Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The Uncle I never met

That would have been unimaginable.

My father hated the Nazis and refused to have anything German made in the house... I was made to watch The World At War as a child and my father would ensure we spent time in reflection in French villages where the locals had been rounded up and shot by retreating Germans.

Perhaps this was too much - but it did leave a lasting memory of man's inhumanity, but no hatred for the Germans, only the war criminals. Given my family was originally Prussian, it's a bit hard to hate the Germans!

I don't know how to multi quote, but DaveW, you're right about untold stories. My great uncle was a pathfinder with Bomber Command and told me a few stories, but they were brief and without much detail. I said to him on many occasions that he should write them down so they were not lost.... he didn't. He died recently at a great age and the stories are gone.

At my first employer there were a number of old codgers, approaching retirement. One was retired Squadron Leader Peter Dawson, a pathfinder navigator and now head of R&D.
He used to enjoy telling the story of his first trip to Darmstadt after Merck purchased BDH Chemicals in the early 1970s.
He was asked by his opposite number if he had ever been to Darmstadt.
His reply: Yes, in 1945, it was burning nicely!"

My paternal Grandfather was in 'The Suicide Club' ( WW1 Machine Gun Corps). Went on to fight in the Afghan Wars. Like many, refused point blank to speak to anyone about what he'd done and seen. Have gleaned some details from military records - was gassed several times which played havoc with his lungs - had really bad bronchitus every winter. Was also deaf in one ear. Died at 67, so I never met him. The main gunner in the first, and on the right in the bottom (with compulsory fag!)

I've posted before, but this is the touching story behind Dad's cousin Bertie. A few years ago I took Dad over so we could lay a wreath at his grave.

"The editor is grateful to Mr Ron Ravenhall for providing this story. In 2006 he was a local councillor in Rugby. At the time of the events below he was a ten year old English boy living in Hilversum:

"I was woken by an almighty explosion at five minutes past two on that morning of the 13th May, 1943 and so was every other person living in the town of Hilversum in occupied Holland, as windows were blasted out by an enormous explosion and a spectacular fireworks display in the sky. My mother, my two sisters and I dashed outside our little cottage and watched in horror as the fragments of an aeroplane came down to earth, falling like hailstones. In the morning, small pieces of aluminium and human bodies littered the area, including gruesome finds like a boot containing a leg, a flying helmet with an ear in it, a knee and fingers.

But my mother found an article in our back garden that she treasured for the rest of her long life - a sixpence, bent almost double by the force of the blast, that came out of the pocket of one of her brave young fellow-countrymen.

The previous evening of the 12th May, 1943 was fairly routine for 207 Squadron at the rural airfield of RAF Langar, some 10 miles SE of Nottingham. Another raid was planned to Duisburg in the Ruhr and Lancaster ED418 EM-G was being fuelled for the operation. It was an 'old crate', having already notched up 230 hours in its log book.

Its crew was:

Pilot Officer William Dick Hawkes RAFVR - Pilot, 26
Sgt Edward Stanley Tompkins RAFVR - Flight Engineer, 21
Sgt George Robert Nipper RAFVR - Bomb Aimer, 28
Sgt Arthur Wilson Whiteoak RAFVR - Navigator, 32*
WO2 William Archibald McNair RCAF - Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, 20
Flt Lt Albert Douglas Coldicott DFM RAF - Air Gunner, 23
Sgt Joe Smith RAFVR - Air Gunner, 26
Sgt Hugh Robert Dick RAFVR - 2nd Navigator, 22*

They assembled for the briefing that evening. The pilot, Dick Hawkes, had been to Duisburg before on two occasions without mishap. He was already an old hand, having survived fourteen ops, whereas the average was four. It would not be a long trip - two hours there and two hours back, but the weather report was not good. It was cloudy over England, but clear on the other side of the Channel and there was a strong 60 knot SW wind to contend with - behind them on the way out, but against them coming home.

Flak might be a problem, but in cloudless skies over the Netherlands, German night fighters would certainly be a menace. Duisburg was to be reached by 0205 and Pathfinder Mosquitoes would light up the target ahead of them. Since 207 Squadron had the reputation of bombing very accurately, they would lead the way. The fires they created would enhance target visibility for the rest following them.

In total, 572 aircraft would take part in the raid, including nine from 207 Squadron. Arthur Whiteoak, the Navigator, calculated that the Lancaster would need to take off at 0019 to reach the target on time.

At precisely 19 minutes past midnight Dick Hawkes opened the throttles and the Lancaster took off carrying its 1000 kilo bomb and masses of firebombs. With the wind behind them, they achieved 212 knots and twenty minutes later they left the English coast behind them. At 0115 they reached the Dutch coast and around Amsterdam the sky was lit up with searchlights. Though flak speckled the moonless night, it caused no major problems.

That good fortune was not to last. The raid suffered a major attack over the Dutch town of Apeldoorn by twin-engined Junkers 88 night fighters and at 0140 Hawkes’ Lancaster was hit. No doubt, he took evasive action and Archie McNair, Doug Coldicott and Joe Smith, the air gunners would have been busy trying to down their attacker.

Though we don’t know how badly the Lancaster was damaged, it had probably lost an engine and the damage was too severe for the Lancaster to do anything else but abort its mission and try to limp back to England. Hawkes therefore did a U-turn, descended to below 700 feet to avoid German radar and for the next twenty minutes struggled with the controls. Flying into the strong wind, his crippled plane would not have been capable of more than about 75 knots. He knew he was over built-up, residential areas and could not drop his bomb load to lighten the plane.

Just before he reached the town of Hilversum, he may have been attacked again. Fellow fliers reported a Junkers 88 in that area. There was also flak, but it is possible that the Lancaster had been on fire all along. It was certainly spotted on fire over Hilversum by eye witnesses before it exploded.

The dramatic end came with a cataclysmic explosion of its 1000 kilo bomb at precisely 02.05 and the Lancaster and its crew were blown to kingdom come. Eight young men had sacrificed their lives for the future of mankind.

The German army treated the remains with great respect. The largely intact bodies of Hawkes, Tompkins and Smith were given individual graves in the De Rusthof cemetery [Amersfoort (Oud Leusden) General Cemetery] in the town of Amersfoort and the rest of the remains were gathered and buried in a collective grave alongside. The Germans were unaware that the normal complement of a crew of seven had been augmented by a 2nd Navigator on board.

The ED418 war graves are immaculately kept. Like me, the people of the Netherlands will never forget their indebtedness to the thousands of gallant young fliers who died that they might live and will continue to honour those who survived the unparalleled heroism of their youth.

When my mother died the bent sixpence was buried with her."

Richard: It is a small world.

My Father James Marshall was a Royal Navy Volunteer Lt Engineer Officer on HMS Tulip K29 a Flower Class Corvette escort ship to Convoy SC21. He had previously been on the Corrientes (a Ghost Cruiser) which was sunk by UBoat torpedo on 25 Sept 1940, he along with 49 others of the crew were adrift in lifeboats for 5 days before being picked up by a neutral Swedish freighter Kolsnaren who took them to Philadelphia. Here they were given a heroes welcome before being transferred to New York and then to Halifax where he joined HMS Tulip. He went on to serve in a variety of Royal Navy ships in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of operation being sunk again and also having critically damaged ships in combat. He used to say he had a charmed life and lived till he was 88. He met my Mother a Naval Nurse when they escorted the first convoy to reach Malta after the siege, she had been an 18 year old Nurse at Bighi Hospital suffering horrendous conditions and casualties, she never talked about her experiences but would shed a tear every Remembrance Day.

As an aside to my Father's story; U-32 that sunk the Corrientes on 25 Sept 1940 and Commanded by Hans Jenisch was sunk by two British Cruisers on the 30 Oct 1940.

TBM for much of the last 15 years my jobs have had HQ's in Hilversum and I have visited that graveyard for another reason. Small world.

The uncle I never met was my Uncle Joe, who died of wounds in hospital in Alexandria following the battle of El Alamein serving in the 8th Army.

His brother, my father, was just 17 when he was landed on Sword Beach as a stretcher bearer/medic. He sustained wounds that caused him problems for the rest of his life.

Their father, George Harris, served throughout the First World War in the Rifle Brigade, ended up in the Army of the Rhine in occupied Germany before being demobbed and returned to civilian life in time for the 1930's depression and a bleak future.

His father, Daniel Harris served in the Royal Irish Rifles at the time of the Boer War, abandoned his family and took to drink as a result of his experiences.

My maternal grandfather, CPO Francis Gynes, served in the Submarine Service and died in the first week of WWII when HMS Oxley was sunk in a 'friendly fire' incident by HMS Triton whilst on patrol off Norway.

No heroes, no decorations, no recognition beyond the standard campaign medals. Just a bunch of working-class blokes doing their bit and paying the price.

To the end of his days my dad hated fascists with a vengeance, but he never held an ounce of antipathy towards Germany or its people - quite the reverse, if anything. I think he saw the German people as much as victims as anything else.

The CWG area is quite small, but as always. beautifully maintained. Will probably visit again in the future.My Dad was also in the RAF.

My grandfather, John Hampton died on this ship too. I visited the memorial a couple of years back. The amount of names.... terrible

I have other info btw. U123 was not responsible
It was an italian sub called bianchi.
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wrecked-on-this-day.aspx?gt/2x/3w69gmeIOpYnL/Lg==


https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/763.html

https://m.facebook.com/groups/352758182704021/posts/404838954162610/

Hope this is of use to you and your family

P

Great first post Paul!