by
Julian
Evan-Hart
During World War Two Hertfordshire saw
considerable aerial activity, however with the entrance of the United States
into the war this was to increase to a never before seen level. New aircraft now
made an appearance such as the P51 Mustang, P38 Lightning, P47 Thunderbolt,
B24 Liberator and perhaps most famous of all the B17 Flying Fortress. 1944 was
to be the peak year, with the build up of armed forces prior to the Allied
invasion of Europe, daylight raids by the USAAF intensified. Raids deep into the
heart of the Reich, Occupied Europe and later French coastal targets were all
undertaken. Many raids involved “stacking up” over Hertfordshire as they began
to formate and head off for their target. It was not uncommon at this stage of
the war for some Observer Corps stations to plot over 500 aircraft in the sky at
one time. For many people living in the area the noise of these huge quantities
of aircraft would be unforgettable. Those residents living near to Nuthampstead
or near the huge USAAF base Bassingbourn just over the Hertfordshire border in
Cambridgeshire would be treated to a daily chorus of four engined heavies flying
over. So often this was, everyone became quite used to it, but what they never
got used to was looking skywards and seeing them return, with feathered props,
engines on fire, sections shot away, crossing their fingers and hoping that the
smoke streaming straggler at the back would land safely. Tragically this
increase in activity would inevitably bring with it increases in incidents
ranging from crash-landings to the more catastrophic and dramatic aerial
collisions. On Saturday 12 August 1944 a B17 named “Tomahawk Warrior” from the
398th BG would collide with a B24H Liberator over Cheshunt, killing both crews.
Just two weeks later another similar tragedy would occur involving the collision
of two B17`s over the small village of Weston.
My first impressions
and encounters with the site and history of the Weston collision
In the early 1970`s I first heard
people in the village of Weston talking about the “Wood where the bombers came
down” I was only about 10 years old when I first heard about this collision of
two aeroplanes. I actually cycled over to Warrens Green aged 10 and parked my
bike next to a hollow area used by local gardeners to dump old vegetable
cuttings and large stones. By pure chance I was just looking around when I
spotted a large bullet with a brown coloured patina, just lying on some recently
deposited earth. Picking up this “treasured item” I examined it closely noting
that it had probably detonated in the fire caused by the exploding bomber.
(Little did I realise then that 35 years later I would be in the same area
looking at the ground this time finding an exploded 0.50 callibre shell case,
but this time would be extra special as I would be in the company of the
relatives of one of the aircrew) The fact that my bullet had hit something at
very high speed was clearly evident by its now flattened tip, which should have
been pointed. I remember thinking that it looked like the snub wrinkled nose of
a pig!!. I kept this first ever find from the bombers for many years, but sadly
with the passing of time it has been lost. Asking people in the village about
the incident presented some problems as numerous variations of the incident were
presented to me: - Firstly it was two Douglas Dakotas, then two Lancasters, some
even said it was two Super Fortresses. Someone even said that the collision was
caused by a P51 Mustang Pilot who had been weaving in and out of a bomber
formation, collided with one bomber which then hit another. In those days almost
every “Weston Local” over 40 years old could recall the event. In 1977 I was a
beater for a shooting party and part of the drive was through the very wood
where one of the aeroplanes had crashed. I heard several of the older men
mention the collision as we set course to enter the wood. In those days there
was not much undergrowth and soon I came across a deep depression about 20 feet
across and some 10 feet deep: “Bomb Hole Boy” one of the older men said as I
stood and looked at it and the surrounding area. A curt reminder from Ron
Hemmings the Head Game Keeper refocused my attentions back to the pheasants I
was employed to flush up and out of this wood. I was now very curious and soon
started asking more questions about the incident, calling on many villagers and
taking notes of their recollections. However I would not return to this wood
until the summer of 1979. By this time I had researched the incident in some
depth now knowing that the two aircraft involved were indeed B17 Flying
Fortresses, I even knew the exact date and names of each crew as by then I had
written to an American military institution who had furnished me with some very
good details. Mrs Cherry the present land-owner had even given me an example of
a complete 0.50 callibre bullet. So it was now the summer of 1979 and having
finished school I decided to spend some time investigating the actual site.
Walking through Weston Park I came to the grass fields behind Warrens Green and
looked at the wood with some thought. This was forbidden territory, the
pheasants would be breeding now and if I got caught by Ron in these woods there
would be hell to pay. However my curiosity (reinforced by permission granted
from Mrs Cherry) was stronger than my fear of Ron and slowly I shimmied under a
strand of rusted barbed wire…………I was in the wood!!! I passed through some small
thin patches of bramble and noted the rusted oil drums, orange nylon twine and
several dead squirrels. These were sure signs that Ron was doing his job, I just
hoped today he would not be so usually efficient on this day. However despite
these concerns as earlier mentioned I actually did have permission from Mrs
Cherry to go and look, which I hoped would serve me well to deflect any verbal
attack from Ron if I was caught here. I proceeded up the straw strewn ride and
came upon an area where the tree growth was thinner. Looking about I spotted the
Bomb Hole again, its dark waters then home to a pair of nesting and rather noisy
Moorhens. Rather ironic really I thought, as each hatching egg involved a new
birth on a site associated with so much death and destruction. Around the bomb
hole were broken trunks of Pine trees and when you peeled the bark away revealed
upon the surface of the inner wood were numerous nicks, scores and scratches and
in some cases bomb casing shrapnel splinters and internal components were stuck
firmly in, surrounded by twisted and compacted wood fibres.
Further examination showed that many
of the surrounding Oak and Ash trees bore gashes, smashed boughs and were
distorted. “So this must be where it happened” I said quietly to myself. It was
summertime now just as it had been when the tragedy occurred in 1944. In the
surrounding areas rays of sunshine streamed through the green spangled patchwork
of the woodland canopy above. Looking at the floor I noticed small contorted
pieces of metal, some partially covered in moss, others just blue crumbling
powdery lumps, whilst other fragments were in such good condition it looked as
if they had just fallen there, bits of rubber and wires, in some of the deeper
bramble thickets considerably larger pieces of yellowish painted metal could be
seen having a bubbled appearance due to the large rivets on their surface. A
huge 9 feet section of burned blistered rubber lay on the woodland floor, which
I later discovered was part of the lining from a self-sealing fuel tank. Over
the next few years my good friend Tim Fisher and I used simple metal detectors
here and made some really interesting finds. On one day we discovered at a depth
of some 6 inches a layer of compressed and burned parachute fabric, in amongst
this were some harness clips and a complete “D Ring” still attached to a six
inch length of thin wire. We found cockpit instrument faces, electrical bits,
airframe, a pair of headphone receivers, jack plugs, wiring, switches. Slowly we
could begin to see the shape of the B17, and finds indicated clearly that we had
definitely located where the cockpit had impacted. The wood was still quite dark
in summertime when we did most of our exploratory digs, but the emotional thrill
of cutting through the moss covered clay and unearthing artefacts that were once
part of a B17 is something that will never be forgotten and is still very much
experienced by me today. Tim and I often accompanied by other interested parties
returned to this wood on almost every given opportunity as we had begun to build
up a respectable representative collection of artefacts. 1987 was a good year
for searching the site as many medium sized trees were uprooted by the notorious
Hurricane force winds of that year. Checking the exposed up-ended root pans we
increased our collection of dial faces and other cockpit instruments. Some 10
years later the local farmer cut down some smaller growth trees and lit several
large fires in the wood. This cleared all growth to ground level and left a
perfect area for searching, one such search revealed a section of control
column, two throttle quadrant sections and a copper alloy instrument facing with
green and white plastic domed lights on it. Behind these domed lights the glass
bulbs remained all intact, even their delicate elements remained unbroken.
Another poignant find from this area were several pre-decimal pennies all of
which were burned and slightly bent, illustrating the fact that these had almost
certainly been in the pockets of one or several members of the B17`s crew.
The following is an account of what took place over Weston Park on Saturday the
26th August 1944
Two B17`s collide over the village of
Weston.
(This article is dedicated to the
memory of Frank Hawkes who witnessed the actual event and later was to be a very
good friend)
Aircraft involved:
B17G Flying Fortress (un-named)
Serial Number 42-102936
390th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Based at: - Parham / Framlingham in Suffolk
Location: wreckage spread over 1.5km in Weston Park
Time: 09.05 Hours
Crew:
Pilot.
2nd Lt Paul H Bellamy…Killed
Co-Pilot. 2nd Lt James J.Graba…Killed
Navigator. 2nd Lt Raymond A Klausing…Survived
Bombardier. 1st Lt Joseph Y Lee…Killed
Radio Operator. Sgt Irwin W Casey…Killed
Eng/ Top Turret Gunner. S/Sgt Frederick O
Walsh…Survived
Waist Gunner. Sgt Lotus R Conser… Survived
Ball Turret Gunner. Sgt Robert Hunter…Killed
Tail Gunner. Sgt Richard A McAteer…Survived.
Second Aircraft involved:
B17G Flying Fortress named “Ding Dong Daddy”
Serial Number 42-97182
390th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Based at :- Parham / Framlingham in Suffolk
Location: In Warrens Spring Wood at Weston
Time: 09.05 Hours
Crew:
Pilot.
1st Lt George E Smith …Killed
Co-Pilot. 2nd Lt Carleton Sacco…Killed
Navigator. 2nd Lt Robert G Taylor…Killed
Bombardier. 2nd Lt Herman R Collins…Killed
Radio Operator. T/Sgt Victor G Graff…Killed
Eng / Top Turret Gunner. T/Sgt Allen J
McCasland Jr…Killed
Waist Gunner. S/Sgt Martin I Kilbride…Killed
Ball Turret Gunner. S/Sgt Michael K Kasarda…Killed
Tail Gunner. Corporal Gus G Brubaker…Killed.
The following account has been made
possible from a wide variety of sources, and is the author’s account of what
happened over the village of Weston on that fateful Saturday some 63 years ago
At approximately 09.00hrs on Saturday
26th August 1944 the villagers of Weston heard the now familiar droning hum of
bombers massing for a raid. So familiar had this sound become rarely did they
cast an eye upwards these days, however today would be different and for miles
around everyone would stare up at the sky in horror. Thousands of feet above
them a dull boom was heard, and a high pitched screaming whine as the pitch of
engines dramatically changed. A few minutes before a young lad Frank Hawkes had
stood watching a Tiger Moth perform some aerobatics over the village. Now the
noise from its tiny engine was drowned out by the approaching bombers. Frank was
used to this noise like everyone else but a change in the noise made him look
up. “Summits up with the Yanks” Alf said to him as they both shielded their eyes
from the glare of the early morning sun. Looking up they could see two of the
tiny appearing silver bombers were locked together. Suddenly they heard the
booming sound and the aircraft appeared to break up. “Bloody Hell” said Alf said
and ran off to get help. An oily black smudge appeared in the sky, surrounded by
hundreds of flashing and sparkling pieces. Just below the smudge another B17
could be seen spiralling around minus one of its wings. By now the collision had
been seen by people as far away as Letchworth and Stevenage. Some people even
began to cheer strangely believing the aircraft were German. Just after the
sound of the explosion a small three year old boy looked up and ran indoors.
Grabbing at his mothers apron strings in child-like innocence he said “Mummy
mummy there’s something wrong in the sky”
The weather so far indicated that this
would be a glorious summer’s day. The runways of Parham airfield already
shimmered in the early morning heat, and as the crews gathered a lone skylark
trilled high above them. Each aeroplane was standing on the surrounding
dispersal points, fully fuelled and bombed up: primed for readiness. Some were
still having last minute Ground Crew checks, emphasized by the occasional clang
of dropped spanners onto the concrete. The concrete surfaces of the runways and
dispersal points had that hot stone smell about them, and as each crew member
clambered aboard their bomber they were met with the heady odour of hot leather,
oil and paint. The mission for today was considered to be a bit of “Milk Run”.
Instead of a deep penetration raid it was just to be to the Brest Peninsular.
The targets were some German heavy artillery guns that had been shelling the
Brest region, therefore holding up the Allied capture of the port.
The first Wright-Cyclone engines spluttered to life and the base came to life
with a growing vibrating roar that carried for miles around the surrounding
countryside. By 7.33am the 390th`s aeroplanes were all airborne, engines
straining with the weight of fuel and bomb loads. Now began the long task of
waiting for all the other participating groups, in order to stack up over East
Anglia. The cloud was quite thin on this day and from high above the crews could
see the patchwork quilt appearing English countryside. Looking around they began
to see other formations, indeed the sky looked full. Some crews were watching
the lead ship in the formation B17 42-102936. Suddenly this aircraft appeared to
fly too close under the Lead Squadron. This action forced No4 position B17 right
into the prop wash of the lead element of three B17`s.
B17 42-97182 was violently swung about by the prop wash and forced downwards
towards B17 42-102936. Crews watched but the event was nothing unusual in such
congested skies. Many crews from other B17`s were later to state they were
uncertain as to whether 182 had come down on 936 or 936 had risen up too steeply
below 182. However the two aircraft began to get perilously close, “936 will you
please let down a little” crackled over the intercoms. A split second after this
the two massive B17`s locked together. 182`s propeller blades slashing into the
vertical stabiliser of 936, throwing small shreds of metal everywhere. Larger
fragments of 936`s stabiliser and fuselage began to be torn away. Frederick
Walsh the Top Turret Gunner on board 936 remembered looking up and seeing the
propeller blade tips from 182 cutting off the barrels of his 0.50 calibre
machine guns. 936`s wing surfaces began to disintegrate and fall away, both
aircraft tumbled over to the right hand side and went down in a sheet of white
flame. A short while afterwards bombs began to explode in the air and then the
remains of 936 simply exploded in a brilliant white flash. The Navigator Raymond
Klausing was immediately blown clean through the Plexiglas nose cone.
Miraculously he came to his senses pulled his ripcord and lived to tell his
story.
All that was left of 936 was a huge dark oily pall of smoke and loads of
downwards spiralling debris. Fourteen thousand feet below Alf had just said
“Bloody Hell” as he ran to get some assistance.
Up in the sky many of 936`s crew had been blown from their aircraft, and like
Raymond Klausing had managed to deploy their chutes. The bomb bay section of 936
had been ripped apart and released all of its 100lb GP bombs to rain down over
Weston Park. The spread of her bombs on the ground would be over three quarters
of a mile. Of these bombs some as we know exploded in the air, some fell and
detonated on the ground whilst others fortunately failed to explode and just lay
scattered over the fields. However exploding bombs created shock waves that
sucked some of the descending parachuting aircrew back upwards towards and into
the fireball above them. Others parachute canopies caught alight and adjacent
B17 crews watched in horror as the bodies of some of their colleagues and
friends fell to earth. Of the nine men in this crew only four would survive.
Having exploded with such violence 936 now consisted of several large sections
tumbling to earth. These included the cockpit/ forward fuselage section and one
wing, the other wing with engines still screaming was spiralling down leaving a
long trail of flame and smoke.
Authors note Mrs Wainwright
confirmed that one of the wings came down and virtually blocked the high banked
road near Halls Green, people could clamber underneath it. Local men managed to
move the wing to the side of an adjacent field. It is impossible to determine
now which aircraft this originated from)
The tail
section floated down accompanying what was left of the rear fuselage. Within the
forward fuselage and cockpit section which was full of flames Frederick Walsh
dazed and semi-conscious was stumbling around trapped by the huge forces. He
managed to grab a parachute pack that was stuck on a piece of jagged metal.
Finally clipping it on he was able to jump clear, but was quite badly burned.
The Pilot and Co-Pilot of 936 either trapped or overcome with flames remained in
this section of the aircraft as it fell. It floated down and impacted just
behind Friends Green cottages where it then erupted into a huge fireball,
shortly followed by the sound of exploding ammunition. One eyewitness Eric
Buckle recalled seeing the burned and crumpled cockpit containing two charred
bodies. Trapped in 936`s rear fuselage section as it tumbled through the sky
were Lotus Conser, Robert Hunter and Richard McAteer. Baling out McAteer briefly
glimpsed Hunter and Conser up front, both also about to get out. However Hunter
could not locate his parachute and desperately grabbed Conser so that they could
bail out together. When Conser pulled his rip cord the canopy opened fast due to
their combined weight. The jolt loosened the slightly dazed Hunter’s grip.
Despite frantic efforts Robert Hunter continued to slide down Consers body. He
began to lose his grip until he was hanging onto both of Consers flying boots,
then only one, then he was gone. Lotus Conser looked away as the young man
started a fall of over 10,000 feet that would terminate in a small meadow by
Warrens Green. His body left an imprint in the field which was still visible in
the early 1950`s. Of the survivors Raymond Klausing landed in the vicinity of
Fairclough Hall, Richard McAteer came down close to Lotus Conser in the grounds
of Weston Lodge. The rear fuselage section they had managed to escape from
slammed to earth in a field some quarter of a mile away. Frederick Walsh had
landed nearly a mile away from these three in a field near the Anchor Pub.
Meanwhile the other B17 182 had begun its slow descent to earth some minutes
before. One of its wings broke away and the ball turret literally popped out of
the fuselage section as it buckled and began to tear apart. Now totally
un-aerodynamic and spiralling round other bomber crews could see the sunlight
reflecting from 182`s Plexiglas fittings and falling debris….as could people on
the ground far below. As 182 tumbled through sky many of her bombs were wrenched
from their bomb bay housings and crashed their way through the thin alloy bomb
bay doors to fall over the surrounding countryside. A wing fluttered earthwards
with engines under full power, after several minutes this wing impacted the
ground in a sheet of flame beside a small wood near Halls Green. Here it was to
stay for many years. Sunlight and the elements slowly fading its bright blue
star and bar insignia. Until one day it was moved and hung up in a barn to
shield farm implements from bird droppings, It survived here until the 1970`s,
then like so many artefacts of this nature it was sold to a passing scrap
dealer. A rather ignominious ending for a relic of such a tragic historical
incident. Having plummeted thousands of feet, no one had yet managed to bale out
from 182. The centrifugal forces probably made escape impossible. One can but
imagine the terror and fear of those young men trapped inside their burning and
disintegrating bomber for what must have seemed an eternity. Finally, levelling
out into a flat spin the bomber was now upside down when the tail unit broke
away moments before the remains of the B17 impacted into the end of a small wood
at Warrens Green and ended the suffering. A huge fireball rose up and shortly
afterwards ammunition began to explode. The crumpled and flattened cockpit area
had burst open upon impact just some forty feet from the western edge of Warrens
Spring wood. After about five minutes a single bomb that had remained lodged in
the bomb bay detonated, scattering twigs, branches and lumps of clay over a wide
area. Creating a crater approximately 20 feet across and 8-10 feet deep. The
force of this blast also scattered pieces of 182 and her crew further around the
vicinity of the impact point
(Note :- Metal detecting and eyes
only recovery of artefacts has indicated that the majority of cockpit
instruments etc and items associated directly with the crew such as buckles, cap
badge fragments were spread 20-25 feet westwards from the bombs point of
detonation. Interestingly on some occasions when an artefact is in process of
recovery it is possible to find the original scorched and carbonised woodland
surface from 1944, showing charcoal and on some occasions even burned leaves.)
The blast from this single bomb also
damaged the roof of a nearby cottage and Farmhouse as well as the surrounding
trees which had many large branches torn away. Much of this small wood was now
seriously ablaze largely due to aviation fuel as were several cornfields in the
vicinity. At this time wreckage from 936 was still coming to earth also over a
wide area. Larger parts of 936`s structure had impacted the ground around the
same time as the one-winged 182 had impacted into the wood. One large part fell
at Halls Green and set fire to a hayrick. Several of 936`s engines broke away in
the air and smashed to ground nearby, one actually hitting Warrens Green
farmhouse and causing extensive damage. Inside where John Buckle, his Wife and
young son, all luckily unharmed upon walking around their house to look at the
damage, an awful sight greeted them: there on the lawn was a severed hand.
Authors Note :- Mrs Wainwright
telephoned me on 29th August 2007 to say that Eric Buckle had told her in the
early 1960`s that there was a huge chunky ring on one of the fingers of this
hand, this was almost certainly a Graduation Ring. Given its location this hand
would seem most likely to have originated from one of the four Lieutenants on
board B17 Ding Dong Daddy whose cockpit impacted only a 100 yards from this farm
house the hand possibly having been hurled from the impact point by the blast
from the bomb that exploded minutes afterwards.
Also from this vicinity the smashed
remains of a pearl handled Smith & Wesson revolver were found. Numerous bombs
now began to explode as they hit the ground. Tragically one bomb that did not
explode would cause the greatest civilian tragedy here. It punched straight
through the roof of a small bungalow, splintering a huge beam. Inside the
bungalow a wartime evacuee Mrs Webb had been bathing a small child David
Clements, both were killed.
Authors note:- Despite knowing Bob
Clements and his wife Anne (the parents of baby David) quite well I never asked
them about the incident which took the life of their baby son. However a close
relative of theirs did interview them and recorded the event on a tape-recorder
and sent the tape to me. This is one of my most treasured items relating to the
incident, and is now itself almost 20 years old, both Bob and his wife have now
sadly passed away.
As more bombs began exploding across
the fields from the Anchor Pub a young boy John Clements (brother of David) was
seriously injured in the thigh by a large lump of clay. Next door to the
Clements family lived Charles Grass, who also had witnessed the collision high
above him. He ran for cover with his wife towards a nearby ditch as bombs began
bursting all around them. Mrs Grass was thrown to the ground by an explosion
just 30 yards away. As they sheltered they noticed an American airman drifting
down towards them. This was Frederick Walsh, as he landed he appeared to be
shouting at them to take cover. Charles Grass did not heed any such warnings and
bravely ran over to assist the airman. Mr and Mrs Pearce from the Anchor Pub
also ran out to help. As Charles Grass got to the young airmen he heard the
words “I’m burning up, please take this gum outta my mouth” Getting Frederick
Walsh out of his harness was no easy task, but the rescuers managed to release
him and get him to the ditch. Frederick Walsh would later join the Irving
founded Caterpillar Club and Charles Grass went on to receive a Civil Award for
his bravery that day.
Another crewman from 936 who had managed to bale out, proceeded to gather up his
parachute. As he did so a jagged piece of airframe fell from the sky, piercing
his chest and killing him. So far the identity of this crew member has not been
ascertained but surely he must rank as one of the unluckiest individuals from
any air crash in this period. Within a short time a USAAF fire tender arrived
along with several local appliances. Another eye-witness was Robert Rand who
despite only being ten years old had been brought to the scene in a jeep from
nearby Nuthampstead. He remembers arriving at the scene and several people
turning over a large section of fuselage only to find a body stuck underneath. A
doctor from Baldock by the name of Renton-Riddle was called to the scene, to
administer medication to survivors. Some hours later his job done he stopped
outside the Anchor Pub. There on the grass verge lay an unexploded bomb and
bloodstained kit bags full of human remains gathered so far. At this time the
B17`s had undertaken their raid, and were now landing back at Parham. The German
guns had been destroyed totally, the only defence being some very light flak. On
Sunday the 27th August the local Home Guard began the job of scouring Weston
Park: looking for unexploded ordnance and body parts. However it was summertime
and dense undergrowth prevented them from finding everything. Frank Hawkes and
some friends were out looking for “souvenirs” when one of them spotted a
parachute canopy billowing out from the top of a tall conifer. One of them then
climbed up to get this precious item, but perhaps it wasn’t the best idea, as
wrapped up inside it and pinned to the tree was a dead airman. The lads pelted
off to find the local policeman; on their way to the village they were to find a
flying boot still with the foot inside. The remains of 182`s crew were still
being gathered from Warrens Spring wood for weeks afterwards, many locals
stating the woodland smelt of burnt wood, oil, rubber and decaying flesh for
ages. One local ex-poacher told me it was pointless taking ferrets into the wood
to look for rabbits, as they were distracted by the shreds of decaying flesh
everywhere. Another local man Tom Clements thought he had made a really
interesting keepsake. He spotted an American service issue cap lying in a bed of
nettles, thinking it was a shame the brass badge was missing he turned it over
and dropped it quickly…a large section of hair and skull was stuck inside it.
When the Ball Turret had broken away from 182`s fuselage high above Weston Park
that day Michael Kasarda the gunner was trapped inside it. Eventually both the
spherical turret and his body rammed some six feet deep into the chalky clay of
a field near Weston Lodge. The turret and its contents were discovered only when
someone went to investigate the hole to see if it contained an unexploded bomb,
and noticed two 0.50 gun barrels poking upwards from the bottom. Frank Hawkes
and his friends later that day when they had recovered decided to go and see
some large sections of 936 that had come to ground near Dane End. Inside the
fuselage they noticed it was awash with blue dinghy dye and many sealed drinking
water tins lay about. Some of the Plexiglas from both aircraft was later
fashioned into jewellery and at least one parachute went on to become lingerie
for local ladies. One local man went to the site some days later and found a
petrol cigarette lighter; amazingly he still has it today……and its still
works!!!
Souveniring was not always for personal gain, more often to obtain and acquire a
memento from a traumatic incident. Some locals however were looking for personal
gain from the tragedy, like those who drained fuel from a ruptured fuel tank to
power private vehicles. The fuel was found to be far too rich, but not before
several cars engine cylinders had been burned out. Also within this mass of
wreckage one lad found a dinghy, which he later hid. He was caught by a local
policeman using this whilst right in the middle of a lake; he was given a severe
ticking off. One young man living in Graveley was on leave from the Army when
the collision occurred he recalled “Walking across the fields to Weston. I came
to the crash site. Looking around I spotted a 0.50 Browning machine gun with
some linked bullets. Stupidly I bent down and pressed the trigger sending a
stream of bullets very close to some local boys who were playing around the
area. As a tank gunner I was only too aware of how stupid my actions were” Of
the four aircrew from 936 who survived the collision Raymond Klausing, Frederick
Walsh and Richard McAteer sadly all passed away in 1998, leaving just one Lotus
Conser. Who perhaps when modern day interests and distractions pause, his
thoughts on these occasions must go back to that day when he jumped from a
stricken B17 bomber along with Robert Hunter all those years ago.
Additional details relating to members
from both crews, kindly supplied on 26th August 2007 by Stephen Presswood the
Webmaster for the 390th BG Website
The crew of AC#297182, Ding Dong Daddy
basically all flew their missions together, give or take a mission or two, with
the exception of Gus C. Brubaker. He only flew with this crew on this one
mission. And he had flown only one other mission before this one with a
different crew.
The crew of AC#2102936 also flew their
three missions together. But I discovered that James J. Graba had flown as a
pilot on 25 missions prior to this mission and this was the only mission he flew
as a co-pilot.
Also, of the survivors, none of them
returned to duty except for Richard A. McAteer. He returned to duty and flew 24
more missions.
I've included Graba and McAteer's
mission summaries along with the mission summaries of the two crews that were
all basically the same. I'm also sending files showing the total missions flown
by the two aircraft.
This is my way of expressing to you my
admiration for you and the efforts you have made to honor these fine men of the
390th. I hope this information will be of some use to you with your research
The site and associated artefacts
found there since 1944:-
The woodland was mostly cleared a few
months after the collision; (Alice Cherry confirmed that this clearance was
completed by Italian POW`s…one is left wondering what these individuals might
have found here) however a few mature trees still bearing evidence of the crash
of 182 were left. The farmhouse where John Buckle his wife and young son so
luckily escaped injury was demolished shortly after the incident as it was so
structurally unstable. It was replaced shortly afterwards by a brick building
which still stands today surrounded by outbuildings some of which date back to
the time of the collision. In the 1970`s Den Mathews a ploughman was in a field
near Weston Lodge when his plough snagged a large item, almost stalling his
tractor. Upon removal it was seen to be a Browning 0.50 machine gun, one almost
certainly originating from B17 936. The gun was apparently collected and later
taken away by the police. In the 1970`s it was still possible to see quite large
sections of 182 in the wood where she came down, such as a huge section of
rubberised self sealing fuel tank, several trees also had debris sticking out
from their trunks and branches. Numerous individuals have searched the wood and
removed various items over the years. Recently a Lieutenants cap badge was found
in two battered pieces, parts of the throttle quadrants, instruments and
sections of control column from 182 have all been found in the wood. The fact
that the throttle quadrants were stuck in the ground vertically, cockpit
instruments were so crumpled etc we believe indicated that the remains of B17
number 182 (Ding Dong Daddy) impacted the woodland floor in an inverted
position. In 2002 the wood was again cleared, this time many mature trees were
not so lucky, now only three trees show scars and breakages attributable to when
B17 182 smashed into them. New undergrowth is sprouting quickly hiding the blue
powdery patches that show where another piece of metal is slowly oxidising in
the damp soil. In 2005 the tip of one of the control column yokes of B17 182 was
found, sticking out from a patch of disturbed soil at the edge of the wood. At
the end of a summer’s day when there is a good sunset it is still possible to
see shadows across the fields from long ago filled in bomb craters. The cottage
that had its roof damaged now has a large extension hiding the repairs. The
cottage where Mrs Webb and John Clements were killed still exists, and if one
looks carefully repair to roof tiles and brickwork can just be made out. One of
the largest reminders is in Warrens Spring wood where 182 crashed for here the
single bomb that detonated has left a large crater that still exists today. It
is difficult to imagine the loss of life and violence that happened in this
small wood, as it is at many crash sites across Hertfordshire. Apart from the
modern jets that pass overhead, these days the only real noise and disturbance
in this wood emanates from the rather aggressive pair of Moorhens that nest each
year on the dark earthy water filled bomb crater.
Contact from relatives of the crew
members:-
The relatives of Sergeant Richard
McAteer Tail Gunner on board B17 42-102936
During the compilation of my book the
author received an Email from a Mr M.Huffmann who lives in the United States;
his wife Janet is the daughter of Richard McAteer the Tail Gunner from B17
42-102936. Shortly before he died in 1998 Richard McAteer wrote a brief account
of what had happened fifty four years before and it is a privilege to be able to
quote an excerpt from that account in his own words. “I heard on the intercom
Sgt Walsh call the pilot to drop aircraft as there was an aircraft coming down
on top of us. I looked up from my tail position and looked right into the tail
wheel-well of the aircraft coming down on us. Then there was a crash and
explosion. The craft above was just far enough back that his propellers chewed
into our right wing. There was an explosion, when smoke cleared I was in the
waist section that had blown off. I crawled forward to the waist door and saw
Conser and Hunter in the end of waist preparing to jump. I salvoed the door and
went out”
The relatives of 2nd Lieutenant Robert
G. Taylor the Navigator on board B17 42-97182 called
“Ding Dong Daddy”
Just before this book went to press on
Friday January 12th 2007 another relative from the crew of “Ding Dong Daddy”
made contact with the author. This was Mark Bettinson who is the nephew of
Robert Taylor the Navigator. Incredibly Mark has in his possession letters,
photographs and artefacts all relating to the flying career of Robert Taylor and
most of his crew colleagues. Mark forwarded some of these photographs to me and
it is with much thanks and gratitude from me that he granted permission for them
to be published for the first time ever. This has allowed the author for the
first time in over three decades of research to finally see the faces for the
names to which he has become so familiar. In his collection of artefacts and
family possessions relating to “Uncle Bob” Mark has his Prayer Book showing
where he read up to, letters and a document that was sent back when the crew
were on tour in Russia. Incredibly he also has a dollar bill signed by many of
Ding Dong Daddy’s crew members which includes the signatures of George E. Smith
the Pilot, Carlton Sacco the Co-Pilot and Victor Graff the Radio Operator etc.
Well Mark and I carried on communicating via Email and initially he mentioned
how he would dearly like to come over to England and visit the crash site.
Within weeks these words were transformed into the purchase of two air-tickets
one each for himself and his father Howard. Plans were made and I started to
contact the land-owner, eye-witnesses and arrange for several of my friends who
share my passion for aviation archaeology and research to be available. The
weeks passed until finally the month of the visit (August) came and the days
sped by, soon it was the evening before, all preparations made I awaited the
arrival of our guests.
The relatives of Technical Sergeant
Victor G. Graff the Radio Operator on board B17
42-97182 called “Ding Dong Daddy”
Just after my book “War Torn Skies
Hertfordshire” was published incredibly another relative of one of the crew
members contacted me in August 2007 this was Mathew Dewis-Graff who is the Great
Nephew of Technical Sergeant Victor G Graff who was the Radio Operator on board
the B17 named Ding Dong Daddy. We have sent several Emails to each other and on
23rd August 2007 Matt sent me a colour photograph of his “Uncle Vic” which was a
great privilege for me to receive.
The visit of Mark and Howard Bettinson
(Wednesday 22nd August to Sunday 26th August 2007) Nephew and Brother-in-Law of
2/Lt Robert G. Taylor who was the Navigator on board B17 42-97182 Called “Ding
Dong Daddy”
Well after almost thirty years of
researching the American B17 bomber collision that took place on the 26th August
1944 over the village of Weston where I used to live, I find it incredible that
relatives of these aircrew members have actually contacted me. This occurred
whilst and after I was drafting the rough text for my book on Hertfordshire’s
aviation history, and I am very grateful for the pictures of the aircrew etc
that they sent over to me. After much planning two of the relatives of Robert G
Taylor the young Navigator killed on board the B17 named “Ding Dong Daddy” will
be flying over from the USA to come and see where the event occurred. They are
the Nephew and Brother in Law of Robert G Taylor, called Mark and Howard
Bettinson. I have arranged for them to meet two eye-witnesses who actually saw
the event 63 years ago. In addition they will be visiting the exact spot where
“Ding Dong Daddy” crashed. Many years of meticulous plotting of recovered
artefacts has reconstructed the shape of the impacting B17 and along with
wartime photographs it is possible to take them back to almost the exact spot on
the woodland floor where their relative died. On their second day they will be
going to Hendon Air Museum for a close-up inspection of a B17 bomber, Finally on
Sunday 26th August we will be going to stand outside the wood where Ding Dong
Daddy crashed at exactly 9.05 in the morning to remember Robert Taylor and
indeed the other thirteen young men who were killed over Weston Park on that day
so long ago. During their stay they will be shown a variety of artefacts that
have been picked up from the woodland floor over the last three decades, most
located with a metal detector but quite a few eyes only. These include two
sections of a crumpled Lieutenants cap badge and a burned pre decimal penny
(other persons have found several more of these pennies over the years).
Incredibly in relation to the cap badge fragments there is a 25% possibility
that these very items may even actually have been part of the one Robert G
Taylor was wearing that day, as he was one of four Lieutenants on board the B17.
This will be an incredibly emotional visit for these family members and every
effort will be taken to ensure they and the situation is treated with the utmost
of respect. Sadly one of them even asked if I had ever found Robert’s gold
signet ring in the wood. I haven’t and I don’t know of it ever being found, it
may even have still have been on his fingers when he was buried. Who knows if
this tragic artefact lies several inches down in the cold grey clay here? If it
is there at all, I know that one day the greatest chances of its recovery will
be with a metal detector, imagine the feeling as one squidges the dense clay in
your hand, dark and rotten adherent leaves flutter down and then a thin
burnished gold signet ring with the initials “RT” is finally found………….oh well
for the time being its just a dream………but who knows eh?
It was at 10.30 on the morning of
Wednesday the 22nd of August that I would first get to meet our guests: the
actual living relatives of Robert G Taylor!!!. Jason met and collected them from
their hotel in Stevenage, brought them to my house where we shook hands and
chatted fro an hour or so
We arrived at Alice Cherry’s house at
about mid day, Alice is both the landowner of the woodland crash site but most
importantly she actually witnessed the collision in 1944. When we arrived she
had even gone to the trouble of flying an American Stars and Stripes flag from
her garden, which was simply brilliant. Furthermore all of our party were
offered a selection of drinks from Champagne to Sherry which really made the
occasion special. Mark and Howard chatted to Alice for ages, and Mark actually
had some letters written by Robert G Taylor sent home to his mother and father
in the USA back in 1944. The exchange was incredible after Mark showed her
Robert Taylor’s Prayer Book; Alice was showing him a 3000 year old Bronze Age
Palstave axe that had been found in the area. It was an incredible event for
both me having researched this collision for the best part of 30 years and also
for Alice as 63 years ago she saw this event and now had family relatives from
one of the crew members actually sitting beside her. The local Comet newspaper
photographer arrived and took some photo’s both in Alice’s house and at the
crash scene. Despite it being August there was a roaring log fire in the grate,
emphasizing the awful weather being experienced by the UK at the moment, the
conversation flowed as rain beat against the wooden window frames still
containing their original Victorian glass. I watched as rivulets trickled down
each pane, pondering that these glass panes had been set probably sixty years
before the collision took place. We departed along with Alice and her two dogs
and arrived at the crash site the woodland canopy was dripping with rain and the
ground was very soft, however not put off we pushed through brambles and
undergrowth until we came to the exact spot where Mark’s relative had sadly died
all those years ago. This was just in front of the bomb hole in an area where
the Lts cap badge fragments and many oxygen mask clips, flying helmet clips,
dial faces, control yoke sections, poppers, instruments and the parachute
fragments along with buckles, harness releases and the D Ring were found. These
finds indicate clearly that this is where the forward section of Ding Dong Daddy
containing Robert Taylor and other crew members impacted the ground It was very
emotional and I could see the expression on Mark’s face he had travelled
thousands of miles to be here, and at last he was. We sheltered afterwards next
to a large Dutch Barn as the heavens really threw it down and as we stood there
I looked at the ground and sticking up was an exploded 0.50 callibre shell case.
It was one of the many hundreds loaded onto Ding Dong Daddy all those years
before. I took some photographs of Mark and his Father Howard holding this
artefact.
Thursday the 23rd August 2007
On the morning of the second day
Cliff, Jason, my sons Bradley and Bertie, me and our two American guests went to
The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. Here we were given a fantastic time, shown
around the museum but best of all a detailed tour around the B17 that is
displayed there. Looking over it we could see the exact position where “Uncle
Bob” would have sat in his B17 sixty three years before. The whole event was
organised by Lewis Shelley the bookshop manager at Hendon and we are all truly
indebted to him: for both taking the time and finally presenting our guests with
a superb book on the American Eighth Air force. Later we returned to the crash
site on the second day, and the weather was no kinder, grey skies crammed with
low level clouds once again released rain in wind blown drives across the
fields. Alice Cherry and Roddy Pryor along with his wife Caroline met us on site
as we sheltered against the Dutch barn. Roddy was also an eye-witness to event.
Since the weather was so bad Mark and his father Howard went back to Roddy`s
house to be given a full account. During this time those of us left decided to
trample through the wet woodland looking for more evidence, in particular a
propeller blade that was rumoured to lie in woodland some half a mile away.
Although we were unsuccessful in locating it….if it exists!!! (It didn’t!!!! it
later turned out to be a discarded large plough share, placed at the field’s
edge) However whilst in this neighbouring wood we did discover another example
of a surviving bomb hole. This was in the base of a depression and was exactly
the same dimensions as the one from Ding Dong Daddy, even to being water-filled
as well. Throughout the visit we used metal detectors to locate some artefacts
that I had found eyes only some months before and placed along an adjacent
hedge. The farmer has just created a new car park here and these bits had been
moved some distance away in the resulting soil disturbance. In the vicinity used
to be an old pond that for years was used as a dumping ground for dead livestock
and old tree stumps etc; however this has been filled in. Despite this there is
still a slight depression, and today obviously it was water filled, there
sitting right in the middle was a 20cm section of buckled and twisted stainless
steel 0.50 callibre bullet tracking still bearing some punched serial numbers We
could not detect at the actual crash site as I did not have a licence to do so
pursuant to the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, and in addition to this
the wood was brambly, too dense and wet. So we made do locating pieces that had
been found before and had been moved some distance away. In this we were not
successful in recovering all the pieces I remembered having placed here, but we
found enough to show Mark and Howard later on. Jason as enterprising as ever
took away a small piece of alloy and had it fashioned into a key-ring bearing
the engraved details “Robert G Taylor “Ding Dong Daddy” this will be presented
to Mark and Howard on the 63rd anniversary this coming Sunday.
Many thanks to Stan and Liz of
Stanjay Sports & Trophies of Godmanchester for doing the engraving, it really
was of the highest quality and very much appreciated by all concerned
Meanwhile back at home my wife Tina
and her friend Clare had been preparing a superb spread of hot curries,
Bolognese, cheeses, bread, pies and puddings and after we arrived back here
everyone sat down and reflected upon the day’s happenings. My friend Ian Loveday
came round later in the evening, Ian is distantly related to Bob and Anne
Clements whose little baby boy was killed as a result of the collision.
Friday the 24th to Saturday 25th
August 2007
During this period of their stay Mark
and Howard went to a family wedding in Norfolk, as well as visiting Framlingham
airfield in Suffolk. Framlingham is the airfield site where Robert Taylor had
taken off in Ding Dong Daddy nearly 63 years before. The control tower still
survives but most of the runway and hard stand sections have been broken up and
the land reverted back to agriculture.
On the 24th August 2007 whilst Mark
and Howard were in the United Kingdom a letter was received from Mrs Ruth
Wainwright who lives in Stevenage part of this letter is as follows
“I remember the 26th August 1944, very
well, although only eight and a half years old. Mum was expecting a baby in
October 1944 and as it was a Saturday she said we could all have a “lay in bed”
until the postman came at 9am. But that day was going to be different and the
postman would not come! We could hear the B17`s were all going over and then we
heard these other noises, Mum and Dad thought it was a German plane up with the
others and a Spitfire after it, as we could hear tracer bullets going off when
the explosion went off. Mum said “good they must have shot that Jerry down” but
how wrong we were. It was the two B17`s colliding and coming down, at the time
we lived at the Rising Sun Public House at Halls Green, my Father had just made
a cup of tea for us, my brother David was still asleep. My Father ran down the
stairs and went outside to see what was wrong as I ran out after him I asked him
“what was all that coming down in the sky?” I remember seeing all the black
smoke coming up from Warrens Green Woods, and all the debris coming down, also
an airman without a chute and another one coming down and his chute was burning,
what a terrible thing to see. The sky was full of pieces of all shapes and sizes
falling and the sun shone on it and everything seemed to twinkle. I can remember
a Fire Tender pulling up after a while and they asked my Father if he could tell
them where to go. My Father said “I’ll just put my jacket on and come and show
you the way” we did not see him for the rest of the day, at about 7.30pm he came
home, but did not talk about what he had been helping with and what he saw only
to say he helped comfort the Clements family and helped out at The Anchor Public
House. He said” it was all too sad to talk about and a dreadful thing to have
happened” and did not talk about it ever!!! I went out over the meadows with a
friend and found a yellow rubber like case with a gun and bullets in it. I was
told later it was a pistil for Verey lights, I wanted to keep it, but my friend
must have told her father and the next I knew was a Policeman and an ARP Warden
coming to my house and asking me what I had found!! After some talking I showed
them the case and said “I wanted to keep it” but they said it must be handed
over. I got upset about this and still said I wanted to keep it as I had found
it!! I was told no way could I keep it and the family would be in trouble if we
kept it, so I handed it over!! I also came upon a petrol tank in a field and a
lot of the silver paper as we called it that the planes carried. For a few weeks
the Bomb Disposal Unit was in the area also looking for unexploded bombs etc
etc!!”
Sunday the 26th August 2007 the 63rd
anniversary of the collision
I was up by 07.00hrs and awaited the
arrival of everyone at our agreed time of 08.00hrs outside my house. People
began to arrive from just past 08.00hrs, finally followed by Mark and Howard who
had driven all the way back from Norfolk this morning. We set off in convoy and
met Alice Cherry at the site as well as Mrs Ruth Wainwright (who wrote the
letter above) and her two sons. She was introduced to Mark and Howard and told
them what she had seen 63 years ago. The weather was absolutely perfect with
blue skies and fleeting high level clouds, Mrs Wainwright said this was exactly
as it had been on the 26th August 1944. Interestingly she said that the day back
then started as such but by late afternoon it was drizzling. Jason had also
brought along four medium sized firework rockets to mark the event. Timing had
to be precise and at 09.00hrs Mark and Howard were positioned in the woodland at
the exact spot where the B17`s cockpit had impacted. Out of respect they were
left alone and at 09.03hrs they were told this was the exact time of the
collision, in four minutes time at 09.07 they were signalled that was probably
the time that Ding Dong Daddy crashed into the wood on the very same spot they
were now standing on exactly 63 years before. Mrs Wainwright had brought along a
bag of red rose petals and she scattered these on the site of the cockpit impact
point. After this time photography was tactfully permitted as they came back
through the woodland. Bradley my son had been setting up the launching tube for
the rockets and we all proceeded round the side of the wood. When arrived at the
northern end of the wood I read aloud the names of the two crews (both those
killed and the survivors) and also the names of the two civilians who had been
killed. As soon as I had completed this in an otherwise windless day a
pronounced breeze sprung up from nowhere lasted about ten seconds and vanished
as quickly as it came. Jason and Bradley then lit and fired off all four
rockets. Each one rose high over the green woodland canopy leaving a thin white
smoke trail and then terminated with a multicoloured chrysanthemum shaped
airburst and a loud explosion which echoed all over the park. One of the dead
rockets actually impacted back to earth about 50 feet away, sticking out of the
soil!! It was now that Jason presented Mark and Howard with the polished section
of aluminium found a few days before. It had now been fashioned into a key-ring
with all the details engraved upon it. Words can never adequately describe pure
emotions, but Mark’s look said it all. A small piece of Ding Dong Daddy would
finally be heading back home again over the Atlantic ocean after some 63 years.
We then returned back to the woodland and in addition to the unusual breeze that
had occurred minutes before something else began to happen. For some reason this
has always been a quiet area, in the thirty years I have spent here I have never
heard a bird sing here ever, until now that is, For firstly one bird began to
call and was followed by others, Robins, Woodpigeons, Warblers and Sparrows were
now all singing until the end of the wood seemed to be crammed with birdsong,.
Now I am not a religious person at all, but something happened here in this wood
this morning perhaps restless angry youthful spirits so prematurely taken away
have at last been laid to a peaceful rest…I don’t know, but everyone attending
felt it. I know this woodland will never feel the same again, true it is a sad
place and always will be when one remembers what took place here, but it will
always be different now a heavy soulful pressure seems to have been lifted from
the area, and perhaps, just perhaps the birds could sense this… again I just
don’t know. All I know is that whatever did occur here this morning it was good
and meaningful. Both Mark and Howard now have a form of closure on an event just
a few months ago they knew little to nothing about, and here they were thousands
of miles from home in the middle of a Hertfordshire wood. At about 12.20 we
finally left the wood. Mrs Wainwright and her sons departed wishing our guests
well and hoping they had found peace within themselves. We chatted briefly by
the cars and then departed back to my house where picking up my sons Bertie and
Gus we departed again after several minutes. Our final destination was the
Rising Sun Public House where Mrs Wainwright had been born 71 years before, it
is still a pub today so we sat in the garden and sampled some local brews. As my
two young sons played around, I watched them as they came over to Mark and
Howard and watched the reactions of all concerned, different generations
different nationalities all brought together due to the supreme sacrifice made
by fourteen American airmen and two civilians nearly seven decades ago, but one
young 21 year old airman was most responsible today for bringing about this
remarkable situation over the last few days and this was Second Lieutenant
Robert G Taylor.
In the evening
Jason and his wife Mel collected Mark
and Howard from their hotel and took them back to the Bassingbourn barracks area
where they live. From here they were taken to Madingley Cemetery near Cambridge.
After this Mark and Howard were taken into Cambridge and saw the various
Colleges and other interesting features along the River Cam. Jason wanted to
show them the Eagle Public House for inside here can still be seen the names of
American Servicemen marked on the wall in candle smoke, lipstick, burned cork
and Zippo lighter flames. A local man inside pointed to an unusual marking made
in lipstick one night some Americans had lifted the landlord’s daughter up to
the ceiling and drawn around her body, I bet that was one hell of a party!!!!
Leaving here they went to Barrington for some drinks in the Oak Public House
before returning to their hotel in Stevenage, a good time was had by all
Monday the 27th August 2007
On this day Tina and I took our boys
to Ashwell Horse Show, where we had a stall promoting my new book as well as
selling some coins and Roman artefacts. After about three hours I heard a call
and saw Mark and Howard had come here too, I thought we had said our goodbyes
the day before..but these two guys had made an extra special effort to pop over
and see us literally hours before their flight departure. They had a look round
for about half an hour at all the various stalls, and then it really was time to
go. We said our goodbyes and I watched as they walked away and were finally lost
in the crowds…………our guests had gone. Sadly Jason and Mel turned up about twenty
minutes after, but of course they had said their goodbyes the night before.
The appearance of the crash site and
its condition in August 2007
In August 2007 the crash site
continues to be covered in new Alder sapling and bramble growth. The original
woodland clearance some 7 years ago has given these a new chance of growth. As
the Alder trees increase in size their canopies will once again crowd out the
light and the woodland undergrowth starved of light will decrease. This will
place the woodland back into a condition with which I was more familiar with
some 25-30 years ago. There are still several trees that exhibit strange growth
patterns most likely due to bomb blast. The modern day farmer has filled an
adjacent woodland ride with clearance from the car park and yard conversion
consisting of yellow clay and hardcore. This has sadly encroached on part of the
crash site but not to any great extent. The bomb hole that once used to be so
easy to locate is absolutely enshrined in bramble grass and young Alder
saplings. The broken Pine trees that once stood by the crater have all long
fallen down and now lie actually in the water filled crater itself. Looking at
the 1944 photograph taken the day afterwards these very trees can easily be seen
freshly shattered and splintered. The ploughed field adjacent to Warren Spring
wood was searched eyes only and several fragments of the B17 were seen in the
plough soil. I noticed that the tall conifer: where almost 63 years before Frank
Hawkes and his friends had discovered the dead airman wrapped up in his
billowing parachute canopy, was no longer standing. Alice Cherry confirmed that
this “historical tree” had in fact suffered in high winds about three years ago
and fallen down!!.
28th August 2007.
I returned to the area alone, and took
some more photographs of bomb craters in the vicinity. The woodland still has
singing birds, although not as many as Sunday. Overhead a trio of Common
Buzzards made use of a thermal their plaintive calls echoing over the park,
making the pigeons very nervous. I walked in front of the wood and saw a few
small pieces from Ding Dong Daddy but left them in situ. The rocket could be
seen still stuck firmly in the grassed edge of the field. As I walked along I
could see dried footprints from the various visits we had made beforehand.
Walking back across the field I found a torn shred of paper, part of the body
from one of the rockets we had fired, and decided to slip this into my pocket as
a keepsake.
Nearly finally if any of the above
relatives wish to return again or come to England perhaps for the first time to
see the crash site they will of course be shown the same welcoming hospitality
that Jason and I and everyone else involved over here hope we have provided this
time.
I and my colleagues will of course continue each and every year to research and
investigate the site where Ding Dong Daddy crashed.
My final opinions, hopes and feelings that encompass this entire event can be
simply summed up by dedicating this article to “Those who flew the skies and in
them found eternal freedom”
|
