WW2……My uncle (mother’s brother) was in the RAF. Sgt R G Enfield. After some time being on Halifax and Wellington bombers; sometimes as Flight Engineer, sometimes as Navigator; he was seconded to the RCAF 428 (Ghost) Sqdn based at Middleton St George. On 24th July 1944 he was Flight Eng in Lancaster X KB740 on its first operational flight for a raid on Stuttgart. Another Lancaster X (** KB743……remember that number) collided with KB740 over France and although badly damaged with two engines out, Sgt Enfield felt they could make it back to the UK……..they did, but had to crash land just making it back to Martlesham, Suffolk on 25th July 1944. However, the tail gunner, John Sandulak (RCAF) had heard the pilot shouting ‘Bale out’ because he thought they were going down and baled out. He was taken prisoner, but escaped…..A Google search will reveal the story of Sandulak. I have the detail on my PC if it cannot be found. KB 743 could not continue its operation and landed back at base (presumed Middleton St George). KB 740 was written off. Having got back to Middleton, Sgt Enfield was with virtually the same crew on another Lancaster X……..they took off on 18th August 1944 on a massive raid on Bremen where over 2000 tons of bombs were dropped…… Some reports suggest they were shot down, however there is a record that the pilot Corbet reported they had been hit by bombs from above and the tail was knocked off. A German Messerschmidt 110 may have also added to the situation as the Lancaster was on it’s way down. The tail gunner Good was killed and his body was apparently recovered. The rest of the crew had baled out safely but Enfield and his crew were captured (Enfield's new boots fell off while he was in his parachute and he landed in a river)…….some of them went to Stalag Luft III (Sagan, Silesia) and Enfield was sent to Stalag Luft 7 (Bankau, Upper Silesia), where he stayed until the Germans marched them off on the Long / Death March to SL III and followed the prisoners from there after they had already left. I believe they were supposed to be heading for Lubeck. The Long March for him and his fellow POWs was twice as long as the distance those from Stalag Luft III did. Remember that Lancaster number? Got it in one… ** KB743…….The one that had knocked them out of the sky earlier on 24th July 1944.
Happy VE Day. This is a great thread and it has been great to read all the posts. I really like the photo Expat Jack posted. It is easy to forget that so many gave so much so that we can live a great life. My wife's grandfather died on the Gold beach landing on D Day.
My grandad was part of the Dunkirk thing. Reme so French rather than English side. nevet, ever talked about his time in France or anything to do with the whole of WW2. Alas my family ate fairly estranged and pics and everything lost during several rows and house moves. but we are doing our bit along with our elderly neighbours, most of whom were children then. Now we are back out for a sing song and a drink
Looking at the tailplane it looks like an Avro Anson. There's one still flying from the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden which must be somewhere close to you
As the VE day celebrations draw to an end I have just reread this thread and now want to thank all contributors once more. Some sad stories. Some funny bits. Some spooky bits. But overall, just a great sense of pride in an older generation. Neither my mum nor dad were very old in the war and were evacuees. I know they have had a real lift in spirits today seeing all the neighbours at a socially distancing street party. After that, on a vid call with the grandkids, sharing all their stories of playing in the bombed out buildings of London when they were allowed home. So, thanks again all. I hope you have enjoyed the thread as much as I have.
My great grandfather was killed at the Somme, he wasn’t actually in the army but was camping nearby and went to complain about the noise.
Thanks for posting EJ. My father being a collier was RO but that didn't stop him trying to join any of the services, the last one being the army at the YMCA building in Swansea. After being refused, on the way out, there was a sergeant at the door and my father told him to stuff the army, the sergeants reply was, well please yourself cock. That tickled my father for the rest of his life. Ended up in the home guard on rockets over Britton Ferry. He even tried joining the earlier fight against Franco, but was turned for being to young. Talk about a different generation, I wonder sometimes where we'd be now without them ? How did you become a Jack, EJ ?
Formative years in the town. Olchfa. Ended up in Mt Pleasant. Moved for a job in the mid 80s Still miss the Pretty Shitty City.
A good read this thread, my paternal grandfather joined in 1914 and served throughout WW1 in France, winning the MM, then in 1919 was posted to Ireland as a Black and Tan. Obviously severely troubled by his experiences, he buggered off to Canada shortly after siring my father, born in 1926. My father joined the Post Office as a telegraph boy at 14, cycling around London delivering telegrams, often bringing bad news to families. He never spoke much about those times but he did tell me about being strafed by a low flying Heinkel whilst crossing Wandsworth Common and being forced to stay on vessels moored in the docks during the blitz as the sirens went as he was delivering telegrams. On joining the Navy at age 17 he was made a radar operator on HMS Boxer an auxiliary tank landing/radar control ship which was involved with the Salerno and D day landings. He said it was very frightening ship to be on as it had bow doors to let the tanks off on the beach and a flat bottom with no internal watertight compartments, all enemy shell hits went straight through it and let the water in. He did not get away scot-free as sitting with a microwave radar set between his knees, probably not that well-screened, almost certainly lead to testicular cancer in 1960. Treatment in those days was massive doses of radiation which probably lead to leukaemia which finally killed him in 2003.
