SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - German irritation over British bomber memorial

Sammi79 · 06-27-12, 10:05 AM

It is a good thing. I wish my Grandad were here to see it. Many of his close friends died doing their job. He never spoke about his missions, apart from once when pressed by me when I was a child to relate a story about a bird strike on take off, that meant flying the rest of the 10+ hour mission with no windscreen and the entire crew covered in blood and feathers whilst slowly succumbing to frostbite. One of my cousins who was his favourite Grandson has since his death researched everything he could find out about his tours of duty, from RAF records, other survivors etc... There is a painting hanging in RAF Hendon that captures a moment that happened to him and his crew, by a crew member of another aircraft. My Grandad was flying in close formation when a bomb from a higher formation hit the aircraft directly ahead of his, and detonated all the bombs inside. His Lancaster was tilted past the vertical by the blast and badly damaged, after somehow managing to regain control he limped back to Mildenhall where the Lanc was written off. The mission was a complete disaster, so the next morning they were ordered to repeat it. It took nerves of steel to do that job, and I am only finding out about it now, 9 years after his death.

5th November, 1944 over Solingen. My Grandads Lanc is the one directly left of the explosion.

He did his duty then lived out the rest of his life in shame and regret. In his own words 'Son, please do not ask me to tell you these stories. I have to live with the fact that I dropped hundreds of tons of high explosives on people whom I had never met and had no personal quarrel with. It is something I hope you never have to understand.'

RAF bomber crews took horrendous losses, and suffered an unimaginable level of physical and mental stress. They always deserved a memorial, some would say more so than other less affected branches of the military, and it is a testament to compassion for the victims of these raids that it has been put off til now. I am truly sorry if any Germans feel irritated by it. With the comfortable benefit of hindsight we may not think what they did was right, but it was their duty.

Regards, Sam.

06-27-12, 10:05 AM	#7
Sammi79 XO Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Penzance Posts: 428 Downloads: 272 Uploads: 0	It is a good thing. I wish my Grandad were here to see it. Many of his close friends died doing their job. He never spoke about his missions, apart from once when pressed by me when I was a child to relate a story about a bird strike on take off, that meant flying the rest of the 10+ hour mission with no windscreen and the entire crew covered in blood and feathers whilst slowly succumbing to frostbite. One of my cousins who was his favourite Grandson has since his death researched everything he could find out about his tours of duty, from RAF records, other survivors etc... There is a painting hanging in RAF Hendon that captures a moment that happened to him and his crew, by a crew member of another aircraft. My Grandad was flying in close formation when a bomb from a higher formation hit the aircraft directly ahead of his, and detonated all the bombs inside. His Lancaster was tilted past the vertical by the blast and badly damaged, after somehow managing to regain control he limped back to Mildenhall where the Lanc was written off. The mission was a complete disaster, so the next morning they were ordered to repeat it. It took nerves of steel to do that job, and I am only finding out about it now, 9 years after his death. 5th November, 1944 over Solingen. My Grandads Lanc is the one directly left of the explosion. He did his duty then lived out the rest of his life in shame and regret. In his own words 'Son, please do not ask me to tell you these stories. I have to live with the fact that I dropped hundreds of tons of high explosives on people whom I had never met and had no personal quarrel with. It is something I hope you never have to understand.' RAF bomber crews took horrendous losses, and suffered an unimaginable level of physical and mental stress. They always deserved a memorial, some would say more so than other less affected branches of the military, and it is a testament to compassion for the victims of these raids that it has been put off til now. I am truly sorry if any Germans feel irritated by it. With the comfortable benefit of hindsight we may not think what they did was right, but it was their duty. Regards, Sam. __________________ Gadewais fy beic nghadwyno i'r rhai a rheiliau, pan wnes i ddychwelyd, yno mae'n roedd... Wedi mynd.