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NEWS
for JULY & JUNE 2001
RAF
History Revisited... ; Turning
of the pages at York Minster; Distinguished
Visitors;
(Click
on the article you wish to review or simply scroll down the page - for
previous months click on Archives)
(These
pages contain lots of pictures so will be slow to download)
RAF
History Revisited .....
Those
"Dams", "Colditz Castle",
"Dresden", "Stalag Luft III",
"Berlin" & "Steenbergen"
The following is a report with
photographs, by Dave Taylor, on an historic trip that he and several other
York members made at the end of June ....
"I still maintain that zero five hundred is a ridiculous time to get
out of bed, even if it is mid June. It seems especially foolish when one is
retired. Still, that is what the schedule called for, so that is what
happened. We actually departed York at 0650, twenty minutes behind schedule,
awaiting a couple who never showed up - probably had more sense.
Seven hours later we arrived under the shadow of the white cliffs,
where a change of coach, two hours on a ferry, a quick drive through France
and Belgium, landed us in Eindhoven, Holland. Wow, Continental Europe was
passing by so fast we could have been on the Travel Show. For this trip I had
elected to share a room with Mel Smith, who commented that I snored; so I do,
but Mel should have been on the receiving end of my ears! Not only does he
snore, he almost gives a running commentary.
THE
DAMS
| Next day saw us penetrate well into Germany, our
first stop being at the Rheinberg War Cemetery, where we were able to
pay our respects. It is here that most of the Dams Raid crews who
never made it are interred. In the absolutely glorious sunshine that
was to prevail for most of the nine days, the trip continued, the
famed Möhne dam being our next stop, where I noticed they had managed
to plug the leak. On then to the Eder. With each reservoir now serving
as a Mecca for water sport enthusiasts, given the advantageous
weather, and it being a weekend, both areas were naturally crowded.
Even so, as I have always found when visiting the locations of other
wartime exploits, far different thoughts are generated when seeing the
real thing, rather than looking at a photograph or reading a report. |
The
famed Möhne dam today |
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Left
- The Eder today Above - the Eder 17th May 1943. |
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To stare across the Edersee to the point from which
those Lancasters hove into view - down the side of Schloss Waldeck,
one thousand feet in the air - is to realize what a difficult task
those crews faced. They had to make a descending turn to starboard,
losing all but sixty of those thousand feet before lining up on a
point of land whilst making a ninety degree turn to port. From this
moment on they had but a few seconds to set their height and speed and
get lined up on the towers. More than a little difficult and dangerous
despite there being no flak -just as well, with most of the crews
finding the need to make three or four runs before releasing their
mine. Then there was the full power exit to contend with, which must
have been doubly difficult if you had not yet released your load
Left to right - Representatives of York
RAFA pose on the Dam - Dave Taylor, Fred Ullathorne, John Sutherland,
Harold Grace, Marianne Sutherland, Mel Smith |
Departing the Ruhr we now set course for Jena, in the former East Germany.
Well across what at one time had been the border, a huge monument could be
seen on a far away hill, in an area of spectacular beauty. But my thoughts
about it being a place of beauty changed quite dramatically once the name
Buchenwald was mentioned.
COLDITZ
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Day three
found us in Schloss Colditz, but, given a change of attitude, we found
we were free to come and go as we pleased. The upper storeys are at
present out of bounds whist the place undergoes restoration; seems
some past residents found alternative uses for the floorboards. The
ground floors too display signs of the residents not being overly
happy with their lot. How anyone could even contemplate a break out
from there almost defies belief; if successful they still faced a six
hundred kilometre trek to friendly territory. |
Very brave men. All we had to do
was walk down the hill, get some "frites" and a beer, and climb on a
coach which would whisk us off to Dresden.
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Left
- the first view PoW's would have had of the castle rising above
the town of Colditz. They would have seen it like this as the were
crossing the river bridge on the march from railway station to the camp.
Right
-
The
entrance to the castle |
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DRESDEN
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Even with
the passing of almost sixty years Dresden still bears the scars, clear
indication that the RAF really did a job on this place, damage which
the Russians made little attempt to repair. That is now being attended
to, the city starting to look quite impressive once more. The Zwinger
is certainly impressive. A bit like the palace at Versailles, but this
was built for the sole purpose of housing some rich person's porcelain
collection; probably the world's largest china cabinet
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Some
of the 1945 bomb damage still remains |
Harold,
Fred & Mel in Dresden |
And
they're still re-building |
STALAG
LUFT III - SAGAN
There was not a lot left of Stalag
Luft III: some bush and scrub, clumps of trees, the thread of a disused road,
some holes in the ground and a few concrete plinths. Nary a sign of Tom, Dick,
or Harry - tunnels of the Great Escape. Bisecting the road are some railway
tracks, seemingly long-abandoned and now silently rusting and corroding away
to nothing. There is a museum at Stalag VIIIC, the camp which housed
French/Polish/Russian prisoners, just down the road. This is worth a visit,
for it covers the activities of all the camps that were sited in this
area.
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Left - The entrance to
the memorial near Stalag Luft III which was the RAF POW camp
Right - The official
memorial with the names of the 50 murdered officers |
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But not too far distant is what we
had really come to see. To me, a previously unheard of memorial that mourns
the loss of the fifty RAF Officers murdered by the Gestapo following the Great
Escape. This was actually erected by the prisoners of Stalag Luft III
themselves, as can be seen by the inscription which ends: "........ in
honoured memory of their comrades who died at Stalag Luft 3 during the war, AD
1939 - 194 Per Ardua Ad Astra. That blank space
obviously an indication that they expected the war would end sometime soon,
couldn't be sure of the year.
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Above
- the simple memorial erected by the POW's at Stalag Luft III to
honour their comrades.
Right
- The inscription |
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Here we held a short
ceremony to pay our respects, then departed, charitable thoughts being
generated, for, although in not too bad a condition, considering it apparently
comes under no one's jurisdiction, we felt this unique monument, a significant
piece of RAF history, was in need of some remedial work. It was then decided
that we would attempt to get it adopted by the RAFA, and that York Branch
members would attempt to contact Polish organisations and the Foreign Office
to see if this was possible. This is at present underway, in fact Central HQ
have already replied to a letter sent by or Hon Sec, John Sutherland, who says
they sound to be very interested. Watch this space.
BERLIN
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John
Sutherland "going west" at checkpoint Charlie |
This must have been day five, for Berlin was next on the
schedule, after we had spent an hour crossing the Polish border! Must have
though we were escapees from one of the camps. There again, probably not, for
it had also taken an hour to get into the country. Almost forgot to mention:
it was whilst driving through Poland that we glimpsed four pristine-looking
Mig 21's parked up in the used car lot of a petrol station - country must be
hard up! And no, one would not have fitted in the bus! Another thing about
Poland: they must have the worst TV on the planet, for on every apartment on
every block - and in the towns there is little else - each and every balcony
had attached to it a satellite antenna, hundreds of them, all perfectly
aligned. So much for Poland, back to Berlin. |
Even today, the sudden change
between what used to be West Berlin and East Berlin can be a bit of a shock.
Although the Wall as such no longer exists, there still remains a clearly
defined zone of luxury to poverty. But a hundred metres or so in, and the
change is no longer discernible - high class stores have crossed the divide
almost as if by parthenogenesis (break out the dictionaries you lot). An
affluent-looking city, Berlin. Only that may not be so, for, according to our
guide, they are said to be 24 billion Marks in the red - even at around three
to the pound, quite a lot of loot. The place is therefore effectively
bankrupt. No, not effectively. Well and truly!
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Our full day in Berlin proved
to be the turning point for the weather; it rained, though not heavily enough
to warrant a visit to the Luftwaffe Museum, at Gatow, untenable; Most of their
120 aircraft are exposed to the elements. There are also good displays in the
hangars, WWI to reunification. Well worth a visit, and easily accessible by
bus from central Berlin.
Right
- Last of the Luftwaffe defenders - The Komet |
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STEENBERGAN
- GUY GIBSON & JIM WARWICK
Day seven saw us heading west through sunshine and showers,
towards Holland, with an overnight stop in the Arnhem area. After viewing
Arnhem bridge from the comfort of the coach - it was chucking it down outside
- it was off to Steenbergen: primary destination on the penultimate day of
this tour.
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The
headstones |
And by the time we reached this site of the last resting place of
Wg/Cdr Guy Gibson VC DSO* DFC* and his navigator, Sq/Ldr Jim Warwick
DFC, the
skies had cleared. We were also fortunate to have as our guides Jan &
Connie van den Driesschen, the Dutch family who have tended this site since
1967. And I will reveal no more about this remarkable couple at this time, for
Jan mentioned to me that he had written a book on the Dams Raid (De dammen
brekers, would you believe?), published in Dutch in 1979. He has just sent me
an English translation (unpublished), with additional chapters detailing
events in and around Steenbergen towards the end of, and after the war,
extracts from which I hope to incorporate in future editions of this journal. |
At the entrance to the cemetery is an old, British GR postbox, ex RAF
Coningsby. This houses the visitors' book, which we duly signed. We then held
a graveside ceremony, Fred Ullathorne laying a wreath from all at York Branch
RAFA, whilst Mel Smith read the dedication. We were joined in this by Jan and
Connie, Trevor Booker, our tour guide, and by the rest of the passengers on
our coach.
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Left - Marianne,
John, Harold & Fred paying their respects to Guy Gibson &
Jim Warwick
Right - Fred
Ullathorne, the RAFA York Standard Bearer, lays a wreath on behalf of
RAFA York |
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The Gibson grave was an integral part of our Ledgers tour, what
followed was not. All but commandeering our bus, Jan next took us sightseeing
around Steenbergen, directing the driver up streets that could barely be
negotiated by coach: the memorial in the park - a Lancaster prop on a plinth,
which commemorates both 617 & 106, Guy Gibson's last two squadrons; and
the small memorial which marks the crash site of his Mosquito on that fateful
night in September 1944.
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This is located within what is now the Reinier Polder
1 Industrial Estate, and to gain access we first drove along Lancaster Straat
(Street), onto Warwick Straat, left into Mosquito Straat which in turn led to
Dambusters Straat, and finally, Gibson Straat. At times it would seem the
Dutch are prepared to honour our heroes more than we are. One minor glitch,
the plaque on the monument only awarded Gibson a VC, DSO and a DFC, no bars.
Better than the original grave though, which was marked by a wooden cross
bearing the inscription: 156612 JB Warwick & an unknown soldier. The
reasons for this will be revealed in a later edition. So that was Steenbergen.
Right
- Jan & Connie Driesschen - two Dutch heroes who ensure that
....
"there's
some corner of a foreign field that will forever England be!" |
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All that remained now was a night stop in Antwerp, Belgium,
on next morning to Calais, a ferry to Dover, and home to York. A really
enjoyable tour."
Dave
Taylor
Back
to Top
Friday
15th June
Ceremonial
Turning of the Pages
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At 12.00 Hrs on Friday 15th June members of the York Branch
paraded with a contingent of Officers & Senior NCO's from RAF
Linton-on-Ouse to carry out the ceremonial turning of the pages in
York Minster to commemorate the official birthday of Her Majesty the
Queen.
Fred Ullathorne, the club standard bearer, led the parade
which was watched by a large crowd of spectators inside the Minster |
| Left - RAF personnel from RAF
Linton-on-Ouse & RAFA members from York honour their fallen comrades
in the ceremony held in front of the "Astronomical Clock" and
beneath the "Five Sisters Windows"
The ornate astronomical clock was created by craftsmen at the Royal
Greenwich Observatory, and was given to the Minster to commemorate
18,000 Allied airmen who lost their lives in World War II when flying
out of bases in Yorkshire and the North East . |
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The
Five Sisters Window is dedicated as
a memorial to the women who lost their lives in the two world wars. (CLICK
HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THE CLOCK & WINDOW)
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The turning of the page was carried out by Neville White who
served with distinction in the RAF from 1939 to 1979 and only recently
retired as the York Branch Standard Bearer.
(Click
here for details about Neville)
The page is a page in a book containing
the names of the allied airmen who lost their lives in World War II when flying
out of bases in Yorkshire and the North East. A page is
turned every day of the year. This is normally carried out by a
Minster Policeman, but 4 times a year the RAF & RAFA turn out in
full ceremony to honour their fallen comrades
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For
pictures and information on the of the turning of the pages ceremony click here
Back
to Top
THIS
MONTHS DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
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John
"Sandy" Milne
At the Club Dining In night
on Saturday 2nd June we were pleased to welcome a number of
guests. Special amongst them was "Sandy" Milne a
former Whitley and Halifax pilot who first served at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
60 years ago in 1941. "Sandy" did a full tour on
Whitleys with 58 Squadron before converting to Halfax's and joining 35
Squadron as a pathfinder.
Left -
(Left to right) Sandy Milne, "Lennie"
Sandy's sister (A retired WAAF Squadron Officer) and Dick
Shuster (RAFALO still serving at Linton-on-Ouse) |
| Here are a few entries from Sandy's log book dating back to 1941 his days at
Linton ....
Z 6575 GE-B. T/O 21.53 - 0610 Hamburg.
Attacked primary target at 01.40. Bombs fell in the Dock area SW of
Dace. Incendiaries started fires and could be seen 20 mins after A/C
left. 4 flares failed to ignite. S.O.S. sent short on fuel.
Managed to make Driffield.
Sept. 29/30.
Z 5841 GE-F T/O 18.59 - 23.55 Stettin.
Returned early generator trouble and icing up. Jettisoned bombs in
sea. Power failure at 10,000 feet. Glided from 10,000 to 5000 feet
before engines picked up.
Nov.10/11
T 4210 GE-C T/O 17.28 - 00.22. Keil.
Bombed Hornum Seaplane base at Sylt at 20.50 from 17,000 feet.
Starboard oil pressure down to 35 lbs/ sq in. Feather engine and
returned on one engine.
Nov. 8/9
T/O 18.06 - 20.55. Essen. Abandoned due
to engine trouble - no intercom. Attacked flare path at De Koot A/D.
Holed by flack and then attacked by 3 JU88's. Landed Swanton Morley
with port engine on fire.
End of May 1941
collected a drogue towing Whitley from Landewrig in Wales for
1st 1000 bomber raid on cologne. The story of that is in
the Book " Operation Millennium "
...... does it make being a pilot
at Linton-on Ouse these days seem a bit tame???
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TWO
Ex-POW's MEET AT THE CLUB AFTER OVER 55 YEARS
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A visitor to the club in May was Mike Isherwood-Bennett (left) a
former wartime Spitfire pilot who now lives in the Isle of Man.
Mike
was shot down and taken prisoner in 1942 eventually ending up In
Stalagluft VI at Heydekrug. Coincidentally York club member Peter
Carmichal (right), a former Lancaster pilot was shot down in 1944,
and was also held in Stalagluft VI.
Despite
it being over 50 years since their last meeting, they remembered each
other from their days behind the wire. Needless to say the evening was
spent reminiscing. |
It was in 1942 ,when Mike was flying Spitfire V's with 64 Squadron, that he
became a POW.
On 17th May 1942, he was returning from a "rubbarb"
when, just off Cap Gris Nez he had the misfortune of being bounced by 4
ME109's. Unfortunately one got the better of Mike and shot away the controls
on his Spitfire forcing him to ditch. His aircraft sank immediately, but Mike managed
to get out underwater and bobbed to the surface using his inflated lifejacket. Undaunted
he started swimming towards England. He managed to keep going for over 4 hours
before being picked up by the Germans.
After some fairly heavy interrogation, because they didn't believe he could
have escaped from the downed Spitfire four hours earlier, Mike was sent to Dulagluft
near Frankfurt-am-Main
before initial incarceration in Stalagluft III at Sagan (The camp of
"Great Escape" fame). He was moved to Stalagluft VI in 1944
which was when he first met Peter.
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Peter
Carmichal (left) jokingly pointing out the best way for a fighter
pilot to get back to England. Swimming was definitely not the
recommended way!
Mike
(right) can now enjoy the joke - but back in 1942 it somehow didn't
seem so funny....
However
Mike is very proud of his membership of the "Goldfish" Club
which he pointed out is more exclusive than the "Caterpiller"
Club, of which Peter is member!
Tempus
Fugit!
Click
for details of
"Goldfish
Club" & "Caterpiller Club" |
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Mike
has kindly sent us a copy of one of his most prized possessions
..... his endorsed "Goldfish Club" membership card. He
is one of the few surviving wartime members of the Goldfish club
- Is he the only one with a "Mae
West" endorsement? - Please let us
know!
The
card reads - (horizontally) "This is to certify that
~ W/O M.S.Bennett ~ has qualifiedas a
member of the Goldfish Club by escaping death by the use of his
emergency dinghy 0n ~ 17th May 1942"
(vertically
in red) "ENDORSED MEMBERSHIP ~ Membership
granted due to W/O Bennett having saved his life by the use of his
'Mae West'. " |
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