Up and breakfast by 11.00 AM. Thomas and Tina arrived at the hotel with the cars, and we were away to Reichwald Military Cemetery, Thomas, John and I in one car and Tina, Helen and Todd in the other. Thomas’ father had graciously lent us his car for the duration of our stay. Through much rural farm land, much of it along the Rhine River, we made our way to Kleve, a journey of one and a half hours. The cemetery is located in a wooded area, just off a major highway, near the Dutch border.
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The cemetery is meticulously kept, and after standing in front of the entrance to appreciate the beautiful setting, we entered, and made an entry in the visitors book in one of the compartments in one of the arches. John and Helen had purchased some nursery plants, lobelia and dahlias, which we took to the grave sites and planted them along the row of the crew’s graves. |
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The graves are marked with the traditional marker, with the names etched in plain text, including their regimental numbers, rank, and age. The cemetery is about the length of a two football fields, with graves side by side. I did not notice how many graves are there, but certainly they are in the thousands. |
The entrance is through an archway, with cemetery documents in an alcove at each end of the roofed area of one of the arches. In line with the entrance arch, spaced along the frontage are two similar arches, about one hundred feet on either side. Some one noted that they looked like guard towers in a prison, but I thought that they were very tastefully placed and did not give me any sense of a prison.
Edgar Clark, Lloyd Frizzell, Ab Rowley, Ken Wilson, Louis Basarb of the Ab Steeves Crew |
The graves of the crew were in line, Edgar Clark, Lloyd Frizzell, Ab. Rowley, Ken Wilson and Louis Basarab. The grass is freshly cut and meticulously trimmed. All my life since the war, I have had a feeling of obligation to come and visit these graves, and have a sense of satisfaction in having been there, and to see that the site is so well attended in such a beautiful setting. |
The photographers in the group took multiple pictures which will give a better appreciation of the place than will words. One can’t help wondering what potential was wiped out, when the war prematurely ended their earthly existence. I am sure that “Nobby” Clark would appreciate the great family that he created in the year before his death.
The graves of my crew mates are in line with those of the crew of Russ, Jane Pilling-Cormack’s great uncle, who perished on the same night and same target as we were on. While we were visiting the graves, a chap in early forties came into the grounds and walked over to speak to us. He had been attending an aircraft show which flew from a close-by airport, and came to see the graves of some mosquito pilots, as he has been studying the role of mosquitos in the war, and the fate of those lost in action. He had investigated two hundred mosquito crashes. He had also taken an interest in the crash of the plane of which Jane’s great uncle had been a crew member. We were all amazed at the coincidence of meeting such a person in a happenstance way. His name– Jurgen Haus, his address Bogen St. 140 Dusseldorf–4766A ISS Um. Phone 0049-2835-3582. e-mail j.haus@gmx.de. He had also done some investigation of the crash of my plane and crew, and had found the name of the fighter pilot that shot us down. [Hubert Rauh]. He invited me to contact him by e-mail for any other information he might have. We spent most of the afternoon around the cemetery, then motored back to Dusseldorf. Thomas took us for a short walk around the area to see the site of a WWII bomb shelter, and to a shrine placed in memory of some people killed in a bombing raid.
As it was getting to dinner time, we drove to the apartment of Thomas and Tina, where the males visited on the balcony, which overlooks a wooded park area from about tree top level. A bird about the size of our robin was singing lustily in a nearby tree, adding charm to our gathering. The balcony is mostly occupied by herbs and flower pots, in florid growth. One plant was loaded with green strawberries. A glider was giving us an air show, climbing very gracefully on the thermal up drafts. When we sat to dinner, we were served with a very German meal, served on the table, small portions of beef, chicken, and pork ready for cooking on a grill in the middle of the table. Also the vegetables and mushrooms were ready for cooking in a small upper compartment of the grill. Accompanying all of that was a fabulous salad! New small potatoes had been steamed and served separately. To garnish the food there was a variety of sauces and condiments. Needless to say, no one left that table hungry! After a forty five minute hiatus we had a dessert of three varieties of ice cream, covered with a sweet creamy sauce. By the end of dinner it was getting quite late, so that we soon wandered back to the hotel on foot. Bedtime was 12.08 AM.
Up, joined at breakfast table by Thomas and Tina, where we had lots of discussion of events of yesterday. From the hotel we walked the suburb, [I think it is called Gerritsen] to a large church, built in the 1700's in the romantic style, very beautiful architecture. Mass was just concluded, we waited until the people left, then visited every nook and cranny. All of the stained glass had been shattered by the concussion of the bombing raids in the war. We walked along the streets of Gerritsen, through an old market location which is now a boulevard park sort of walk way. Then went by car to a castle, where we signed up for a guided tour. At a nearby stand, we treated ourselves to an ice cream cone, then made our way to the room where our guide was to pick us up, and purchased some post cards. Our tour guide was a man who appeared in mid thirties, who spoke very rapidly in German, but also could be interrupted to answer questions in very good English. When he saw that I was interested, he directed remarks about the place that he thought was interesting to me in English. The castle was owned by an Earl, the story of whom is in the book. The castle was very interesting much like castles everywhere, but in a liveable state.
When the tour was finished, we went to our host’s apartment, where we were joined by Hanna and Helmut along with a very cute little dog. For an hour or more we went over the events of the past few days, and some of the events of the war. Then Tina presented us with another fabulous meal----German style tomato soup, then a plate of various cheeses, filet mignon, on a potato cake, all accompanied by red cabernet-sauvignon. For dessert we had a special chocolate mousse. All was delicious. After dinner we had much more talk about the terrible time of war, then the good times of reconciliation such as our gathering. Hanna and her family had a bad time in the days of Hitler, as her parents protested the things that the Nazis were doing, which landed them in a very unpleasant prison. Helmut’s father was imprisoned as he had belonged to the Communist party, and had an equally bad time. They expressed their thanks to me for the part that I played in the defeat of Hitler and his terrible regime. Thomas gave us a power point presentation, the topic being his research project which was started by seeing the Halifax motor in Herr Guldenburg’s field, then his search for the crew of the plane, then the happenings and visits with the Clarks and Todd and I. We were back to the hotel by 0108 AM. And to bed.
Awakened early, jumped out of bed, showered, and prepared to travel. Had breakfast, paid the hotel bill [Euro 55 per day], brought my luggage to the lobby, and sat with the others while they had breakfast. Tina and Thomas appeared with the cars, and we were away to the airport. Checked in, said our goodbyes, and expressed our appreciation for the wonderful time that we had been given, and the many services supplied. Our flight took off on time, and we had an uneventful trip to Manchester. From the airport we took transport to the home of Laura, where we met the family, consisting of Laura, [John’s daughter] her husband Bryan and their three year old daughter [I forget her name], but she is a very bright and beautiful little girl. Laura and her husband are both police officers. Bryan is very interested in the war stories, which I shared with him for a short time before he had to go to work. Laura and Bryan also have a boy Harry, five years old, but he was a way to school so that we didn’t meet him. We had a very pleasant visit with Laura and the little girl for most of the afternoon. John picked his car up from a nearby location. While at Laura’s, she gave us a very nice and substantial lunch. Our trip to Prestatyn, Wales was uneventful, through the Liverpool, Wrral, and Birkenhead area, much of it familiar from my previous visits to the area with Marilyn. We arrived at the home of Sue and John, a very lovely home in a magnificent location, looking over the Irish Sea, from Prestatyn to Colwyn Bay, with the little Orme in the distance. Evening passed very quickly and pleasantly with the Clarks after a delicious dinner of duck in a very tasty sauce, with rice and followed by a tasty dessert. We were shown our very comfortable quarters and bathroom.
Rejuvenated after a very good sleep on a comfortable bed, and a very good breakfast prepared by Sue, we were away to visit places and articles of interest. Of course, this part of Wales is very rich in historic places, beautiful scenery, and well preserved castles of the times of Edward I, in the 1200's. We visited three castles, the brochures that we gathered will tell the stories better than I can, and of course, their stories are in the history books. One of our unique experiences was a visit to a stone age copper mine, which is located on the Great Orme. These stone age people penetrated the earth to great depths through small passages that they created by the excavation of the ore and soil. Apparently the earth containing the copper deposits is firm enough that mine props were not necessary and the passages are still intact after several thousand years. We explored one of these passageways down sixty feet into the hill, tracts that are very claustrophobic, with water dripping down the walls. We visited a magazine kind of shop, and I purchased some antique cards for Marilyn. We then took a walk along the promenade, where we visited the smallest church in the world, with only six seats. Along the waterfront we visited the smallest house in the world, then had a beer before returning home about 6.00 PM. Sue prepared a great chicken dinner with vegetables and dessert. After some interesting conversation, Todd and John did some computer work, and I took the opportunity to show John my silk worm pin, and gave him one of the silk worm ties, representing my having saved my life with an Irving parachute. Then to bed for another good sleep.
Up and away with John and Todd to York and Elvington museum by 9.00 AM. arriving at the museum by 11.00 AM. At the gate we were met by a museum volunteer who questioned our reason for visiting. When John explained to him our story, and that we were to meet a lady that was arranging a tour for us, he waived the admission fee. At the gate, we met John’s uncle Frank and his wife Gail. Frank was eight years old when his brother [John’s father] was killed when our Halifax was shot down. He and John are very close, as Frank spent much of his childhood with John’s mother, and her second husband. From the gate, we made our way to the building containing a reconstructed Halifax which is museum state only. We were met by two volunteer attendants who spent nearly the whole afternoon showing us the aircraft. There was so much to see and remember about this remarkable craft, which I was privileged to fly in, and many memories came back as I climbed back and forth through the complicated and wonderful machinery. We entered the craft through the left lower mid fuselage, then made my way to the rear of the craft to the territory that I occupied through many days of training and my short operational experience.
I was given an invitation to enter the rear gun turret, where I was seated on that tragic night, weighing one hundred and fifty three pounds. With a major effort [I admit] I was able to seat myself in position of combat, but the turret is not functional, and the guns were not accessible, the breech covers being fastened down. I noted that the foot room for getting into and out of the turret was very restricted, which confirmed my opinion that I must have automatically, as trained and practiced, rotated the turret so that the doors opened to open space, pulled my feet free, and kicked myself out and into the sky. I then had an opportunity to inspect the other stations in the aircraft, with which I was not as familiar.
All of this very complicated machinery and the skills to operate it was flown by very young men who were trained to do so in a very few months. The ability for our navigator to find our way through night skies without many of the aids available today earned the respect of all of our crew. The rest of the crew were equally skilled in complicated technology. Such men, if they had the chance to live a full life could have achieved almost anything that they put their minds and hands to. Frank, Todd and John spent time comparing the engines with that in Herr Guldenburg’s field. The little time that we had we spent mostly in the Barnes Wallace exhibit admiring the many inventions that he made that helped win the war. He was the scientist that, along with pilot Guy Gibson, planned the bombing of the German dams. The story of the bouncing bombs is a well known one that can be found on the internet.
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I have left out some of the description of the functions of the rest of the crew. The mid upper gun turret (2) was occupied by my pal Louis Basarab. The pilot (4) sat in the cockpit of course. Just behind him, the flight engineer (3) had his station, where he monitored the engine gauges, the fuel tanks as they had to be drained in a specific manner to maintain the trim of the craft. He also assisted the pilot on take off by managing the throttles and the thrusters. The fight engineer was usually busy the whole time.
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| The wireless operator (5) had position behind the flight engineer where he looked after the intercom and his particular duties of communication. The navigator (6) sat down low, with his navigational equipment and radar assistance. When necessary he would come to the astrodome and take positional shots on the stars, then mathematically calculate our location. The bombardier (7) was located in the nose of the plane, acted as an observer of the underneath geographic features and of course directed the pilot on the bombing run. Image provided courtesy of Thomas Boller. Thomas Boller and Hanna Eggerath are authors of a book published in Oct, 2007 entitled "Der alte Flugmotor von Hochdahl-Trills". Click here to visit the publisher, Sutton Verlag's site. |
The afternoon was gone, so that we were away to York to the hotel where we had a drink, dinner, and a short walk, then to bed. John, Frank and Todd has a walk around the city, and especially visited the Shambles. Frank impressed Todd with his general knowledge.
Up to breakfast, a very nice buffet type with a total choice. We had an appointment at Benningborough Hall at 11.00 AM. We met Allyson Hodgson for a special tour of the Hall, the billets for the NCO’s flying out of Linton-on-Ouse airfield. This is a very handsome building, a manor house sort, with extensive gardens, very well kept by the National Trust of Great Britain. Our tour started in the basement, which is a series of cold damp rooms for the various purposes served by cellars. I did not see anything that resembled our quarters, as it would not be habitable for troops. The first floor consisted of suites and rooms decorated by many portraits which are from the National Trust bank of art. The second floor has a large room, which was used for parties by the Lord and Lady Chesterfield, and where I believe our cots were located. I remember it as having been quite comfortable, as compared to the Nissen huts that we had been in up to our posting to 408 Squadron. I clearly remembered the many arches. The stories of army cots, and lack of furnishings are not as I remember the place, although it certainly was spartan, I do believe that we had a locker for some of our belongings. The rest of the floor contained the usual rooms for the various functions of a country Earl and Lady. In one room, the Lady Chesterfield’s portrait [head to toe] depicted a very beautiful lady, and Lord Chesterfield’s on another wall. Allyson stated that, of course, the lady had a lover. Having seen enough of the Hall, Allyson showed us through the gardens, which were extensive, containing both decorative flower and vegetable produce. After thanking Allyson for the very extensive tour, we made our way to the car for our trip to the airfield at Linton-on-Ouse.
The station public relations officer, flight lieutenant Matt. Clark met us outside the guardhouse, we were checked through into the base. Matt Clark is retired from flying “Tornados”. He took us to meet a young pilot, a Squadron Leader, a flying instructor, who showed us a two seated, twin engine turbo jet training plane, asked me if I would like to sit in the cockpit, an offer that I was happy to accept. During these events, Matt Clark took multiple pictures in various poses, one of which was used by the Yorkshire Post for their newspaper article. We then were taken to the control tower, and through the radar room, where the various functions were explained to us. The detail that was covered was amazing, giving us a great respect for the work that is done by the flight controller and his crew.
Matt then took us to the Memorial Room, with pictures of the war days involved in the war activities, their triumphs and their disasters. There was a record of the activities of our crew, including the events of the tragic night of November 21, 1944. We were invited to make an entry with comments in the visitor’s book. There was a long table with bits of wreckage from various crashes. The day was getting very late, the various offices were closing, so that we said goodbye to Gail and Frank, as they were taking off to visit one of their children.
Again we had a very pleasant trip through very scenic countryside, skirting Liverpool and Birkenhead, to Prestatyn. After getting stretched out after the long motor ride, Sue called us to dinner of sausages in a cooked onion sauce, followed by a sweet white pudding with chocolate sauce. What a day we just had! Everyone was warm and welcoming, doing everything possible, to make the experience something to be remembered as exciting and fulfilling. Several times those around expressed gratitude to those who had helped to bring victory in the second terrible war of the twentieth century. What a thrill it was to sit in the cockpit of the beautiful twin engine Tucano. Allyson Hodgson at Benningborough Hall parted with a hug, and an expression of appreciation. As she conducted us through this very impressive building, she did not hurry, spending as much time as we required, and patiently answering the many questions. Much thanks to Allyson. Todd was extended the same gracious attention that I was given. On the way home, Todd and John had a great chat about various cars and their performance. I went to bed feeling that the last ten days produced so much more than we expected, as we were surprised by new information on our story of our Halifax and crew, and the involvement of so many people in our reception in Trills.
Up at 4.30 AM for usual hearty breakfast, and off to Manchester to catch our plane to Heathrow, leaving the Clark’s home before 6.30 AM. Sue offered to drive to give John a rest, as he has been driving a great amount the last few days. As we had taken to the road before rush hour, and with Sue’s exert driving, we had a very enjoyable morning ride through the now fairly familiar countryside. We said our goodbyes and expressed our profound thanks to the Clarks. While we were in the line to check in, Sue and John arrived with two copies of the Yorkshire Post which contained a very complete and accurate article on our trip to Benningborough Hall and to Linton-on-Ouse RAF Airfield. What an ending to our great trip! We soon had our seats confirmed, our baggage checked, our security check and on our way to the departure gate. Security checked out the framed piece of parachute, and were impressed with my explanation.
At Heathrow, we did the usual bus ride to the appropriate terminal, and straight to the departure gate, left on time, enjoyed our Traveler’s Plus accommodation. Soon after we were seated and settled, we were served an appetizer, and a short time later, a quite substantial lunch. Pearson airport welcomed us on time, and after a half hour in the live stock like immigration room, we were on the departure platform. Our trip home was very pleasant with a very good driver, with whom we had a little quiet conversation.
After the intense experiences of the last ten days, it will take a while to unwind, and thankfully, the quiet and comfort of the Bay Club is most welcome. It has been a trip to remember for all the right reasons!
Shortly after arriving home, I had a letter from Thomas Boller, who had heard from an elderly man, who stated that he had seen the events of November 21, 1944. He saw the Halifax get caught in the search lights, and shortly after explode. We keep getting more information about our story.
Jim McPhee Page 9 continued
