I had hoped to make a pilgrimage today to see my grandfather’s grave on the 100th anniversary of his death in a little-known battle of a forgotten campaign during the first world war. Sad to say the obstacles were just too great, justifying a selfish desire when work and income are unpredictable this year, the escalation of fighting in the possible vicinity of the cemetery (Damascus) and the diffficulty of travel to Syria have meant that it will have to wait for more favourable circumstances.
By coincidence 30 March 1918 was Easter Saturday. Cyril was a Lieutenant in 2/21st London Battalion and was killed near a place called Suwelih during the First battle of Amman. He left behind my Mother aged five and her younger Brother. By the time my mother was 16 the children had lost their mother too. Letters reveal that my mother refused to marry my father until after WW2 was over since he was serving in 15th (Scottish) Reconnaissance Regiment. The two shared a similar childhood story; he had lost his mother at the age of six and was resented by his step mother because he was the only sibling who could remember her.
Strange, I woke up with a start at 0405 this morning.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Amman
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Surrey_Rifles
The night of 30 March also sees the anniversary of the RAF’s disasterous raid to Nuremburg when 96 aircraft and crews were lost. The date also saw some of the 50 recaptured Great Escapers shot by the Gestapo, with more on the 31st.
Tomorrow it will be 17 years since my wife’s father died.
I shall be raising a glass tonight.
Your in a reflective mood cav.
It’s easy to forget that on the whole we live very lucky lives here, in a country that is compared to previous times, peaceful and stable.
I like reading things like this, many thanks.
Just a note, the very last aircraft to ‘land’ after the Nuremburg raid was Lancaster II, LL683 from 514 Squadron. it made a wheels up crash landing out of fuel in a field not far from my house.
96 aircraft and crews! Jeez that’s a sobering fact. I imagine that most if not all those crews and aircraft were Lincolnshire based and can’t imagine the effect such a devastating loss would have on the area. Here we are thinking we’ve had a bad day if we’re held up on the M6. Kinda puts it into perspective.
It is Moaster, 672 airmen lost based on a seven man crew…a very sobering thought.
RAF total wartime strength was 125000 , 55000 men were lost , and all of them volunteers .
That figure only represents aircrew lost on operations for bomber Command mate. The real total just for bomber command rises to over 57000 taking into account training and accident losses. 3690 is the figure for Fighter Command losses during the entire WWII period, and a further 10990 for entire Coastal and Ferry/Transport Commands from 1939-45.
I went to the ■■■■ concentration camps in Europe, the experience stays with you forever, the birds to this date, do not fly near the camps,i guess the can still sense the death and buried bodies still in the woods .
The D day landing beaches graveyards knocked the stuffing out of me, all those teen age lads killed, and today they cry for days when KFC was shut .
mirror.co.uk/news/real-life- … es-3276531
Also by all accounts although the Lancaster had a superior bomb load and flying characteristics it was a very difficult plane to get out of easily and quickly if it was hit.
Which leaves the question of the air ministry resistance to the Mosquito when first put to them and the ongoing seeming insufficient use of and the playing down of its fighter role. 
reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/c … ever_used/