opened fire on him, but it was more likely that he was seriously injured when the aircraft exploded. Elliott was taken to the Royal West Sussex Hospital but died of his wounds two days later. Of the German crew, there was little to be found due to the ferocity of the explosion. The following morning, a torso was found and papers in the pocket showed this to be the remains of Ernst Ens, who was buried with military honours at RAF Thorney Island a few days later. The remainder of the crew,

Lt Ulrich Flügge, Uffz Johann Ehrensberger, Uffz Ernst Herber and Gefr Hans Pawlik, have no known grave and it must be presumed that their remains were buried with what was left of their Heinkel, which was pushed into the crater it had created. Three other He 111s returned with wounded crews; pilot Ofw Heinrich Struckmeier of 6/KG

As winter approached, so the deteriorating weather and improved RAF defences forced low-level airfield attacks to be reduced, although they did continue with an added emphasis on Bomber Command airfields. On 26 October 1940, for instance, RAF Lossiemouth in Morayshire was attacked at low-level by a He 111 from 3/KG 26 commanded by Oblt Georg Imholz. Hitting a parked Blenheim of 21 Sqn, the resultant explosion killed Cpl Oliver Holland and wounded five more ground crew. Shortly afterwards, either as a result of flak or the blast from its own bombs, the German bomber crashed, with the deaths of all the crew. 

ABOVE: He 111 aircraft of III./KG55. Note the sortie tallies along the length of the fuselage. LEFT: A Home Guardsman with wreckage of the He 111 downed at Stansted Park on 8 October 1940.

BELOW: The wreckage of Sgt Antoni Suidak’s 303 Squadron Hurricane at RAF Northolt after the attack of 6 October 1940.

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LUFTWAFFE IRRITANTS

Low Level Airfield Attacks: 1940 with one ground crew killed and one wounded at RAF Lindholme and one injured

TOP LEFT: The wreck of Oblt Podbielski’s Junkers 88 after being shot down at Duggleby, Yorkshire, on 27 October 1940. (1940 MEDIA LTD)

TOP RIGHT: A blackened Luftwaffe NCO’s belt buckle recovered from the wreckage of the Stansted Park crash by PC Sidney Reynolds, probably belonging to Ernst Ens.

(1940 MEDIA LTD)

ABOVE MIDDLE: Gefr Hans Pawlik. (1940 MEDIA LTD)

The next day saw a final series of lone airfield attacks in the Battle of Britain (although they did continue after the battle, weather permitting, albeit on a lesser scale). In the Do 17 unit KG 2, a number of crews were designated Zerstörerbesatzung (Destroyer Crews) and under the code name Moonlight Serenade, specifically targeted RAF bomber airfields such as Honington, Mildenhall, Wattisham and Great Massingham. In the first series of attacks during the evening of 27 October 1940, the Do 17 flown by Fw Peter Broich of 3/KG 2 attacked Honington, the crew of Ofw Walter Wolff of 6/KG 2 went for Mildenhall and the Do 17 commanded by Oblt Hubertus Piper of 8/KG 2 struckNewmarket. RAF records report four ground crew killed at Mildenhall with another three wounded, three killed plus one wounded at Honington and two wounded at Great Massingham. Meanwhile, further north, nine Ju 88s of III/KG 30 under the code name Opera Ball were hitting Lincolnshire and Yorkshire airfields

RIGHT: A low-level attack using SD-2 antipersonnel or ‘Butterfly Bombs’ delivered from a Junkers 88.

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at RAF Leconfield. These strikes did not prevent the airfields being used for attacks on German targets, while the enemy bombers did suffer casualties. One crewman was wounded in the Broich crew and the Ju 88 flown by the Staffel Kapitän of 7/KG 30, Oblt Friedrich Podbielski, was damaged by flak whilst attacking Linton-on-Ouse. It crash-landed at Duggleby where three of the crew were captured and one killed, whilst the Ju 88 flown by the Staffel Kapitän of 8/KG 30, Oblt Dietrich Marwitz, ditched off the Humber Estuary, either as a victim of flak or as a result of being damaged by three Spitfires of 54 Sqn. There were no survivors.

BUTTERFLY BOMBS

The penultimate day of lone aircraft attacks of the Battle of Britain occurred at Wattisham

in Suffolk on the evening of 29 October 1940 and ironically is believed to have been one of the most effective. It was carried out by either Ofw Hans Wolff of 6/KG 2 who attacked an airfield which had Blenheims parked on it or Lt Walter Bornschein of 4/KG 2 who attacked ‘Wattingham’ airfield between 1751 and 2029hrs German time. This sortie is believed to have seen the first use of SD 2 anti-personnel ‘Butterfly’ bombs against an RAF airfield and two armourers, Flt Sgt Bill Fisher and Sgt George Birkhead, were killed when the bombs were discovered and disturbed the next day. Flt Lt Fred Berry, the armaments officer, was wounded in the neck whilst trying to deal with them. A number of aircraft were damaged and the airfield rendered unusable for two days as the bombs had to be detonated in situ. Lt Bornschein attacked RAF Mildenhall two nights later after which, according to his logbook, he returned to the Luftwaffe’s main thrust of action; attacking London and other major cities. It is paradoxical that the last of these attacks was one of the most effective, as over the years their impact has been forgotten, eclipsed by the major massed attacks of August and early September 1940. In terms of the Battle of Britain as a whole, they were little more than an irritation. 

Rebel with a Cause

Karamjeet Singh Judge was a vehement opponent to British rule in India. But, 70 years ago, the young Sikh officer was hailed a hero of the Raj for his dauntless valour on a Burmese battlefield. Steve Snelling charts the astonishing story. BELOW: Burma tanks: a co-ordinated ‘shoot’ of Japanese positions by a force of Shermans.

H

UGH BAKER couldn’t help but be amused by the incongruity of the scene. There he was, a British tank troop commander in the middle of the Burmese ‘dust bowl’, sharing a mug of cornflakes with a charming Sikh infantry officer who spoke in the perfectly modulated tones of an English public school boy.

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Another hard day’s scrapping against a fanatical enemy determined to fight to the death lay ahead, yet Baker was struck only by his smartly attired companion’s infectious smile and quiet confidence. “He seemed so young and keen,” he recalled. Karamjeet Singh Judge was all of that and more. Though Baker didn’t know it then, the 21-year-old subaltern about

to spearhead the renewed assault on the strategicallyimportant river port of Myingyan had his sights fixed on far more than the successful accomplishment of his mission. Always the first to volunteer to lead patrols into Japanese territory,

PROTEST MARCHES

Stocky and tough though he was, Karamjeet Singh Judge was hardly an obvious candidate for the officer ranks of the Indian Army. Born into the higher echelons of Sikh society in the princely state of Kapurthala where his father was the chief of police, he was an active member of the Indian National Congress Party and a vociferous supporter of the ‘Britain Out’ movement. He took part in a number of protest marches and his commitment to the cause of Indian independence brought him into conflict with his elder brother, Ajeet, who he regarded as a ‘traitor’ for serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Indian Artillery. Such was his strength of feeling that the two brothers were hardly on speaking terms until a chance meeting led to a reconciliation and a remarkable change of heart. According to Ajeet, Karamjeet, who was then set on moving to Lahore College in order to further his political activities without causing embarrassment to his father, began by asking what he was doing “in this bloody army”. Ajeet countered by questioning the point of protests that were likely to land him in jail with damaging effects on his studies. And then, responding to his brother’s tirade, he coolly remarked that the army was a worthwhile career since, irrespective of who ruled India, there would always be a need for a professional officer corps. 

he was desperate to add personal distinction to his growing reputation for daring. Only a week or so earlier, he had confided his youthful ambition to Major Johnny Whitmarsh-Knight, his company commander in the 4/15th Punjab Regiment. “I, Karamjeet and the other two platoon officers used to get together very often to discuss our plans for the ensuing tactical advances,” recalled Whitmarsh-Knight, “and it was during one of those discussions that Karamjeet told me he was keen to win a decoration. “I told him, jokingly perhaps, that he would have ample opportunities in the next few days…” Not long after the battalion arrived at the outskirts of Myingyan where,

on the evening of March 17, 1945 Whitmarsh-Knight’s Jat Company was selected to head the next morning’s assault. Later that night Whitmarsh-Knight called a company conference at which he set out the plan of attack and informed Karamjeet that his platoon was to lead the way, supported by the Sherman tanks of No 2 Troop, C Squadron, 116 Regiment (Gordon Highlanders), Royal Armoured Corps, commanded by Lieutenant Hugh Baker. The young Sikh officer’s reaction was instantaneous. His face broke into a smile that spoke volumes. As Whitmarsh-Knight later wrote: “Karamjeet was very pleased at this decision.”

LEFT: Hero of Myingyan: Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge VC (1923-1945). Prior to his final gallant action, he told his company commander that he was ‘keen to win a decoration’.

LEFT: Following officer training in Bangalore, Karamjeet Singh Judge served with a pioneer unit before being posted to 4/15th Punjab Regiment in late 1944. Serving in C (Jat) Company, he quickly earned a reputation as a fearless patrol leader.

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ABOVE: Men of C Squadron, 116 (Gordon Highlanders), Royal Armoured Corps, the unit which supported the 4/15th Punjab Regiment in the attack on Myingyan on March 18, 1945. The picture was taken to mark the end of the war in Burma. TOP RIGHT: Educated at Randhir High School and later Randhir College, Kapurthala, Karamjeet became a deeply committed nationalist and supporter of the cause for Indian independence.

Not long after, Ajeet heard that Karamjeet had enrolled in the Officer Training School at Bangalore. When they next met, at Multan, Karamjeet was a captain in a pioneer unit and far from happy with his lot. Having opted for a force which he thought offered the quickest route to active duty in Burma, he had found himself stranded in a training establishment far from the fighting. Ajeet intervened on his brother’s behalf. He sent a formal written request for a transfer to the 15th Punjab Regiment and a few weeks later Karamjeet, having accepted a drop in rank to lieutenant, was posted to Ambala prior to undergoing jungle training at Haridwar with the 39th Indian Infantry Division. His military education complete,

RIGHT: A suicide bomber 1945style. Japanese soldiers like this one were positioned in fox-holes with bombs between their legs ready to detonate them as tanks rolled over them.

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he joined the 4th Battalion as a replacement officer in late 1944, just as the Fourteenth Army was preparing to unleash its long-awaited counteroffensive. This was intended to smash the Japanese army in Central Burma as a prelude to making a dash for Rangoon.

‘MAN OF PRINCIPLES’

The unit’s battle-hardened officers, many of whom already boasted decorations earned in the struggles around Kohima, quickly warmed to Karamjeet. To Arthur Marment, he appeared “very gallant and extremely young” while to fellow Sikh Sucha Singh he was “a man of principles who stood by his word”. Johnny Whitmarsh-Knight was similarly impressed with C (Jat)

Company’s newest recruit. The company commander, who had served with the battalion since 1941, recalled: “He was slimly built, athletic in appearance and had a lively and cheerful nature. He was a good soldier, modest but forceful in his sense of purpose. He wasn’t a bull-shitter, but definitely a very intent and determined young man.” His keenness was matched by a flair for leadership. As well as ensuring his platoon was always well prepared for any action, he was ever willing to take on the responsibility of leading potentially hazardous reconnaissance incursions. “He accomplished these patrols very successfully on at least three separate occasions,” wrote WhitmarshKnight, “[and] brought back very useful information about the enemy’s positions and strength.” Such virtues were much in demand in the early weeks of 1945 as Lieutenant General Bill Slim launched the attack that would culminate in the most crushing defeat suffered on land by the Imperial Japanese Army. Feinting a thrust across the Irrawaddy towards Mandalay where the bulk of the enemy forces were deployed, he wrong-footed his opponents by mounting an audacious attack on Meiktila, the nerve centre and nodal point of road, rail and air communications in Central Burma. With armoured formations leading the way, Slim’s bold master-stroke effectively split the Japanese forces in two. Four days of bitter fighting during which the enemy garrison fought

almost to the last man ended in the fall of Meiktila on March 3. Then came the assault on Mandalay. Threatened with destruction, the Japanese launched a series of desperate counter-attacks in an attempt to eliminate the main British bridgehead across the Irrawaddy and to recapture Meiktila to keep open an escape corridor from embattled Mandalay. The fighting that followed was among the most savage anywhere during the Second World War. As the Japanese diverted reinforcements bound for Mandalay to the struggle around Meiktila, the 4/15th Punjab Regiment found itself engaged in a succession of actions aimed at blocking the enemy advance, reopening the road to Meiktila and then pushing on to capture Myingyan to provide a crucial river-head supply base.

TO THE LAST NULLAH

With the help of daring air drops, powerful columns from 7th Indian Division were sent out across the arid, dusty plain defended to the last nullah by a fanatical and fearsome enemy force that contested every yard of the way. The 4/15th, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Conroy MC, was part of 33 Brigade which was tasked with clearing a triangle of territory to the north and east of the Nyaungu bridgehead. The whole area was flat and open, intersected by dry river beds which the Japanese turned into formidable natural defence lines. One such position, curving south of Myingyan at Sindewa chaung, provided the 4/15th with a stiff test. Isolated by a wide encircling move carried out by two companies on the night of March 2/3, the tree-screened position was then attacked by the rest of the battalion supported by two troops of tanks from C Squadron, 116 RAC.

Having carried the first objective under heavy fire, the assaulting force ran into trouble as they neared a second line of defence. The tanks’ commander, Captain Bryan Smith, later wrote: “I could see mines protruding from the only road up the steep-sided chaung bed. I laid my tanks up and fired high explosive at the top of the chaung side where the Japanese were dug in, though for once not in bunkers. “The 4/15th company attacked over the chaung bed and up the other side whilst my six tanks gave covering medium machine gun fire to help keep the Japs’ heads down. When we ceased fire I observed through my periscope an especially active naik [corporal] bayoneting his way along the enemy trench, his body bending up and down, his arm already bandaged.”

The naik was Gian Singh, of A (Sikh) Company, and, contrary to Smith’s impression, he employed a machinegun and grenades to capture the enemy position. But that was merely the beginning. Despite having been wounded in the arm, he then made a single-handed attack on a cleverly concealed anti-tank gun which had already scored hits on two Shermans. Knocked down by a grenade blast that wounded him a second time, he staggered up and charged again only to be felled by another bullet. At that moment one of the tanks, commanded by Sergeant Ogilvie Cowie, opened up with its 75mm gun, killing some of the crew. Gian Singh then followed in and disposed of the remaining Japanese and captured the gun. 

ABOVE: Karamjeet, far right, with his three brothers, two sisters and parents after enlisting in the army. LEFT: Lieutenant Hugh Baker commanded the four Shermans of No 2 Troop, C Squadron, 116 RAC at Myingyan. BELOW: A Sherman tank passing through the blazing outskirts of Pegu.

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ABOVE: An artist’s impression of a log cabin pub built by tank crews of 116 RAC in Burma to mark Hogmanay. It was called, appropriately, the Gordon Arms. TOP RIGHT: Sergeant Ogilvie Cowie of 116 RAC. His Sherman was hit four times on the turret during the action at Sindewa chaung on March 3, 1945, before he blasted the anti-tank gun with his 75mm gun. BELOW: A sketch by an officer of 116 RAC of a Sherman crew taking cover beneath a tarpaulin fitted to the side.

It was a startling example of infantrytank co-operation which earned the 24-year-old naik a well-merited Victoria Cross and helped pave the way for an even more spectacular action involving the same two units just 15 days later.

‘UNTANKABLE’

Formidable obstacle though the Sindewa chaung was, it was as nothing compared with Myingyan. The port was heavily defended by a large Japanese force that had plenty of time to prepare its defences. As well as steep-sided nullahs honeycombed with hidden bunkers, the ground was freckled with foxholes and trenches covered by mortars and buildings turned into miniature fortresses. The Japanese had already seen off one attack when Colonel Conroy, in company with officers of 116 RAC and 139 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, made his plans for a second assault to be led by Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge’s platoon in conjunction with four Shermans commanded by Lieutenant Hugh Baker.

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In spite of the armoured assistance and the artillery support arrayed behind them, the task facing Karamjeet’s men was a daunting one. The ground ahead of them, with its precipitously sloped nullahs, hillocks and patches of dense scrub, was ideal country for defence. In places, observed Conroy, it was “untankable”. Even where it was possible for the Shermans to advance, the threat from snipers and kamikaze squads, limited their usefulness. For with the crews having to attack ‘closed up’, they were largely reliant on the infantry to identify enemy positions. It was a handicap that quickly became clear on the morning of March 18. At 1000 hrs, preceded by a concentration of heavy artillery and mortar fire that bracketed the forward Japanese positions on the southern outskirts of Myingyan, Baker’s Shermans clattered forward followed by the vanguard of Johnny Whitmarsh-Knight’s Jat Company. After overcoming heavy sniper interference, the tanks and infantry made it safely across the first dry river bed before swinging right to advance parallel to a railway line that ran towards a cluster of cotton mills that were Karamjeet’s ultimate objective. “The ground in front of the mills was very open,” wrote Baker, “but near the chaung was a series of deep nullahs which were absolutely riddled with bunkers. The tanks engaged as many… as they could see whilst the infantry were pinned to the ground under fairly heavy small arms fire aimed mostly at the tanks. “After putting about 20-plus of the enemy to flight we were ordered to advance which we did in bounds of

about 50 yds, the infantry following. Unfortunately, the tanks had only been able to engage the enemy bunkers in the side of the nullahs facing them with the result that each time the infantry passed a nullah they came under heavy light machine gun and rifle fire and [attack from] grenade dischargers from the nullah side which had been blind to the tanks.” The attack, already dislocated, might have ended there but for the extraordinary intervention of Karamjeet Singh Judge.

‘COMPLETELY IMPERVIOUS’

With the gap between the tanks and the infantry widening dangerously, the young Sikh officer at the sharp end of his first high-intensity action reacted instantly. Ignoring the hail of machinegun and mortar fire raking the ground, he sprinted after the tanks. In a scene that would be repeated time after time over the course of the next few hours, he made for the rear of Baker’s Sherman where a ‘house’

telephone located in an armourplated box offered his only means of communication with the tank commander. With bullets rattling against the turret and hull of his tank, Baker heard the buzzer followed by Karamjeet’s voice. “Given everything that was going on around us,” he recalled, “I was astonished at how calm and polite he was. “He just said, ‘could you come back and eliminate the bunkers on the other side of the nullah’. He then guided us to the target. He’d give us an instruction, something like, ‘two o’clock’, and then he’d stand by the side of the tank and fire a burst from his Tommy gun at the bunker so that we could see where he needed us to shoot.

automatic and small arms fire as well as terrific enemy shelling”. Whitmarsh-Knight could scarcely believe what he was witnessing. Karamjeet, he later wrote, appeared “completely impervious to all the fire around him” and yet at the same time “was the cynosure of all eyes”. One moment he would be standing in the open directing the tanks, fully exposed to shot and shell, the next he would be rushing forward, hurling smoke grenades and firing his sub“Then, we fired a couple of rounds machine gun, to pinpoint the next of 75mm high explosive with delayed troublesome enemy position. action fuses to penetrate the bunkers “During one of his dashes across to before exploding. It was pretty effective.” the tanks,” noted Whitmarsh-Knight, Some 40 yards back, Johnny “I saw two Japs suddenly jump out Whitmarsh-Knight caught occasional of a small nullah and rush towards glimpses between the hillocks Karamjeet with fixed bayonets. and shrub of the darting figure of Without hesitation he opened fire Karamjeet flitting between his platoon with his tommy gun and killed both and the tanks as they rumbled forward. at a distance of only 10 yards. He then went on with his task, unperturbed by At least three times, he saw him make the same journey “under heavy what had just taken place.”

NEST OF BUNKERS

Time and time again over the course of nearly five hours’ of intense fighting the tactic was courageously repeated with the same degree of success. In this way, no fewer than seven bunkers were destroyed and their garrisons wiped out by a combination of tank fire and infantry charges that were personally led by Karamjeet Singh Judge. Along the way, Baker lost one tank which topped over onto its turret as it struggled to negotiate one particularly steep-banked nullah. Luckily, it’s crew scrambled clear without injury as the attack swept past them. Around 1445 hrs they were within 30 yards of the company’s final objective, the main north-south road running through Myingyan. The firing had all but ceased. “It seemed as though the battle was over,” wrote WhitmarshKnight. 

ABOVE: An official artist’s impression of the three-times wounded Gian Singh charging the Japanese anti-tank gun at Sindewa chaung on March 3, 1945. LEFT: Captain Bryan Smith: he commanded two troops of Shermans In support of 4/15th Punjab Regiment at Sindewa chaung. BELOW: Victor featuring the story of Naik Gian Singh’s VC action.

BELOW & LEFT: Hero’s homecoming: Naik Gian Singh VC (1920-1996) is greeted at the 15th Punjab Regimental Centre in Ambala by his wife and mother following the award of his VC.

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action shell in the usual way, I ran my tank backwards and forwards over the bunker and squashed them into the ground.”

BELOW: An official artist’s somewhat fanciful impression of Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge’s VC exploit at Myingyan.

‘BRAVEST SOLDIER’

RIGHT: A tank crew of C Squadron, 116 RAC, receives its instructions before launching a combined infantryarmoured attack in Burma. Captain Bryan Smith is on the right. BELOW: Karamjeet’s father shows his son’s Victoria Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Conroy DSO, MC (1911-2001) at a parade held in the Red Fort, Delhi in 1945.

Baker thought so too. “We began to relax,” he recalled. “We began to open the hatches to let some air in. It was so hot and full of fumes inside the turret and we’d been closed up for nearly five hours. And at that moment, they suddenly started shooting again.” The fire from a nest of three bunkers, cleverly concealed beneath bushes and trees on the edge of a chaung bank, sent the infantry scurrying for cover in some nearby buildings and abandoned trenches. Although no more than 15 yards away from the tanks, Baker, peering through his periscope, had trouble locating them. Realising his difficulty, Karamjeet dashed across the fire-swept ground and began guiding the tank commander onto the target. According to Whitmarsh-Knight, he led them to within 20 yards of the enemy position, but though two of the bunkers were soon subdued,

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Karamjeet’s death and the destruction of the last of 10 bunkers confronting his platoon signalled the end of a fivehour fight. The battle for Myingyan would last another four days, but the end was never seriously in doubt following the young Sikh officer’s courageous actions. His commanding officer credited him above all others for seizing the initiative with a matchless display of “inspiring leadership”. “To the last moment,” wrote Hubert Conroy, “Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge dominated the entire battlefield by his numerous and successive acts of superb gallantry.” As a veteran of all the battalion’s fights from the Arakan through to Myingyan, Johnny Whitmarsh-Knight

another containing a light machine gun, continued to resist. “Karamjeet told the tanks to stop firing,” added WhitmarshKnight. “He then led a section charge on to this strong point, shouting words of encouragement to his men.” Karamjeet was within 10 yards of the enemy, wrote Whitmarsh-Knight, when “the ‘automatic’ opened fire, wounding Karamjeet mortally in the chest”. Baker remembered those fateful final moments slightly differently. “Just after directing us towards the bunkers, he was hit in the breast by machine-gun fire,” he recalled. “But even then, his only thought was for his men. As they rushed out to pick him up, he waved them back. He wouldn’t let them risk their lives. “I was so mad, instead of destroying the bunker with a 75mm delayed

considered Karamjeet’s performance without equal. “As a personal witness of this officer’s protracted deeds of valour of the highest order,” he wrote, “I can but say that he was the bravest soldier I have seen.” Hugh Baker was of the same opinion. In a report written a month later, he described Karamjeet as “the finest leader I ever saw in action” and added: “The crews of the tanks were awed by his example and bravery and begged of me to write a citation of his deeds.” On July 3, 1945, the London Gazette duly announced the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge. In one of the war’s most extraordinary ironies, the rebel with a cause was thus honoured with the highest martial distinction by the very nation whose rule of his homeland he so vehemently opposed. 

This feature marks the start of an occasional series by Alex Bowers looking at the tangible traces of both World Wars that may still be found the length and breadth of Britain. If you have a particular feature you would like us to cover in detail then please do email us at: [email protected]

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A V1 is prepared for launch.

T

HE V1 Doodlebug campaign in the summer of 1944 brought death, terror and destruction to south east England and even now there is evidence to be found of these flying bomb attacks. Sometimes, such evidence is hidden away - but it can also be found in plain sight if you know what you're looking for. Across Britain can be found lasting reminders of a conflict still present in the hearts and minds of many; a multitude of scars scattered across a patchwork countryside that, 70 years on, is still healing from the great ordeal of the Second World War. Whilst some have eventually faded from sight, many have been left behind and serve as reminders of the sacrifices Britain made in the face of tyranny. One of the most renowned examples, perhaps, is that of Coventry Cathedral. On the evening of Thursday 14 November 1940 the cathedral was struck by a number of incendiary bombs. The Fire Brigade, along with a handful of brave individuals, battled to take control of the fire but the blaze soon swept through the structure and it was eventually lost to the flames. The gutted building lay in ruins, with all but the charred walls towering over the

debris of what had been centuries of history. Yet something remained alive within its shell. The spirit of Coventry Cathedral rose above the rubble and it remains to this day, towering over the millions of visitors that it attracts with each passing year as, arguably, the most potent memorial to war anywhere in the country. Coventry, however, is not an isolated example of damage sustained to places of worship with dozens of churches and chapels across the country falling victim to the destructive path of German firepower between 1939 and 1945. Many lesser known cases have since been forgotten. And yet, in rural Kent, another place of worship stands in ruins that, in their own way, provide a memorial every bit as powerful as Coventry Cathedral. Tucked away on the outskirts of the sleepy village of Little Chart lie the remains of the settlement’s former Parish Church. St. Mary’s is nestled into a small corner plot, just a few yards off from the main road. The surrounding area consists of a few scattered houses around a vast expanse of fields and open country. Through a small cluster of trees, the tower of St. Mary’s can be seen looking down on the overgrown churchyard which has since been

deconsecrated. In 1958 a new church was built to replace St. Mary’s just five minutes-walk up the road from the original. Its presence within the Parish makes its predecessor all but a distant memory to locals who once attended services there 71 years ago. Nonetheless, the devastated church shares the same lease of life as its more illustrious place of worship at Coventry and its captivating history is a vital part of the local community and heritage.

REVENGE WEAPONS

On 13 June 1944 the nation was still rejoicing in the great success of the D-Day landings. The Allies finally had their foothold in occupied Europe, and the Axis forces were in full retreat. Yet, even on the eve of ultimate victory, a new darkness was to loom over the British Isles and for the second time in the Second World War the South-east of England would once more be known as ‘Bomb Alley.’ It was at 4:08am that morning when observers in Dymchurch would report the first sighting of Germany’s secret ‘revenge weapon’ over Kent. This would be one of 9,251 V1 ‘Doodlebugs’ to be plotted over Britain from that morning until the last one fell on 29 March 1945.  www.britainatwar.com 77

It had not been long since the War Office had significantly reduced the number of anti-aircraft defences owing to the belief that the Luftwaffe’s ability to mount attacks had effectively finished. By August, these remaining defences were to be so overwhelmed that additional guns and crews had to be rushed in from other divisions. The initial defences involved fighters patrolling off the coast and chasing V1’s inland in the hope of destroying them before they reached London, together with defensive belts of antiaircraft guns and barrage balloons. Of at least 10,000 V1’s to be launched against Britain, 2,419 would reach the capital with another 4,261 being destroyed or crashing to earth before reaching their target. Many others fell short in the English Channel, or were shot down there and with Kent being in the direct flight path of these destructive weapons, it was inevitable that a substantial amount of damage would be caused to the otherwise peaceful countryside.

Little Chart Church, pre 1944.

When the dust had eventually cleared, the church lay in ruins. Little had been left undamaged, although some surviving elements were to be later salvaged from the rubble. The metal from the six church bells was recovered and later recast into five new bells which can be found at Little Chart’s ‘new’ church. Also saved from the wreckage was a memorial to the church’s 16th and 17th century patrons – the Darrell Family. This salvaged memorial can now be found in the nearby church at Egerton.

ENORMOUS EXPLOSION

By 16 August 1944 it was Little Chart’s turn to come face to face with this ferocious and formidable weapon. Martin Pym, now 88, had been harvesting the year’s crop in the adjacent field when a sound ‘…like a rather ancient motorbike’ could be heard on the horizon. ‘The combine suddenly stopped, and the V1 engine went off. I looked up and everybody was lying on the ground. That is when I saw this Doodlebug which looked like it was coming down on us. I jumped off and lay on the ground until there was an enormous explosion just a couple of fields away. A grey cloud of dust went up and so we all stood up and had a look. It was then we thought: “Is that the church?”’ The dust curling up into the late-summer sky could be seen as far as the villages of Pluckley

V1 explosion caught on camera.

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JUST SIX POUNDS TO SPARE

and Smarden. Mark Withers had been living a mile and a half away from the crash site at the time. He said: ‘What one expected to see was a plume of dense black smoke but this was a plume of white smoke. It was clearly a flying bomb, but why was the smoke white? Later, it turned out that the ‘smoke’ was the stone dust from the church!’ The doodlebug had been shot down by an unidentified pilot and had continued its journey another half a mile before ending its flight, literally right on top of the Norman-era tower. Six church bells came crashing down, followed by the walls. Next door, the residence of Chart Court Farm House had also received some damage, although it was the 800-year-old church which had taken the brunt of the destruction. Meanwhile, in the nearby field, Mr. Pym and his fellow workers discussed the probable outcome of the explosion. ‘It was unlikely on a working day that there was anyone in the Church, so there was no need to go and rescue anybody. Had we thought it was the house, then we would have run over to see if we could pull anyone out of the wreckage.’ He remarked. ‘I just think that is the way one reacted in the war. If one could do anything, one did it. If there wasn’t anything one could do, then one just went on with one’s ordinary lives.’

For many years, the church was left in a state of disrepair and ruin, but in 1962 the site was deemed by the local council to be too unsafe for public access and a petition was made to have the remains entirely removed. The petition roused a great deal of local opposition, with ‘The Little Chart Tower Preservation Committee’ later being formed to protect the ruins. Mr. Pym’s brother, Francis Pym, became invaluable to the cause after submitting quotations on how much it would cost for the grounds to be made safe. The sum was calculated to be £2,270, with that figure being the amount needed in order to complete the required safety works. The future of the ancient structure now lay in the hands of the Regional War Damage Commission, although their funds were rapidly running out since the war’s conclusion 18 years earlier. However, it seemed luck was on the side of the villagers of Little Chart. Fate would so have it that the grand total of £2,276 was all that remained in the Commission’s kitty. Remarkably, and with just £6 to spare, the ruins of St. Mary’s were saved. Both bad luck and good luck had shone upon the Parish of Little Chart and its church. Bad luck that the church had taken a direct hit, although, on the other hand, remarkably good luck in that there were no deaths or serious casualties resulting from the huge explosion. And equally good luck that the Regional War Damage Commission, by very the skin of its teeth, was able to save the church ruins as a lasting monument to the horrors of the V1 ‘Doodlebug’ attacks that had ravaged south-east England. 

THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5 MAIN PICTURE: The somewhat unusual sight that greeted New Yorkers at the end of October 1917 – the three sections of the Type UC minelaying submarine UC-5, captured by the Royal Navy in April the same year, being reassembled in Central Park. To reach the park, the three parts of the submarine were paraded through the city, heading from the dock at 132nd Street to Manhattan Street, then on 125th Street, Seventh Avenue, 110th Street, Central Park West and then through the 66th Street entrance to the park.

T

HE GREAT battleships of the Royal Navy dominated the high seas and its flotillas of destroyers and patrol boats sealed off the English Channel. Every attempt by the German navy to break into the Channel and lay mines to interrupt the vital crossChannel communications that kept the British Expeditionary Force supplied had failed. Then, on 20 August 1915, the Type UC mine-laying submarine UC-5 was ordered the make another effort. Launched on 13 June 1915, UC-5 had a range of more than 900 nautical miles and carried twelve mines. The mines were generally laid at high water whilst the submarine was travelling at a speed of two knots, one mine being dropped every two minutes in groups of four. Service for the men in submarines was not voluntary and in order to maintain the secrecy of the location of the mines the

(US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

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lower ranks were not permitted above deck during patrols. Commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Pustkuchen, and later Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Mohrbutter, UC-5 had already sunk four ships since she had arrived at Zeebrugge on 27 July 1915 to form part of the Flanders Flotilla of some fourteen or fifteen UB and UC boats under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl Bartenbach. At 06.40 hours on 20 August she left Bruges, having taken on board her cargo of mines, and passed through Zeebrugge lock, and down the Belgian coast. At 22.20 hours she crossed the Dover net barrage, by No.3 buoy, on the surface at full speed. In so doing, UC-5 was the first mine-laying submarine to penetrate the Strait.

STUCK IN THE SAND

The following day UC-5 laid a run of six mines off Boulogne, which resulted in the loss of the SS William Dawson

which struck one of these mines. UC-5 continued her run of success, sinking a total of twenty-nine ships with a combined tonnage of 36,288 tons. Her last patrol began when she left Bruges on the morning of Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. When she arrived outside Zeebrugge she spotted a Royal Navy monitor and six destroyers off the coast and so turned back. The following day UC-5 made another attempt to break out into the Channel but, after travelling for a few hours, came across a line of British anti-submarine nets and so turned back once again. She finally left Zeebrugge on Wednesday morning and succeeded in passing under the nets, the crew reporting that they heard the nets scraping along the top of the boat. The U-boat continued to travel throughout the day, sometimes on the surface and at other times submerged. Then, at midnight on 27 April 1916, she ran aground.

THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5

In a bid to lighten the boat so that she could be refloated, every nonessential item was thrown overboard, including lead pigs from the keel. Surfacing, at around 06.00 hours, she bumped along the bottom until, about three hours later she ran directly onto the sands of a long narrow shoal called the Shipwash, which is about ten miles off Harwich. Oberleutnant zur See Mohrbutter tried to free UC-5 with his engine and then by throwing overboard anything else that could be disposed of but, despite every effort to refloat his command, Mohrbutter had to accept that she was irrevocably trapped and he destroyed his logs, war diary, signal books and navigation charts. He then laid six or seven explosive charges in preparation for destroying his boat. Having done all he felt he could, Mohrbutter ordered his crew to go on deck, where they stood around waiting for whatever would happen next. 

LEFT: The White Ensign flies over the German ensign on UC-5 before it was put on public display in London. (US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

In August 1915 the German mine-laying submarine UC-5 broke through the Royal Navy’s cordon into the English Channel to sow her deadly cargo. It was the first in a series of patrols which ended not back in Kiel, but in New York’s Central Park! Robert Mitchell explains.

www.britainatwar.com 81

THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5 RIGHT: The conning tower of UC-5 pictured low down in the water, possibly after the first of the recovery cables snapped.

BELOW: Naval personnel during the initial work to recover UC-5 on the Shipwash Shoal. Note the gratings over the mine chambers. (ALL IMAGES HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

FIREDRAKE TO THE RESCUE

What happened next was that a section of the Royal Navy’s Harwich Submarine Flotilla was out of harbour that day on a torpedo training exercise when one of the flotilla’s tenders, the Acheron-class destroyer HMS Firedrake, spotted something in the distance, on the Shipwash Shoal (also referred to as Shipwash Sand in some accounts). The captain of HMS Firedrake, Commander Aubrey Thomas Tillard, decided to investigate. A contemporaneous report described the events that followed: ‘The ‘Firedrake’ approached her, the German crew were seen to be standing on her upper deck, which was awash, and holding up their hands. When the destroyer got still nearer, the Germans jumped into the water and were soon picked up by the destroyer’s boats, which had been lowered for the purpose. It was thought that all the men had been brought on board the ‘Firedrake’, when a man was observed to hurry up to the submarine’s deck from below. He shouted and waved his hands frantically, and then jumped overboard. He was picked up and brought off, but volunteered no information as to what he had been doing before he had left his ship.’

Exactly what this man had been doing became abundantly clear a few moments later when seven explosions of differing strength were heard and bits of bedding and other articles and volumes of brown smoke were seen to be pouring out of her conning tower. Oberleutnant Mohrbutter had ordered UC-5’s demolition charges to be fired.

A DIRTY TRICK

An early historian of the Harwich force, E.F. Knight wrote in anger of this action in the vocabulary of the time: ‘It was a dirty trick to play after a surrender. Had the explosions occurred a few minutes later, we should probably have lost some of our own men, as boats were about to put off to the submarine with a boarding party. ‘If the case had been reversed, and the crew of a British stranded ship had done this thing, the Germans would undoubtedly have shot them, had there been any left to shoot; for probably shell and machine-gun fire would have been playing upon our men both before they had abandoned the ship and afterwards while they were in the water.’1 When some of the crew of UC-5 were later interrogated it was revealed that the men had been instructed to do as much damage as they could to instruments. However, despite the explosive charges and the extensive damage done by the crew, UC-5 was still largely intact. This was the first German submarine that had been captured. Its seizure 82 www.britainatwar.com

offered the Royal Navy the chance to examine her and learn all they could about it and, through the interrogation of the crew, how she and the other boats of the Flanders Flotilla operated. After waiting for a period of time in case more charges had been laid, Commander Tillard sent TorpedoLieutenant Paterson and two other officers aboard to ascertain her condition. Because of damage to her hull caused by the explosions it was found that a proper, and much safer, investigation could only be carried out at low water, so the party returned to wait upon the tide. Consequently, two hours later, when the tide had fallen, Paterson and his party again visited the ship. UC-5 was found to be full of mines and had been badly holed by the explosions, with water surging about inside. It was also noted that revolver rounds had been fired at some of the instruments to destroy them. Understandably, the Admiralty was very anxious to salvage UC-5. As the survey continued, it revealed the extent of the damage. It was found that the most powerful demolition charge had been the one placed against the after bulkhead of the mining room. This had blown off the watertight door and wrecked the adjacent bulkhead and the top of the battery on the port side. Another large explosion had occurred in the after main ballast tank. This blew out the Kingstone valve (a seacock fitted in the bottom of a ship’s

THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5

plating that connects the sea to the ship’s piping and storage tanks) and a section of the hull. There was more. A smaller device had been placed at the bottom of the periscope, which, when detonated, blew off the instrument’s eyepiece. Further damage was done to the periscope, whilst a third charge destroyed the motor and controller of the periscope lifting mechanism. Another charge had been placed close to the wireless equipment, and when this exploded it damaged the gear and made a few holes in the hull. The remaining two charges had been positioned under the yokes of the main

motors in the bilge. These cracked the yoke castings in some places, damaged the windings on both motors’ armatures, and blew a large hole in the hull at the bottom. It was evident to Paterson and his team that the U-boat could not be simply towed into harbour; proper salvage equipment would be needed.

ANOTHER ENEMY TRAP

A salvage officer and divers were duly sent from Harwich to carry out the preliminary work and prepare the captured U-boat as far as possible for the next stage of the recovery operation. This was to be overseen

by Commodore Young RNR of the Admiralty Salvage Department. The remaining mines in UC-5’s cargo still presented a serious danger, and Lieutenant Paterson was assigned as mine adviser to the salvage team. E.F Knight continued with his description of Paterson’s investigation: ‘First, exercising due caution, he made a careful examination of the wreck, which resulted in the discovery of what appears to have been the other Hun trap. He found that two of the mines had been loosed and were projecting through the bottom of the mine-tubes. Had attempts been made to raise the submarine, the mines would 

ABOVE: UC-5 alongside the tug that helped transport it up the Thames to Temple Pier. BELOW: Two views of UC-5 alongside one of the salvage lighters deployed by Commodore Young RNR of the Admiralty Salvage Department.

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THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5

have fallen out, and their explosion would probably have annihilated the submarine, the salvage ships, and those engaged in the salvage work.’ That this was seemingly an intentional effort to destroy the vessel if attempts should be made to salvage it appears to have been confirmed by the story of one of the German prisoners who was on the depot ship Pandora. This PoW claimed that he

ABOVE: Members of the public viewing UC-5.

had some important information to relay to the man in charge of the recovery operation. Paterson went to see this individual who told the lieutenant that he had been well treated by his captors and in return he wanted to warn them against undertaking any salvage operations because ‘a trap had been laid to blow up those who should undertake this task’. Whether by accident or design it meant further delay; and with each passing day the stability of the submarine, still stranded on the Shipwash Shoal, was threatened by the pounding of the waves. Paterson ordered all salvage operations to be suspended until these mines had been made safe. To assist him with this task he was provided with a ‘daring’ naval diver. The work was difficult and dangerous. It was found that the two projecting mines could not be drawn back into the tubes, so they were secured where they were with wire in such a way that they could not fall out; though, of course, there still remained the possibility of their being exploded by the ship’s continual, and often violent bumping on the sand. The upper mines were then rendered safe by the removal of the acid tubes from the horns but it was impossible to do this with the lower mines, so they remained active.2 

LEFT: A newspaper clipping which shows Major General Hughes climbing out of UC-5 at Temple Pier. At the time he commented, ‘I only wish we had a thousand of them’.

LEFT: UC-5 tied alongside Temple Pier, with two of the mines it carried displayed on deck.

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THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5

then emptied, and her outer tanks were filled with water, which acted as a counterweight. This time Young’s scheme worked and UC-5 was raised and taken off safely. Seventeen days after she was seized by the Royal Navy, UC-5 was towed into Harwich harbour and placed in a dry dock where she was examined and reconditioned.

‘UNION JACK FLYING PROUDLY’

The propaganda effect of having salvaged the captured U-boat was not lost on the authorities. Once brought into port, a lucky few had an early opportunity to examine her further, including a number of reporters. ‘She lies now in an East Coast harbour, the Union Jack flying proudly at her masthead above the German ensign,’

ABOVE: The postcard that, authorised by the Admiralty, was handed out to those who paid to visit UC-5 in London. RIGHT: The centre section of UC-5 being transported from New York Dockyard towards Central Park. (US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

BELOW: Preparations continue for the grand unveiling of the captured U-boat in New York. (US LIBRARY

SINKING IN THE MUD

Despite the danger that the active mines presented, the recovery began. In the time that had been lost UC-5 had sunk deeper into the quicksand of the Shipwash and the Harwich salvage equipment was not powerful enough to pull the submarine free. So UC-5 was lashed to a lighter with a six-and-ahalf-inch wire passed round her in four areas at low tide. As the tide rose the lighter pulled the wreck slowly from the sand, but then the wires broke, and back the submarine fell to the sea bottom. Everyone braced themselves for the inevitable explosion, but fortunately the mines did not detonate. For the next attempt Commodore Young used nine-inch wire. Again at low tide the wreck was secured to a lighter, though a larger vessel was used this time that was capable of lifting 500 tons. The lighter’s near tanks were

OF CONGRESS)

86 www.britainatwar.com

THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5

wrote one. ‘A coat of grey paint, and “U.C.” in large white letters on her side, make her, externally at any rate, quite the ship she was before her adventure. Inside she still bears the marks of the rough handling she received from the explosion [sic]. “Seems to have laid about him with a hatchet,” said a naval officer who guided me into the entrails of the U-boat, when, with other newspaper men, I paid the little boat a visit under Admiralty surveillance one day this week … ‘What could not be done in a confined space with an axe had been performed as effectively and with less effort by the simple process of firing a revolver at things to be destroyed. The explosive charges had blasted a hole in the bulkhead amidships, and I went forward and groped amongst the six mine tubes which pierce the ship from deck to keel, and which occupy almost all the space in the front half of the ship. There appeared to be just enough room for a man to sit beside a tube, press the lever which the two mines it carried, and then to pass aft and discharge the remaining ten in succession.

‘The cramped hold abaft the conning tower, freed as it was of most of its mechanism, yet appeared to offer miserably inadequate accommodation for the seventeen crew and five officers we were assured even this small type of submarine carries. … Coated with rust and a sediment left by muddy water, the interior of U.C.5 is not now an inspiring spectacle. The lot of her crew before their capture has only to be imagined to inspire almost pity. It is impossible to stand erect at any point, and life in such a craft, with long periods of submersion, must become practically intolerable.’3

‘Thousands of Londoners went to the Temple Pier yesterday to see the captured German mine-laying submarine U.C. 5,’ noted one reporter the following day.4 ‘The gates of the Pier were to be opened at 10 o’clock in the morning, but long before that hour visitors were standing in a queue waiting for admission, and though, when the time came, they were passed through as rapidly as possible the queue grew longer and longer until it stretched several hundred yards along the Embankment almost to Blackfriars bridge. ‘Dr. Macnamara [the Financial Secretary to the Admiralty], in a grey frock coat and silk hat, stood on the pier for some time watching the visitors with the pride of a successful showman. Among the early callers were Prince Andrew of Greece and the Speaker of the House of Commons.

LEFT: A close-up of UC-5’s conning tower during the time it was exhibited in Central Park. (US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

BELOW: Eager visitors file into UC-5 to examine its interior. (US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

ON PUBLIC DISPLAY

Once the Royal Navy had finished its work, and everything possible had been gleaned from UC-5, the decision was taken to place it on public display. For this reason, UC-5 was taken up the Thames to London’s Temple Pier lashed to the tug Princess and towed by the tug Bruno. Arriving on Monday, 24 July 1916, it was officially paraded before the British people two days later.

‘Bluejackets with fixed bayonets were posted on an enclosed portion of the pier, and as each person passed the turnstile he or she received from a petty officer a souvenir postcard, issued by authority of the Admiralty, showing in section the internal arrangements of the vessel. With this, and a close view of so much of the exterior of the submarine as was above the waterline, the sightseers had to be content. ‘During the morning a fee of 6d. was charged for admission to the pier, half-price being charged for the rest of the day. The crowd paid the money all the more cheerfully for the knowledge that it would go into the coffers of 

LEFT: A picture of the ceremony during which UC-5 was officially unveiled to the people of New York. Note the presence of the British tank, ‘fresh from the battlefields of Flanders’. (US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

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THE LONGEST VOYAGE German Submarine UC-5 RIGHT: A ceremonial ‘christening’ of UC-5 in Central Park on 25 October 1916, during which the submarine was dubbed ‘U-Buy-A-Bond’. (US LIBRARY

OF CONGRESS)

BELOW: UC-5 playing its part in American war loan, or Liberty Loan, drive following the unveiling ceremony. (US LIBRARY

OF CONGRESS)

naval charities, and some of them gave more than the bare fee. Soldiers and sailors were admitted free and they were prominent in the waiting crowds. Men, women, and children of all classes were there, including not a few of the ministers who are attending the Wesleyan Conference in London.’ The numbers who arrived to see the captured submarine on that first day were staggering, as the same account went on to describe: ‘By midday it was stated that people were passing the turnstiles at the rate of about 1,200 an hour, and as the stream did not slacken for a moment until the closing hour of 9 o’clock the day’s total was probably well over 10,000. During the dinner hour, and, later, soon after the time when most City offices close, the flow was at its largest, and a number of special constables went to the assistance of the police in marshalling the crowd. The only privileged people who escaped the tedium of waiting were several parties of wounded soldiers, who were admitted immediately on their arrival.’ It was originally intended that UC-5 would remain on display at Temple Pier for two weeks. Such was the demand for viewings, however, that this was extended by a further seven days until the evening of Tuesday,

NOTES

1. Quoted in E.F. Knight, The Harwich Naval Forces: Their Part in the Great War (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1919). 2. For their part in the work on UC-5 Paterson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the naval diver the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. 3. Yorkshire Evening Post, 21 July 1916. 4. The Times, 27 July 1916. 5. The Daily Gazette, Middlesbrough, 12 August 1916.

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15 August. By the time the attraction closed at the end of play on Friday, 11 August, no less than 206,861 people had visited, raising over £3,000.5

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

When plans to exhibit UC-5 in other ports around the UK, such as Liverpool, were abandoned (aside from a short period on show alongside the Municipal Pier in Chatham), thoughts turned to the submarine’s fate. Cut into three sections, the U-boat was transported across the Atlantic and by the end of October had been reassembled in the sheep pasture in New York’s Central Park. On the 25th of the month she was the subject of another official unveiling, as the New York Tribune noted the following day: ‘There were at least 50,000 willing assistants on hand yesterday afternoon

when Miss Rita Jollvet tugged at a tangled rope on the conning tower of the UC-5 and started the German colors from the mast of the former mine layer toward an inconspicuous spot in the dust. But their services were not needed for anything but the shouting. This they did so lustily, led by Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, and Rear Admiral Usher, commandant of the New York Navy Yard, that the programme was held up for several minutes. ‘In the meantime the American flag and the British Union Jack had been floated from the upper structure of the submarine, and it was formally in the service of the Allies. Its immediate duty, however, was that of selling bonds, not slaying. A few minutes later a businesslike painter in much-bedaubed overalls stepped out upon the narrow platform of the conning tower and, without any attempt at ceremony, began painting out the letters “UC-5” with broad strokes of a brush filled with black paint. As soon as his intention became obvious he was greeted with a second outburst of cheers.’ It was in Central Park that UC-5 ended its final, and longest, voyage, eventually being considered surplus to requirements and scrapped. 

A O NVA I L AN W AB D IN LE N KIN DO O DL WS W EF 8 IRE

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HE ICONIC Black Horse that is today associated with Lloyds Bank owes its origins to Messrs. Barnetts, Hoares & Co who had once occupied the premises taken over by the bank as its headquarters in 1677. It was in August 1940 that the Board of Directors of Lloyds initiated a scheme to raise funds for a presentation Spitfire to gift to the RAF. In just five days enough money had been raised to buy one-and-a-half Spitfires with an average of 12 /- being donated by each employee. This was a not inconsiderable individual contribution for the day and perhaps reflected the sense of duty,

BLACK HORSE Spitfire Project pride and patriotism that had been widely engendered in the public by the heroic efforts of the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Eventually, £7,107 was raised by Lloyds staff and these funds went towards the purchase of a Spitfire Mk IIa, P8148, a Spitfire that would go on to carry the sign of the Black Horse.

RUDOLF HESS

Spitfire P8148, built at Castle Bromwich, was delivered to the RAF at 45 Maintenance Unit, Kinloss, on 15 March 1941 where it was prepared for delivery to 72 Squadron on 3 May at RAF Acklington, Northumberland, and it was from here that ‘Black Horse’ took part in routine and standing patrols

over the north east coast, guarding against incursions from Luftwaffe raiders potentially attacking land targets and shipping. Its time with the squadron, however, was somewhat limited following its first flight with the squadron on 24 May in the hands of Sgt E W Perkins. On 11 June, again in the hands of Sgt Perkins, the pilot made a perfect belly landing at RAF Acklington when the undercarriage failed to lower. Despite the damage sustained, the Spitfire was repairable and the generous donation of the Lloyds Bank employees was saved by skilful piloting by Sgt Perkins. Perhaps though, by the narrowest of time margins, P8148 missed out on being involved in a dramatic sortie to intercept the 

MAIN PICTURE: The Black Horse Spitfire is prepared for delivery to the RAF in early May 1941. (PETER ARNOLD COLLECTION)

BLACK HORSE

SPITFIRE PROJECT When the staff of Lloyds Bank contributed to their own Presentation Spitfire for the RAF in the dark days of 1940 it was inevitable that the aircraft would be called ‘The Black Horse’. That Spitfire was eventually lost in 1942, and to mark both the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and 200 years of Lloyds Bank a project was mounted to recover the wreckage. Andy Saunders reports.

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BLACK HORSE Spitfire Project

MAIN PICTURE: Mark Postlethwaite's painting of Spitfire P8148 flying low over the Northumberland coastline while serving with 72 Squadron in 1941.

Messerschmitt 110 being flown to Scotland on 10 May 1941 by Rudolf Hess. In the event, it was a Spitfire flown by Sgt Maurice Pocock of 72 Sqn which was sent off on what would be a fruitless hunt for the Deputy Nazi Leader’s aircraft. It wasn’t, yet, ‘Black Horse’s’ day.

TOP RIGHT: Identity card made out for William Johnston while travelling to the USA.

After repair, Spitfire P8148 was re-allocated to 452 (Australian) Sqn at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, on 7 July, and just in time to join the squadron as

‘BLACK HORSE’ GETS A MESSERSCHMITT

it moved south to RAF Kenley in the more active 11 Group area of Fighter Command. Here, it saw action over Northern France in the numerous sorties flown as ‘Circus’ missions; small formations of bombers escorted by large numbers of RAF fighters and it was on one such operation, flown on 26 August, that ‘Black Horse’ got its one and only confirmed ‘kill’ – a Messerschmitt 109 shot down when the fighter was being flown by Sgt A R Stuart. At last, P8148 had acquitted itself in combat although such details were never conveyed to the donors at

Lloyds Bank despite the fact that such information would doubtless have been a considerable morale booster. Nevertheless, P8148 continued to give sterling service with 452 Sqn, and during this time it ended up being flown on occasion by two famous fighter ‘aces’, ‘Paddy’ Finucane and ‘Bluey’ Truscott - albeit that neither pilot scored any individual successes in the ‘Black Horse’ Spitfire before the aircraft was again allocated to another squadron, this time 610 Sqn at RAF Westhampnett. From here, P8148 continued to fly the same routine of operational sorties until, in October 1941, the squadron was withdrawn to RAF Leconfield for a seven month rest after nine gruelling months on front line operations.

MORE MISHAPS RIGHT: A group of pilots on the Operational Training Unit where Sgt Johnston had such a narrow escape from death.

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After the landing accident on 11 June, ‘Black Horse’ continued to lead something of a charmed life, having survived operations and combat, before another landing accident on 2 October when the fighter ran off the runway in a cross-wind and tipped onto its nose. The pilot, Sgt C R K Fry was unhurt and held not to be responsible for the accident. Luckily, the damage was relatively slight but

BLACK HORSE Spitfire Project

after minor repairs it was deemed that ‘Black Horse’ had seen out its useful life as a front-line fighter. After nine months, P8148 was becoming what the Americans would later term ‘war-weary’ and this state of affairs, coupled with newer Spitfire Vs coming into service, resulted in the fighter being deemed no longer fit for front-line fighter service.

Instead, the airframe was allocated to an Operational Training Unit where would-be fighter pilots would learn their ‘trade’ on Spitfires before being posted to operational squadrons. In this role, P8418 would continue to have an eventfully busy life, first with 61 OTU based at RAF Heston from 15 December and, later, with 57 OTU at RAF Aston Down. Here, on 9

May, the Spitfire ended up on its belly once again when Sgt M Clifford forced-landed the fighter following engine failure on 9 May 1942. Again, P8148 had escaped; battered, bruised but, ultimately, patched up and back to work. Her day was not yet done, although this particular equine beauty was not long for the proverbial knacker’s yard. 

ABOVE: Sgt Johnston's flying log book. BELOW: P8148 checks: A standard image presented to aircraft donors in the Presentation Aircraft scheme.

'Black Horse continued to lead something of a charmed life, having survived operations and combat,'

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BLACK HORSE Spitfire Project

TOP LEFT: An identification plate recovered from the wreckage of the Black Horse Spitfire. TOP RIGHT: A general view of the excavation with Dan Snow watching proceedings. RIGHT: The remarkably intact Merlin engine.

FINAL FLIGHT

Returned to service with the Operational Training Unit, P8148 carried on with its important duty of interception practices, battle climbs, formation flying and cross country exercises as new fighter pilots were prepared for postings to their units. One such was Sgt William James Johnston of Tiperrary, Ireland. As a national of the neutral Irish Republic, Johnston had no obligation to serve but volunteered for and was accepted for pilot training. It was, though, training which almost came to an unfortunate and tragic end on 12 July 1942 when his aircraft collided in mid-air over Draycott, Somerset, with another presentation aircraft, P8278, the ‘Enfield Spitfire’ flown by a Sgt Roberts. Both pilots survived, but Johnston was forced to bale-out of the ‘Black Horse’ and was lucky to escape with is life as he parachuted into a meadow, with the Spitfire plunging into the ground a short distance away. The gift of the Lloyds Bank employees had ended its days.

RIGHT: The RollsRoyce Merlin XII engine data plate.

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Johnston, however, evaded capture and eventually made it back to his squadron before being commissioned on 11 December 1944 and, ultimately, dismissed from the RAF on 16 June 1945. He died in South Africa in 1985, although the story of his ‘Black Horse’ Spitfire was not yet quite over.

DISCOVERY AND RECOVERY

Luckier was Sgt Johnston, who was flying Spitfires again later that very same day before going on to finish his training and becoming an operational fighter pilot until he was shot down in Spitfire MJ190 and initially being posted ‘missing’ over Italy in 1944.

During 2010, aviation archaeology enthusiast Gareth Jones managed to track down a witness of the crash who showed him the field at Draycott where ‘Black Horse’ had come to grief. Here, metal detecting pinpointed the exact spot although it was not until July 2015 that a full-scale recovery operation was mounted for the benefit of the cameras in a film made for Lloyds Bank and presented by TV historian Dan Snow. Present to watch the proceedings, and the end of the saga of ‘Black Horse’, were present day members of the Lloyds Bank Board of Directors who watched as archaeologists carefully recovered the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and assorted other pieces of wreckage from the soft soil. In a remarkable state of preservation, the engine was found lying on its port side, and pointing upwards towards the surface at little more than four metres. Now, 75 years after Lloyds Bank staff paid for the Spitfire, the recovered engine is being prepared for display at the London HQ of Lloyds. The story of ‘Black Horse’ has gone full-circle. 

HOLDING THE CROSSROADS Operation Market Garden

HOLDING THE CROSSROADS In the grounds of a generous-sized house at the junction of two major roads in Oosterbeek, to the west of Arnhem, is a memorial to the 21st Independent Parachute Company. It was here that dwindling numbers of this elite unit helped hold the Germans at bay during the last few crucial days of Market Garden. BELOW: Lieutenant Colonel W.F.K. ‘Sheriff’ Thompson (second left with the two haversacks), the Commander of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment, helps to unload equipment from a damaged Horsa glider on LZ-Z, prior to moving off.

A

T 12.40 hours on the afternoon of Sunday, 17 September 1944, the men of the 21st Independent Parachute Company, under the command of Major Bernard ‘Boy’ Wilson, jumped from twelve Short Stirlings into the skies over Arnhem. These soldiers were the vanguard of the forces that were tasked with capturing the bridges at Arnhem, the ‘Pathfinders’ who would mark the landing and drop zones in advance of the main landings. Wilson’s men carried out their task with speed and precision. Just nineteen minutes later the first elements of the main force began arriving in the form of the glider-borne troops of the 1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery. Over

the next few hours everything that an invading army would need poured into the area around the capital of the Dutch province of Gelderland – either by glider or under a parachute. From then on, however, little else went well for the British 1st Airborne Division. Fierce resistance by German forces, far more numerous, better equipped and organised than had been anticipated, had prevented most of the airborne troops reaching the Arnhem road bridge. Only elements of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost’s 2nd Parachute Battalion and a few men from other units had penetrated as far as the bridge and these were soon cut off and isolated from the rest of Major General Roy Urquhart’s division.

Unable to reach the bridge and facing severe and mounting opposition, Urquhart decided to concentrate his division and form a defensive perimeter around the village of Oosterbeek a little more than two miles from Arnhem, the object being to hold out there until the ground forces of the British XXX Corps arrived to support and relieve the lightly-armed airborne troops.

IN THE PERIMETER

The men of the various parachute battalions and other support troops manned the perimeter which day after day slowly shrank, whilst casualties mounted. The 21st Independent Parachute Company, which (with mixed forces of Poles, Glider Pilot Regiment men and Royal Engineers) took on what would normally be reckoned a battalion frontage, in the perimeter’s north-west corner. To its right were the remnants of the King’s Own Scottish Borders (KSOB). On one occasion, these positions were visited by Major General Urquhart. ‘On one of my trips,’ noted Urquhart, ‘I went up to see Boy Wilson and his Independent Company 96 www.britainatwar.com

HOLDING THE CROSSROADS

Operation Market Garden

MAIN PICTURE: The Arnhem operation begins. Here the landings on 17 September 1944 are pictured underway. This is the scene at Landing Zone ‘Z’ near the village of Wolfheze. Sergeant Ron Kent of the 21st Independent Parachute Company recalled his unit’s tasks that day: ‘One DZ [Drop Zone] and two LZs [Landing Zone] were to be marked. DZ ‘X’ for the reception of 1st Parachute Brigade was the task of No.1 Platoon. No.1 Section was detailed to do the actual marking with panels spelling out the ‘X’ and a ‘T’ for wind direction as well as the working of the Eureka beacon and smoke canisters … No.2 Platoon had the task of marking LZ ‘Z’ for the glider landing of support elements of 1st Parachute Brigade.’ (ALL IMAGES HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

BOTTOM RIGHT: Paratroopers from the Pathfinders of 3 Platoon, 21st Independent Parachute Company prepare to board Short Stirling IVs of 620 Squadron (including QS-V and QS-W) at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, on the morning of 17 September 1944. ‘At 10.00 hours on that fine Sunday morning,’ recalled Ron Kent, ‘the Company took off … We had never jumped from Stirlings before.’ (R.S.G. MACKAY)

who held a number of houses in a heavily wooded district. I wanted to see how he was doing …’ The Major General’s arrival, however, was badly timed, coming as it did just as the Germans were launching an attack. ‘Suddenly we found ourselves in the

middle of a vigorous dispute between the Independent Company and some SS men,’ continued Urquhart. ‘From the slit trenches on the roadside, faces appeared and men shouted and gesticulated. I braked hard and, with Roberts, made an undignified dive into a ditch. We

had run between the lines: the ride was No Man’s Land. As little was to be gained by staying put, I decided to make a run for it to the house occupied by Wilson some fifty yards away on a slightly wooded rise.’ This building was undoubtedly that named ‘Ommershof’. 

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HOLDING THE CROSSROADS Operation Market Garden

Hotel Schoonhord (in turn located on the south-east side of the crossroads) which was being used as a Casualty Clearing Station. The rest of the Company remained to the south of the main road and the platoons took up positions in houses in the Paasberg and Peitersberge roads. Company HQ was established in a doctor’s house with its garden forming the apex of the triangular junction of the two roads. ABOVE: The trooper drinking is Sergeant Jim Travis of No.1 Platoon, 21st Independent Parachute Company. He had broken a bone in his wrist shortly before Market Garden, but had insisted on accompanying his unit, jumping with his arm in a plaster and wearing a sling. RIGHT: View from the north: Drop Zone ‘X’. BELOW: A Sturmhaubitze 42, a variant of Sturmgeschütz III equipped with a 105mm gun, edges its way cautiously past a discarded British supply parachute in Weverstraat, 23 September 1944. (BUNDESARCHIV,

BILD 183-J27759/ CC-BY-SA)

‘German snipers also operated from vantage points in concealed positions both in front and behind the houses. To go outside was always precarious in daylight. A bullet might be expected from almost any direction. If it can be said that there was a front, it was the street outside the front door and in many cases the enemy were the immediate neighbours in and around the houses opposite.’ Most of the men were by now down to eating their emergency ration, a golden tin of hard concentrated chocolate. From the cellars, jars of preserved fruit and jam were taken sparingly with whatever remained of

MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK

It was clear that this sector could no longer be held and orders were issued for the Independent Parachute Company to fall back to the 4th Parachute Brigade area around the Hotel Hartenstein. Because of the proximity of the enemy, this move had to be undertaken at night on 22 September, as Sergeant Ron Kent later recalled: ‘The Company moved off. It was a pitch-dark night and in order to maintain contact each man had to hold on to the tail of the parachutist’s camouflaged smock of the man in front. The move was made with great caution and with the minimum of noise. The Company was still the coherent force it had always been. It knew not quite where it might find itself at dawn nor what the day ahead might bring. For some, it brought death; for others, wounds and captivity; still others, survived and gained MMs, MCs, DCMs, and DSOs. Some were to earn, but not receive, VCs.’ No.1 Platoon crossed to the north of the main Utrecht-Arnhem road and entered houses on Stationsweg, including the one on the north-west corner of the crossroads with the Utrechtsweg, diagonally opposite the

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Most of the Company now had a roof over their heads for the first time since the action began. They also had daily contact with civilians, for most of the houses had cellars where the local population hid for days on end, only coming up for a bit of fresh air after dark. ‘The platoons settled down to make their new “homes” as battle worthy as possible,’ continued Ron Kent. ‘Some with suitable front gardens had men dig in outside under hedgerows. In most cases, however, in order to gain a better field of fire ground floor windows were ignored, shutters closed and front doors locked and bolted, a sentry placed on the back door; then the first floor frontage was prepared as a Bren gun position, with all glass shattered and removed and furniture and bedding wedged in the window frames as some sort of cover behind which to operate. Snipers and other riflemen were put into roof attics, front and rear.

the hard biscuits. The water situation was desperate since the Germans had cut off the supply. It was a grim first day in the houses of Oosterbeek, but was were to follow. On the morning of the 24th it was seen that the Casualty Clearing Station had been captured by the Germans. According to Ron Kent, there was now a hard core defence of Stationsweg, held by No.1 Platoon with glider pilots on their left; Private Avallone, operating a Bren gun of No.1 Platoon, had died at the crossroads whilst positioned behind an oak tree in the grounds of the Villa Quatre Bras.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

In fact Major Wilson had been worried about the state of the Bren guns which were crucial to the Independent Parachute Company’s survival. They had certainly been overworked and he was afraid that the barrels would

HOLDING THE CROSSROADS

Operation Market Garden

“bomb happy” – to whom nothing mattered anymore.’ Ron Kent explained what he saw of the men who faced death every moment of every hour, day after day: ‘There were instances in which the nerves of men had broken, their resistance and self-control snapped and who could no longer think straight. There were those whom no inducement could make come out of the cellars and face the constant barrage as others were doing.’ In the planning for Market Garden it had been assumed that XXX Corps would reach Arnhem three days after the start of the operation. 

wear out (though each gun had a spare barrel) and that the gas valves would become corroded with accumulated residues. So Sergeant Nick Carter the armourer, constantly went around checking the guns and putting them right. A lot of the trouble was due to dust from shattered buildings and recoil springs had to be cleaned frequently. It was this attention to detail, even

LEFT: Local resident Tonia Verbeek hands a glass of water to Private Vernon Smith. Aged 21, Smith would be killed in action on 22 September. BELOW: The Villa Quatre Bras; in its grounds is the memorial to the men of the 21st Independent Parachute Company.

(COURTESY OF PIM VAN TEND)

under the most difficult of conditions, that was literally life-saving. The situation, though, was becoming increasingly desperate as attack followed attack. Each attack was repelled, but each time it cost more lives. General Urquhart wrote of the effect this had upon the men. ‘In some cases,’ he said, ‘it was instinctive resistance. In others, the last instalments of will power were dredged. There were some who were

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HOLDING THE CROSSROADS Operation Market Garden RIGHT: Men of the 1st Airborne Divisional Workshops, the division’s small Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers detachment, rest in the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel during a brief respite in the bitter fighting on 22 September 1944 – the same day that the men of the 21st Independent Parachute Company pulled back towards the hotel. In the background is the tennis court where the PoWs were held. RIGHT: A scene of desolation. Damaged or unserviceable Jeeps and associated trailers and equipment lie abandoned in the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel on 24 September 1944.

BELOW: The 21st Independent Parachute Company Memorial at Oosterbeek. It can be seen by visitors in the grounds of the house named Villa Quatre Bras. (COURTESY

OF PIM VAN TEND)

By 24 September, D+7, XXX Corps had still not been able to break through to Arnhem or cross the Lower Rhine. Urquhart’s men had, somehow, held on for five days longer than was expected of them and it had become apparent that if the battered and bloodied remnants of the 1st Airborne Division were not evacuated soon the entire force would be wiped out.

Monday, 25 September – the ninth day of fighting – started no differently from any of the past few days. After a quiet, uneventful night, shelling and mortaring started up at a very reasonable hour. ‘One gained the impression,’ Ron Kent observed, ‘that the enemy observed a working day and then cleared off and went to bed’. This seemingly relaxed approach by the Germans in fact indicated that they feared heavy casualties in mounting direct assaults in the dark against the stubborn airborne troops. After the end of the usual bombardment, termed ‘The Morning Hate’, by the men, the left flank remained quiet during the morning, but in the afternoon the whole Company front was submitted to

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heavy bombardment and an increasing number of light phosphorous mortar bombs were fired. More houses caught fire as a result. The Germans then made an unsuccessful attempt to infiltrate into the right of the Company’s position, which ‘cost him casualties’, and an attack on the left later in the afternoon was also driven off.

FIRST IN, LAST OUT

At 16.00 hours that day a conference was held at Divisional HQ at which orders to withdraw over the Lower Rhine that night were at last given. The Independent Parachute Company was to form the rearguard. The Company which had been the first to land outside Arnhem, was to be amongst the last out. Ron Kent describes his unit’s last few moments at Oosterbeek: ‘In the houses and the school, the men waited nervously for the order to move out. Nervously, because with deliverance now so close to hand everyone was acutely conscious of the danger of being killed or wounded at the last minute. This danger had always been there but was accepted as a matter of course all the time they were expected to stay and fight. Though the thought was hardly expressed, everyone felt what bloody bad luck it would be to stop a bullet or chunk of mortar or shell at this stage.

‘Shortly after, it was time to move. One at a time men left their positions and took up their places in single file, well spaced out and made their way like silent, shadowy ghosts into the night. Moving from cover to cover, shadow to shadow, in a night lit only by the fires from the burning houses.’ The Company escaped with the loss of one officer and eleven men killed. Twenty-four were known to be wounded and assumed prisoner of war, and twenty-nine others missing and also assumed prisoner – a total of sixtyfive out of the original 186 all ranks. They may have been forced to retreat, but the attitude of the men was exemplified by the actions of one of Ron Kent’s fellow NCOs in one of the buildings his unit had occupied: ‘In the school, Stan Sullivan passed the last few minutes of waiting writing on a blackboard a message intended to encourage the Dutch who might see it and to show the Germans our defiance. “WE’LL BE BACK” he wrote.’ 

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THE FATEFUL DECISION Lord Kitchener at Gallipoli RIGHT: General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton GCB, GCMG, DSO, TD. He was wounded in the wrist in the First Boer War leaving his left hand almost useless. Also, his left leg was shorter than the right as a result of a serious injury suffered when he fell from a horse. Hamilton had twice been recommended for the Victoria Cross, but on the first occasion was considered too young, and on the second too senior.

G

ENERAL SIR Ian Hamilton, who had been in charge of the land operations on Gallipoli since the first landings in May 1915, had undertaken repeated offensives against the Turkish positions on the Peninsula, but all had failed. Hamilton’s last major attack, his August Offensive, had not really improved the situation for the British and Anzac troops and casualties had been very heavy. With winter approaching, the Liberal Asquith Government knew that it could not allow the campaign to drift aimlessly on. The Government’s concerns had also been raised by reports in the Press and from senior officers regarding the conditions the troops were had to endure. As Hamilton controlled all access to Gallipoli by journalists and monitored their reports, the truth about what was happening on

(US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

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Gallipoli had been withheld from the British public. However, the Australian reporter Keith Murdoch and Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett of the Daily Telegraph managed to smuggle out highly disturbing reports.

Hamilton was therefore asked what his opinion was of evacuating the Peninsula. He replied that, ‘It would not be wise to reckon on getting out of Gallipoli with less loss than that of half the total force ... we might be lucky and lose considerably less than I have estimated.’ Hamilton was talking here of, in the worst case scenario, of losing tens of thousands of men. This could not be allowed. Clearly another man was needed to take charge of the campaign. On 28 October 1915, Lieutenant General Sir Charles C. Monro took over command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF). He was tasked on arrival with the following: a) To report on the military situation on the Gallipoli Peninsula; b) To express an opinion whether on purely military grounds the Peninsula should be evacuated, or another attempt made to carry it. Should Monro decide that

THE FATEFUL DECISION

Lord Kitchener at Gallipoli

another attempt be made to seize the Peninsula, he was then to estimate how many troops would be needed to accomplish this task and keep the Dardanelles Strait open, and then how many troops would be required to take Constantinople.

‘EVERY POSSIBLE MILITARY DEFECT’

Monro arrived on the Greek island of Imbros, where the headquarters of the MEF and the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron were situated, and, two days later, crossed over to the Peninsula. In his report, Monro described what he saw as follows:

‘The positions occupied by our troops presented a military situation unique in history. The mere fringe of the coast line had been secured. The beaches and piers upon which they depended for all requirements in personnel and material were exposed to registered and observed artillery fire. Our entrenchments were dominated almost throughout by the Turks. The possible artillery positions were insufficient and defective. The Force, in short, held a line possessing every possible military defect.’ As Monro inspected the positions at Suvla Bay, Anzac Cove and around Cape Helles, he was shocked with what

he saw: ‘The position was without depth, the communications were insecure and dependent on the weather. No means existed for the concealment and deployment of fresh troops destined for the offensive – while the Turks enjoyed full powers of observation, abundant Artillery positions, and they had been given the time to supplement the natural advantages which the position presented by all the devices at the disposal of the Field Engineer.’ It was astonishing that the troops had been able to cling onto the narrow strips of beach that had been their only base for almost five months. 

MAIN IMAGE: Lord Kitchener surrounded by British and Australian Army soldiers at Anzac Cove. (COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; H10354)

BOTTOM: Lord Kitchener, who made the fateful decision.

THE FATEFUL

DECISION The campaign in Gallipoli had stagnated and the British Government knew that it had to choose between despatching more troops to replace the terrible losses or withdraw altogether. So Lord Kitchener was sent to Gallipoli to report.

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THE FATEFUL DECISION Lord Kitchener at Gallipoli RIGHT: Lord Kitchener shaking hands with the French Commanderin-Chief on the Dardanelles, General Brulard, soon after the Field Marshal landed on the Peninsula. BELOW: General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet of Bearcrofts GCB, GCSI, GCMG.

What Monro saw was that there was no place to where the men could go to rest and recuperate. Virtually every place on the beaches and the immediate ground, particularly at Anzac Cove, was completely overlooked by, and exposed to, Turkish artillery and sniper fire. During the hot summer, water, which was only obtainable in a few places, had been in desperately short supply, and disease had added enormously to the casualty figures. Winters on Gallipoli can be severe and the prospects for the men, living out in the open, for there was no cover and nowhere for them to find shelter, were not good at all.

ONLY ONE COURSE OF ACTION

General Monro very quickly made up his mind about what direction the campaign should take – to get the troops out as quickly as possible. He made it clear that the Turks, being on home ground, could hold onto their commanding positions indefinitely, and with comparatively few troops. This

RIGHT: A view of Lancashire Landing, or W Beach, where Field Marshal Lord Kitchener first stepped ashore on the Gallipoli Peninsula. (ALL IMAGES HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

ABOVE: During his visit to the fort at Sedd-el-Bahr, seen here from the shore of what was V Beach, Kitchener was escorted by the French commander, General Brulard.

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meant that they would be able to continue to mount operations across Arabia, and even possibly against Egypt, unaffected by what was happening on Gallipoli. Monro also made it clear that extra troops, whatever their numbers, would make no difference. The Turkish positions were far too strong to be taken, while the slender amount of ground held by the British, French, Australian and New Zealand divisions was entirely unsuitable for assembling troops to mount an offensive. Any suggestion, therefore, of completing the original objective of the operation – to capture the Ottoman capital, Constantinople – was considered by Monro to be completely out of the question. He summed up his opinion of the situation with these words: ‘Since we could not hope to achieve any purpose by remaining on the Peninsula, the appalling cost to the nation involved in consequence of embarking on an Overseas Expedition with no base available for the rapid transit of stores, supplies, and personnel, made it

urgent that we should divert the troops locked up on the Peninsula to a more useful theatre. Since therefore I could see no military advantage in our continued occupation of positions on the Peninsula … in my opinion the evacuation of the Peninsula should be taken in hand.’

HELP US DECIDE

Monro’s report – so different from those of General Hamilton which were always positive and hopeful – must have come as a shock to the Government. The idea that the Gallipoli campaign had all been in vain would be a bitter pill for people at home to swallow. That large numbers of troops, who could have been employed on the Western Front, had been wasted attacking the Turks would be hard to explain. Particularly as at the Battle of Loos, which had just ended on 14 October, it had been demonstrated that more artillery shells could well have proved decisive and led to the breakthrough that both sides sought. The shells sent to Gallipoli might have tipped the scales of victory in the British favour – not counting the 400,000 or more troops sent to Gallipoli.

THE FATEFUL DECISION

Lord Kitchener at Gallipoli

LEFT: Colonel Watson, a military landing officer on the Peninsula, and also an old friend of Lord Kitchener, explaining some details to him on his initial arrival on Gallipoli. (COURTESY OF THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; G00560)

Asquith knew that an evacuation of Gallipoli and the admission of failure, with 250,000 men killed or wounded for nothing, would shake the British people and the foundations upon which his Government rested. If it was to agree to an evacuation of Gallipoli, the Government had to be quite certain it was making the right decision, particularly as Monro's views were in direct opposition to those of his predecessor, who believed that the campaign should continue.

A second opinion was needed. Consequently, on 3 November 1915 both the War Committee and the Cabinet invited Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, ‘to go out to the Mediterranean to assist them to arrive at a decision’.

KEEPING A SECRET

Travelling on the light cruiser HMS Dartmouth, Kitchener duly arrived at Imbros. From there he proceeded to Gallipoli to visit various Anzac, British and French positions. Lieutenant General Birdwood later described Kitchener’s tour: ‘It was very necessary to preserve as secret the Field-Marshal’s presence, and it is equally needless to say that we were all deeply concerned for his

the cliff near the aerodrome,’ continued Birdwood, ‘General Davies was able to give Lord Kitchener a complete general view of the whole of the battlefield, reaching away to Achi Baba in the distance, with the village of Krithia and the lines of opposing trenches in front of it, marked out with shell bursts as clearly as by flags on a map.’ From there, Kitchener headed across into the French sector, being shown around the fort at Sedd-el-Bahr by the French commander, General Brulard. Whilst in the fort, Brulard took the opportunity to point out to Kitchener the enemy positions on the opposite side of the Strait, positions from which the Turks frequently sent ‘daily greetings’. The following day, it was the turn of the Anzac troops to be visited, the Field Marshal landing to the north personal safety. The first position to be of Gaba Tepe. ‘Somehow, as his tall visited by Lord Kitchener was that at figure strode up the jetty,’ recalled Cape Helles, where he arrived on board Birdwood, ‘the knowledge [of his H.M. Destroyer Laforey on the 12th. He presence] spread like fire in dry was met by General Davies [VIII Corps’ grass. From every dug-out on the  commanding officer], who pointed out the situation. At Cape Helles the beaches and piers were a considerable distance from Turkish observation, but this fact did not completely relieve us of all anxiety for Lord Kitchener’s safety, as heavy shells from “Asia” were always liable to be directed on incoming boats, and the beaches were fired on at irregular intervals.’ With a high wind blowing, Kitchener stepped ashore at Lancashire Landing, otherwise referred to as W Beach. ABOVE: A view of the climb that After greeting many of those present, Kitchener made up Walker’s Kitchener and his entourage climbed up Ridge to Russell’s Top. the surrounding heights. ‘From the top of

ABOVE: Lord Kitchener in the trenches at Anzac, within thirty yards of the Turkish forward trenches. General Birdwood is standing on Kitchener’s right.

(COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; G00573)

LEFT: Escorted by Lieutenant General Birdwood (right), Lord Kitchener negotiates a steep slope whilst returning from the front line in the Anzac area.

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THE FATEFUL DECISION Lord Kitchener at Gallipoli RIGHT: Lord Kitchener and other senior officers making their way back down from Walker’s Ridge. (COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; G01442M)

BELOW RIGHT: Lord Kitchener, Chief of the British General Staff, addresses officers and soldiers before leaving Anzac Cove. (COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; C01517)

BELOW: Lord Kitchener’s farewell salute after visiting Australian troops at Anzac.

(COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; A01034)

hillside tumbled Australians and New Zealanders, stumbling over scrub and sandbank, and a crowd quickly grew upon the beach and the sandy slope above it … It was quite a spontaneous demonstration, and pleased Kitchener more, I dare say, than he would have cared to show. Wherever he went, the ovation which broke out from the men was such to make one anxious lest the Turks should notice it and guess the cause. At some points, where the enemy were only a few yards away, it was with difficulty that they were prevented from cheering. The men were dressed in their ordinary working garb, and Lord Kitchener seemed unusually at home amongst this crowd of toilers … ‘The best place from which to see the greater part of Anzac and to understand it was from Russell’s Top, up the steep climb of Walker’s Ridge, and no distance from the Turkish lines themselves. Lord Kitchener went straight to the top – a climb which used to try many of those at Anzac during the hot summer – and spoke to the brigadiers and other officers when he reached the summit. He insisted on visiting several awkward corners, where his tall form was only too likely to be noticed by the Turkish snipers, who were usually very alert.’

106 www.britainatwar.com

EVACUATE

On the 14th, Kitchener’s destination was the landing beaches and positions around Suvla Bay. This time the Turks were less of a threat, though the weather did little to appease Birdwood’s ever-present anxiety: ‘The day was a rough one, blowing up for the storm which later cast nearly all the piers on the Peninsula up on the beaches, and strewed the foreshore with the wreckage of the small craft … The journey in the picket boat from the destroyer to the shore was … very difficult and slow, and left Lord Kitchener only a short time to go inland with General Byng [IX Corps’ commander], who met him and explained the situation in that area from the heights near the beach, from which an excellent view of the country was obtainable.’ Birdwood saw him evaluate his

surroundings: ‘At all three places Lord Kitchener seemed to appraise the situation at a glance. The complex and laborious defences – especially at Anzac – were certainly a surprise to him, and he repeatedly expressed admiration for the amount of good work which he saw had been put in everywhere. He remarked also that until he had actually seen the positions it was not possible for him to fully appreciate the great difficulties which had to be overcome in effecting the landing and holding on afterwards.’ Perhaps mindful of his decision, Kitchener said to small groups of troops: ‘You have done wonderfully good work here. Don’t think for a moment that you have failed.’ Following Kitchener’s departure, Birdwood wrote that ‘he came to see for himself the position of the troops whose future was under discussion. The future was fraught with many possibilities, but Lord Kitchener’s visit gave us all, as it did the whole British Empire, a feeling of complete confidence in his judgment and decision.’ Having seen Gallipoli for himself, Kitchener was perfectly placed to assess the future course of the Dardanelles campaign. Having also listened to the the men on the ground, his decision soon followed – evacuate. 

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994/15

GREAT WAR GALLANTRY

October 1915

GREAT WAR GALLANTRY OCTOBER 1915

Throughout the First World War, the many announcements of British and Commonwealth gallantry awards appeared in the various issues of The London Gazette. As part of our major monthly series covering the period of the Great War commemorations, we examine some of the actions involved and summarise all of the awards announced in October 1915.

ABOVE: The E-class submarine HMS E-11 underway in Mudros Harbour, on the Greek island of Lemnos, in 1915. Launched on 23 April 1914, the 181 feet-long E-11, with a crew of thirty, was equipped with five 18-inch torpedo tubes (two in the bow, two on the beam, and one in the stern) and a 12-pounder deck gun. (COURTESY

OF THE ROYAL NAVY

SUBMARINE MUSEUM)

J

UST OVER twenty-two per cent of the gallantry awards announced in October 1915 were for the Distinguished Service Order. Instituted on 6 September 1886, the DSO was intended to be an award that could be presented to commissioned officers below field rank (i.e. major in the Army and its equivalent in the other services) for distinguished service in time of war for which the Victoria Cross would not be appropriate. Of the forty awards listed in The London Gazette 100 years ago this month is that of Lieutenant Guy D’Oyly-Hughes, DSC. D’Oyly Hughes was part of the crew of the

108 www.britainatwar.com

E-class submarine HMS E-11,, which was commanded by LieutenantCommander Martin Eric Nasmith. On 5 August 1915, HMS E-11 set out on patrol and headed into the Sea of Marmara. It would prove an eventful patrol, but for D’OylyHughes his moment came when the submarine was tasked with attacking the Turkish rail network, and more specifically a small viaduct which carried a section of the vital Berlin-to-Baghdad railway line by the Gulf of Ismid. It was D’Oyly-Hughes who suggested that E-11 should go in as close as possible to the shore and then he, on his own, would swim to the shore with a sack  of guncotton,

walk over to the viaduct, blow it up and then swim back to the submarine. It was decided to place the demolition charge and equipment on a small raft, this being constructed of small, empty barrels with boards lashed to the sides and across the top. D’Oyly Hughes’s equipment consisted of 16¼lbs of guncotton, his clothes, a revolver, a sharpened bayonet (‘for the silent dispatch of unsuspecting sentries’), an electric torch, and a whistle – for signalling between him and the submarine. The evening of 20 August was spent preparing for the attack. E-11 duly moved off and slowly approached the shore until her nose just grounded. The point chosen was surrounded

GREAT WAR GALLANTRY October 1915

by cliffs which prevented the conning tower being observed. Lieutenant Robert Brown, E-11’s navigating officer, described what followed: ‘D’Oyly-Hughes dropped into the water abreast the Conning Tower and pushed the raft conveying the charge to a spot some sixty yards off the port quarter. The cliffs proved unscaleable [sic] at the first point of landing and he re-launched the raft and swam along the coast ’till a less precipitous spot was reached. Here, after a stiff climb, the top was arrived at. Half-an-hour later, after a careful advance he reached the railway line. ‘He then proceeded very slowly with the charge towards the viaduct, keeping a little above the line of the northern side. Having advanced some five or six hundred yards, voices were heard ahead and, shortly afterwards, three men were observed sitting by the side of the line talking quite loudly.

‘After watching them for some time he decided to leave the charge which was very heavy and cumbersome and go forward, making a wide detour inland to inspect the viaduct. This detour was successfully carried out, the only incident being an unfortunate fall into a small farmyard, disturbing the poultry, but not rousing the household. ‘From a distance of about 300 yards the viaduct could easily be seen … He decided that it was impossible to destroy the viaduct so he returned to the demolition charge and looked for a convenient spot to blow up the line. He found a low brickwork support over a small hollow and placed the charge underneath. Unfortunately it was not more than 150 yards from the three men sitting by the line but there was no other spot where so much damage could be done. He muffled the fuze pistol as tightly as possible with a piece LEFT: One of the thirteen VCs announced in October 1915 was that awarded to Second Lieutenant Hugo Throssell. The son of a former Premier of Western Australia, Throssell was a member of the 10th Australian Light Horse which fought in a dismounted role at Gallipoli. He was involved in both the famous charge of the 10th Light Horse during the Battle of the Nek and the Battle of Hill 60, where his actions saw him being awarded the Victoria Cross. During that battle Throssell was severely wounded a number of times, but he refused to leave his post or to seek medical attention until the enemy attack had been beaten off. As soon as his wounds were dressed he went back out into the firing line until he was ordered out of the fighting by the Medical Officer. His determination saved his battalion at a critical moment in the battle. (10TH LIGHT HORSE REGIMENT COLLECTION)

GALLANTRY AWARDS GAZETTED IN OCTOBER 1915 Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross* Air Force Cross* Distinguished Conduct Medal Conspicuous Gallantry Medal Distinguished Service Medal Military Medal* Distinguished Flying Medal* Air Force Medal* Total

13 40 75 52 180

* Indicates an award that has not yet been instituted. Mentions in Despatches are not included.

of rag but the noise was very loud on such a still night and the men heard it and instantly stood up. ‘They then came running down the line so a hasty retreat was made. After running a short distance he turned and fired two shots to try and cheque [sic] the pursuit but these proved ineffectual … In view of the fact that speed was necessary, Lieutenant D’Oyly-Hughes decided that to return down the cliffs at the place of ascent was impossible … He plunged into the water about three-quarters of a mile to the eastward of the small bay in which the boat was lying. The charge exploded as he entered the water – fragments falling in the sea near the raft, although the distance between the boat and the charge was between a quarter and a half-a-mile. 

TOP LEFT: Cuttings from the scrapbook kept by Lieutenant Robert Brown and his family that relate to Lieutenant Guy D’Oyly-Hughes’ remarkable DSO action. (COURTESY

OF GEORGE SALTER)

TOP RIGHT: Guy D’Oyly-Hughes (left) and Robert Brown on the deck of HMS E-11. (COURTESY

OF THE ROYAL

NAVY SUBMARINE MUSEUM)

www.britainatwar.com 109

GREAT WAR GALLANTRY

October 1915 her appear to him to be three small rowing boats – the bow, the gun and the conning tower being the objects actually seen. He swam ashore and tried to hide under the cliff but on climbing a few feet out of the water he realised his mistake and shouted again before entering the water. I picked him up in an extremely exhausted condition about forty yards from the rocks he having swam the best part of a mile in his clothes.’ Of the thirteen VCs announced in October 1915, all but two were for actions at Gallipoli. Even amongst the many extraordinary tales in the annals of the Victoria Cross, however, the actions of Trooper

ABOVE: Private Frederick Potts of the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry depicted rescuing Private Andrews on Hill 70, Gallipoli, August 1915.

(HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS)

‘After swimming some four or five hundred yards straight out to sea he blew a long blast on his whistle but the submarine, being in a small bay behind the cliffs, did not hear it. Day was breaking very rapidly so after swimming back to the shore and resting for a short time on the rocks, he commenced swimming towards [the] bay in which the raft was lying. At this point he discarded his pistol, bayonet and electric torch, their weight making his progress very slow. It was not until he had rounded the last point that the whistle was heard and at the same time he heard shouts from the cliffs overhead and rifle fire was opened upon the boat. ‘As the boat came astern out of the bay the early morning mist made

RUNNING TOTAL OF

GALLANTRY AWARDS AS OF THE END OF OCTOBER 1915 Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Air Force Cross Distinguished Conduct Medal Conspicuous Gallantry Medal Distinguished Service Medal Military Medal Distinguished Flying Medal Air Force Medal Total 110 www.britainatwar.com

128 831 107 1008 2855 23 442 5394

Despite the critical events in other parts of the field, I could hardly take my glasses from the Yeomen; they moved like men marching on parade. Here and there a shell would take toll of a cluster; there they lay. There was no straggling, the others moved steadily on; not a man was there who hung back or hurried.’ Potts eventually reached limited cover. One contemporary account reveals what followed: ‘Throughout the night of August 21st, 1915, and the following day, Potts, and a man named [Arthur] Andrews, who were wounded in the advance … suffered terribly from thirst. They determined to try and get back to the British lines when night came; but after reaching LEFT: Captain Alfred John Shout, pictured here at Quinn’s Post, Gallipoli, on 7 June 1915, was the recipient of another of the Gallipoli VCs announced in October 1915. The citation states: ‘On the morning of the 9th August, 1915, with a very small party Captain Shout charged down trenches strongly occupied by the enemy [at Lone Pine], and personally threw four bombs among them, killing eight and routing the remainder. In the afternoon of the same day, from the position gained in the morning, he captured a further length of trench under similar conditions, and continued personally to bomb the enemy at close range under very heavy fire until he was severely wounded, losing his right hand and left eye. This most gallant officer has since succumbed to his injuries.’ (COURTESY OF THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; G01028)

Frederick William Owen Potts of the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry, Territorial Force, are an inspiring story. On 21 August 1915, the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry was ordered to advance to within 100 metres of the Turkish trenches on the crest of a low knoll known to the Turkish troops as Yusufçuk Tepe but which was better known as Scimitar Hill, Burnt Hill or simply Hill 70 to the British. They began their attack that day at 17.15 hours. Sir Ian Hamilton described the attack in his despatch of 11 December 1915: ‘The advance of these English Yeomen was a sight calculated to send a thrill of pride through anyone with a drop of English blood running in his veins. Such superb martial spectacles are rare in modern war. … Here, for a mile and a half, there was nothing to conceal a mouse, much less some of the most stalwart soldiers England has ever sent from her shores.

a patch of scrub, 300 yards away, were compelled to stop and shelter behind it. When morning came they obtained water for the first time in thirty-six hours, by taking the water-bottles from dead men near them.’ Throughout the long, hot hours into a third day out on the battlefield the pair continued to hide in patches of scrub. There seemed no hope of escape. ‘Under cover of darkness,’ continues the same account, ‘Potts and Andrews continued their journey. Andrews was too exhausted to go far and when Potts tried to carry him he found himself too weak. Catching sight of a discarded entrenching shovel, he placed Andrews upon it and telling him to clasp his wrists, began hauling him along. Turkish snipers fired on them, but they reached a small wood, subsequently arriving safely in the British trenches.’ Potts thus became the first Yeoman VC of the First World War. 

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LORD ASHCROFT'S "HERO OF THE MONTH"

Sergeant Oliver Brooks VC

SERGEANT LORD ASHCROFT'S "HERO OF THE MONTH"

OLIVER

BROOKS

VC

INITIATIVE

AGGRESSION • BOLDNESS LEADERSHIP • SACRIFICE SKILL • INITIATIVE

The many Victoria Crosses and George Crosses in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum in London are displayed under one of seven different qualities of bravery. Whilst Sergeant Oliver Brooks's award is not part of the collection, Lord Ashcroft feels that it falls within the category of initiative: ‘Difficult situations, which place lives under threat, require quick decisions and clear solutions. Often those who act are not in charge, but they take control. Confident, aware of what needs to be done, they are convinced they can pull it off. Someone has to act.’ ABOVE RIGHT: An artist’s depiction of the action for which Lance-Sergeant Oliver Brooks was awarded the Victoria Cross. The original caption states: ‘Lance-Sergeant Brooks displayed signal bravery in the midst of a hail of bombs from the Germans, and the complete success attained in a very dangerous undertaking was entirely due to his absolute fearlessness, presence of mind and promptitude.’

O

LIVER BROOKS, the son of a butcher, was born in Paulton, near Midsomer Norton, Somerset, on 31 May 1889. The youngest of six sons, Olly, as he was known by his friends, was educated locally at St John’s School in Midsomer Norton. At this point in time, this area of Somerset was a busy mining community and, after leaving school, Brooks worked as a ‘carting boy’ at Norton Hill Colliery. This involved the tough, manual job of pulling coal trucks using a chain tied around the waist.

(HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS)

RIGHT: King George V presenting Lance-Sergeant Oliver Brooks with the Victoria Cross. (HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS)

112 www.britainatwar.com

On 17 April 1906, Brooks enlisted into the Coldstream Guards, giving his age as 18 years and 11 months when he was, in fact, a year younger. He trained at Caterham, Surrey, before being posted to Victoria Barracks, Windsor. After seven years in the Coldstream Guards, Brooks was discharged to the Reserve in April 1913 and he returned to his Somerset roots. After a brief spell back down the mines, he became manager of Peasedown’s cinema and theatre. However, on the outbreak of war in early August

1914, he was quickly mobilised. Just four days later, he travelled to France with the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Between November 1914 and September 1915, Brooks received three promotions – to lance corporal, corporal and lance sergeant. On 8 October 1915, he was involved in fighting in northern France as part of the Battle of Loos, at which the British used poison gas for the first time against the enemy. Five days earlier, on 3 October, the Guards Division had been called to re-enter the trenches at Loos – a move that coincided with a determined German attack against the Hohenzollern Redoubt. The all-out enemy thrust came at 15.15 hours on 8 October after a three-hour bombardment. The main target of the assault by the advancing enemy infantry was a narrow salient close to ‘Big Willie’ Trench. During this attack on ground held by the 2nd Guards Brigade, the 3rd Grenadier Guards was holding an advanced trench that became virtually surrounded by the enemy. Two companies of the 3rd

LORD ASHCROFT'S "HERO OF THE MONTH" Sergeant Oliver Brooks VC

final rank was sergeant, was discharged from the Coldstream Guards and he returned to the Reserve. After his military career had ended, Brooks worked as a commissionaire, first at the White Hart Hotel in Windsor and, later, at the Dorchester Hotel in London. Brooks was an inaugural member of the Coldstream Guards Association and he played a full part in various remembrance ceremonies during the inter-war years. He died at his home

BELOW: Looking towards the Hohenzollern Redoubt from the former British front line.

(COURTESY OF JON COOKSEY AND JERRY MURLAND)

Grenadier Guards were bombed out of their positions and had to retreat. The situation looked grim with a real possibility that the enemy could become established in the British line. It was the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards that saved the day – even though they had their hands full at the time dealing with the German advance. Lance-Sergeant Brooks took the initiative after learning that some 200 yards of the British trenches had been captured by the enemy. Brooks, aided by six bombers and a section of rifles, began bombing the enemy in a determined manner and, after threequarters of an hour of fierce fighting, they regained the lost position. Even though the Germans again tried to recapture the trenches, the Guards held out. Such was the intensity of the battle that the 3rd Battalion used 5,000 bombs during the day. Brooks’ VC was announced swiftly on 28 October – just twenty days after his medal-winning action. The citation for his award ended: ‘The signal bravery displayed by this Non-commissioned officer, in the midst of a hail of bombs from the Germans, was of the very first order, and the complete success attained in a very dangerous undertaking was

BELOW: An aerial photograph of the Hohenzollern Redoubt taken in 1915. The German trenches are across the top right, whilst the Hohenzollern Redoubt is the tip of the salient which protrudes south-west.

entirely due to his absolute fearlessness, presence of mind and promptitude.’ Brooks, who by now was 26 years old, was promoted to sergeant the day after his VC action and he received his award from King George V on 1 November 1915 on board a hospital train at Aire Station, France. This was not because Brooks had been wounded during the Battle of Loos but instead because the King had been injured when he was thrown from his horse while reviewing the troops. Despite being bed-ridden, George V was determined to invest Brooks, who knelt before him. However, the King was so weak that he was unable to get the pin of the VC through Brooks’ thick jacket. As with all recipients of the VC, Brooks was feted as a hero and within a week of his investiture he appeared in an advertisement for Fry’s chocolate. However, he was soon back in France where he worked as a bombing instructor at Guards Division HQ. There his pupils included the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII – according to Brooks, the Prince of Wales became ‘very proficient’ as a bomber. However, it was not long before Brooks was back on the front line and on 15 September 1916, at Cuinchy on the Somme, he was seriously wounded in the head and shoulder. He was evacuated back to Britain where he spent three months in hospital before rejoining his regiment. On 17 August 1918, as the end of the war drew nearer, Brooks married Marion Loveday at Aldbourne Parish Church in Wiltshire. After the war, the couple had two sons and two daughters. On 27 February 1919, Brooks, whose

in Windsor on 25 October 1940, aged 51. He is buried at Windsor Borough Cemetery and various memorials to Brooks include an oval stone tablet at Holy Trinity Church, Windsor. His medal group, including his VC, was gifted by his widow to the Coldstream Guards in 1967 and is now on display at the Guards Museum at Wellington Barracks, London. 

BOTTOM LEFT: The grave of another Victoria Cross holder linked to the Hohenzollern Redoubt. Acting Corporal William Reginald Cotter, of ‘C’ Company, 6th Battalion, the Buffs (East Kent Regiment), was awarded the VC for his actions on 6-7 March 1916 whilst his unit was attempting to take a position known as ‘Triangle Crater’ near the redoubt. Seriously wounded, he was taken to a hospital at Lillers, where he was informed that he was to be awarded the VC. His wounds were so severe, however, that he eventually succumbed on 14 March 1916, aged 33. (COURTESY OF

THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL; P00735-006)

VICTORIA CROSS HEROES

i Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is a

businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. His five books on gallantry include Victoria Cross Heroes. For more information, please visit: www. victoriacrossheroes.com Lord Ashcroft’s VC and GC collection is on public display at Imperial War Museum, London. For more information visit: www.iwm.org.uk/ heroes. For details about his VC collection, visit: www. lordashcroftmedals.com For more information on Lord Ashcroft’s work, visit: www.lordashcroft.com. www.lordashcroft.com Follow him on Twitter: @LordAshcroft

www.britainatwar.com 113

The First W NO.15

rld War in Objects

THE SOLDIERS'

SMALL BOOK

ABOVE: An example of A Soldiers’ Small Book, in this case that which was issued to Private 9739 Joseph Charles Armour on his enlistment in the Essex Regiment. Armour would serve throughout the First World War, being promoted to Sergeant. (IMAGES COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER FRENCH, VIA BARBARA HEAP).

OFFICIALLY REFERRED to as the Army Form B-50, the Soldiers’ Small Book was an essential part of a soldier’s kit both before and during the early part of the First World War. Maintaining the same general format throughout its existence, though with some changes, the B-50 contains the following explanation as to why it was issued to an individual on his enlistment: ‘The principal object for which a Soldier is required to be in possession of this Book is to provide him with (i.) a record of his service in the Army, and (ii.) certain information which he will find useful to him during his service. It is therefore [in] the Soldier’s interest to take care of this Book and to see that it is correctly made up when he takes his discharge.’ The explanation goes on to state: ‘When a soldier is discharged, he is to take this Book away with him; in the event of a Soldier dying in the service, this Book will be forwarded to the War Office for ultimate transmission to his representatives, if they desire it; and if it contains a record of Wounds received in action, or of distinguished acts of Bravery, it will remain an honourable memorial of his character and conduct.’ As well as being used for recording personal information on an individual, such as details of his date and place of birth, attestation, next-of-kin, fines received and so on, the Soldiers’ Small Book was also a guide for various military matters, such as saluting, badges of rank, rifle maintenance and cleaning instructions through to assorted recipes suitable for field cooking, civil employment after service, wills, and much more. By way of an example, the Army Form B-50 contains the following guidance on the subject of patrolling: ‘Each man must move cautiously and silently, and often halt to listen, and he must prevent his arms and accoutrements from

114 www.britainatwar.com

rattling. He must clearly understand from the leader what he has to look for, and how and at what place he is to make his report. On returning each man should be able to give a clear report of what he has seen. If the patrol is cut off, one man at least must manage at all costs to escape.’ For those who were on sentry duty, the B-50 contains explicit instructions on ‘the only method of challenging on active service’. This is explained thus: ‘On the approach of any person or party, a sentry will immediately warn his group. When the nearest person is within speaking distance the sentry will call out “Halt”, take cover himself, and get ready to fire. Any person not obeying the sentry, or attempting to make off after being challenged, will be fired upon without hesitation. If the order to halt is obeyed, the group commander will order the person, or one of the party, to advance and give an account of himself.’ By January 1915, experience gained during the fighting on the Western Front led to the publication of Army Order 43, which stated: ‘When a soldier proceeds on Active Service his small book will be sent with his other documents to the officer i/c records concerned.’ It is perhaps as a result of such instructions that the use of the Soldiers’ Small Book declined as the war progressed. LEFT: Private 9739 Joseph Charles Armour. As his Army Form B-50 testifies, Armour was awarded the Military Medal for his actions, whilst a Corporal, near Gavrelle on 28 March 1918. During a German attack, he continued to fire his Lewis gun ‘with great effect’ despite the enemy bombardment. When the gun was blown up, he ‘continued to fight on with his rifle’.

The Ministry of Culture & Tourism F_P.indd 1

06/03/2015 11:43