As we sit down to enjoy another weekend safe in our houses supping an ale and and writing Mother’s Day cards, perhaps we might like to reflect on the courage of this young man, Cyril Joe Barton VC, who gave his life attempting to prevent his damaged aircraft from crashing into the Village of Ryhope, near Sunderland, 75 years ago tonight.
The night of 30/31 March marks the 75th anniversary of the worst disaster to befall the RAF when 545 aircrew died and over 95 aircraft were lost. This year it seems nationally, that since we had ‘already just covered that story in Sheffield’, it has been deemed not worthy of recognition, so we have to rely on past articles and those from relevant local papers for details.
The Nuremburg Raid also saw the loss of Christopher Panton whose death inspired his brothers to found the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritge Centre in his memory.
Those intersted in Motor Racing may know that Silverstone Circuit was an RAF airfield, but probably few know that alongside Luffield is a memorial to the crew of Halifax LW 478 which crashed nearby trying to land after the same raid.
By coicidence my own Grandfather was killed in WW1 exactly 101 years ago tonight. He was also a Cyril.
Sacrifice that seems to be fading from peoples memories.
Balls of steel required to climb aboard an aircraft and head into enemy occupied Europe, especially when facing night fighters with 20mm cannons and flak coming up at you while being coned by searchlights, christ i think i would have been curled up in corner ■■■■■■■■ myself .
East kirkby where Just Jayne is based is visited twice a year by myself once in November for the night taxying and for the Annual summer airshow.
The event in November is finished up with a firework display and to see that Lancaster coming out of the gloom 4 merlins at full power with flames out of the exhausts is a powerful sight as is the spontaneous cheering and clapping of the crowd its an electric atmosphere.
Without reading anything into this its the only place outside of a football/rugby ground that i feel English.
There was an article on the local news this evening about this brave young man, as well as steering away from the village, he also avoided the pithead machinery at the local colliery saving many lives there, although one mineworker was killed by debris from the crash. R.I.P. a true hero. Regards Kev.
We all owe them a huge thanks that can’t be put in to words. My cousin married an Aussie air force navigator Ivan (Banjo) Patterson during the war. He was on coastal command, hunting for submarines… dodgy occupation at best. A friend of his whom we knew also was Johnno, a Lancaster pilot. Unfortunately, neither one of them spoke very much at all about their ‘working life’ in those days, although I do remember Johnno saying how exhilarating it was when he had to fly straight and level, waiting for the bloody bomb aimer to give him back the aircraft
Cousin Banjo said he couldn’t feel his fingers or toes when he was trying to plot a course over the north sea, and that was about all we got out of him.
Thanks and respect for all those that took part whether they came back or not, including of course, my old dad who went in to the merchant navy as a stoker. He did come back and taught me most of what I know about lorries.
peterm:
… Unfortunately, neither one of them spoke very much at all about their ‘working life’ in those days, …
I think you’ll find that’s not exactly unusual.
My own grandfather was reluctant to talk about his service in ww2 until after I had seen action. Same with his retired business partner who was a machine gunner in ww1, a trade apparently universally despised by both sides.
The sacrifices men like this made, and the heroism they displayed, is lost on many of the current generation who dont appreciate what they have (especially those who claim to be suffering mental health issues, panic attacks and depression at the thought of brexit)
The-Snowman:
The sacrifices men like this made, and the heroism they displayed, is lost on many of the current generation who dont appreciate what they have (especially those who claim to be suffering mental health issues, panic attacks and depression at the thought of brexit)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+1
i cant imagine the cream of stobarts new brigade getting called up to defend our shores nowadays.
theres an great ww1 film out called " they shall not grow old" not about airmen,but documentary style about life in the trenches with commentary from masses of guys who were in them.
all new restored film clips and pretty rivetting to watch.
i never know they did 4 days in the trench then a week behind the lines before repeating it again.
a great film,but dont think of watching it with your misses as you wont get peace.
For those with an interest in this and tempted to look up t’internet while stuck out overnight somewhere, or perhaps wondering about that pub name or statue in their town.
The names in the list below hide stories to make one shiver in awe of what just ordinary people can be capable of doing. John Cruicksank is at 98 is the last surviving VC from WW2.
What strikes home is the age of so many of these, John Hannah was just 18; Michael Allmand 20; John Baskeyfield, poor Arthur Aaron, whose tale gets to me, and Donald Garland, whose parents lost their other three sons to the war, were all 21; John Brunt 22, Norman Jackson who crawled out onto the wing of his burning aircaft with a fire extinguisher 24. Bill Speakman and Philip Curtis from the Korean war 24. James Ashworth 23. These just some of the names worth reading about, but as mentioned so often in the citations: “sometimes equalled but never surpassed.”
The haunting coloured-in faces and reconstructed speech from the WW1 film mentioned bring to life another era and another chilling name Jack Cornwell …16.
It is very difficult to think that such young men fought, often volunteered to fight. I don’t know if it was naivite ( I mean no disrespect by that) about war, or that the sense of duty to one’s country was standard.
I feel sorry for Newton (Australa) on your VC list - captured by the Japanese and beheaded 11 days later.
It was initially believed that Newton had failed to escape from the Boston after it ditched into the sea, and he was posted as missing.[1] Squadron Leader Hampshire had immediately dispatched a sortie to recover the pair that were last seen swimming for shore, but no sign of them was found. Two weeks later, he wrote a letter to Newton’s mother in which he described her son’s courage and expressed the hope that he might yet be found alive. Hampshire concluded, “Bill is one of those rare fellows I shall miss for a long time, and if it is to be, remember for an age”.[31] The details of his capture and execution were only revealed later that year in a diary found on a Japanese soldier. Newton was not specifically named, but circumstantial evidence clearly identified him, as the diary entry recorded the beheading of an Australian flight lieutenant who had been shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 18 March 1943 while flying a Douglas aircraft.[8] The Japanese observer described the prisoner as “composed” in the face of his impending execution, and “unshaken to the last”
clarksons war stories says it all.
heres both of them.
1 about arnhem and 1 abut st nazaire.
riveting films back to back.
there also on youtube seperately.
There was another Clarkson re-broadcast last week, on BBC 4 I think, about Convoy PQ 17. Whatever you think of him he excells at telling these tales. It is on iPlayer at the moment. I think he has some personal attachment to the St Nazaire raid, which he didn’t realise until he started recording the programme.
