大象传媒

My nine months with Sydney Cotton鈥檚 Private Air Force.
By Geoffrey John Turnham,

Sydney Cotton 鈥� the early years.

Sydney Cotton was born is 1894 in Queensland, Australia. As a teenager he built his own light car, which was quite successful. The component designs were later used in Frazer Nash cars, He was a gentleman who became an engineer, an inventor, a pilot, a spy, a gun-runner and an adventurer.

His inventions included:
1. the Sidcot suit
2. an upward firing gun mount for firing a Zeppelins from an aircraft
3. long range bombing techniques
4. rear facing guns to defend the back of his Sopwith 1陆 Strutter WW1 fighter.

In 1915, at the age of 21,he came to England and joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) as a pilot. After only 5 hours solo flying he was sent to the front line.

It is an interesting aside that when, later in the war, the Red Barron, Von Richtoven, was shot down, he was wearing a British Sidcot Flying Suit as designed by Sydney Cotton.

After the war ended Sydney moved to Canada where he was engaged in aerial surveys, game spotting and seal spotting. He then turned to aerial photography, taking pictures of the Grand Canyon and other places, this turned out to be very successful and in 1938 Cotton returned to England and started up a company making aerial surveys called Aerofilms, with offices in Wembley and flying from Heston. Whilst running this business he was also working for MI6, touring all over Europe taking coloured aerial photographs of strategic sites, using his business as cover. On one occasion he was approached by a Colonel Winterbottom, who introduced him to the Head of Templehoff Airport in Berlin. This German official asked Cotton if he would take him up on a trip in his Lockheed Hudson L-12A aircraft. Permission was obtained for them to fly over the Rhine at Mannheim, which is a very beautiful area but was at the time a restricted area. Unknown to the Germans, Cotton had concealed two Leica cameras in the wings of the plane, with a shutter release lever under his seat! He manages to photograph the whole area, including the German Fleet at Wilhelmshaven on the way back!.

In September 1939 at the outbreak of World War II Cotton was well known to the Air Ministry for his exploits during 1938/9 and when Churchill demanded a complete appraisal of aerial photography he was called to the Air Ministry on the 12th and asked to assist. That same afternoon he took off in the Lockheed and photographed the whole of the Dutch coastline unofficially. At a second meeting on 17th September he presented these photographs to the high ranking officers at the Ministry. As a result he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as a Squadron Leader/Acting Wing Commander 鈥� a quick promotion from civilian to Wing Commander in five days!

He was placed in command of a Special Survey Flight, which had just been formed at Heston called Number 2 Camouflage Unit 鈥� for security reasons.

This Flight was made up of Cotton鈥檚 Hudson, a North American Beechcraft, and later two Spitfires and a Blenheim (which arrived in October 1939), Personnel comprised a Commanding Officer, a Photographic Officer, an Adjutant, four Pilot Officers and nineteen other ranks.

This is where I became involved with Sydney Cottons Private Air Force in November 1939!

I had joined 600 City of London Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, in 1938; we operated Hawker Demon biplanes from Hendon Aerodrome in North London. We were a night fighter squadron. On the outbreak of war we were moved to Northolt RAF Station, it was a very quiet period and nothing was happening , the aircrews had been sent on conversion courses to twin engine aircraft as we were exchanging the Hawker Demons for Bristol Blenheims. It was a boring time. As the crews started to return, practice night flying was going on and this involved flarepath duties and operation of the beacon. There were endless parades, bags of bull, cookhouse duties, painting the coal white, etc., You name it, we did it!

All of this made me a very bored teenager, newly promoter to AC1. Walking around the parade ground one morning, I saw a notice announcing:

I thought about this very carefully, I had been warned never to volunteer for anything! After a couple of circuits of the Square with a bunch of papers under my arm (never look as if you had nothing to do 鈥� someone soon found you something to do!) and remembering the old tales such as 鈥淎nyone interested in music report to the SWO; only to find the piano in the officer鈥檚 mess needed moving. However, I decided that anything must be better than what I was doing at the moment and I duly reported to the SWO. I told him I has seen the notice on the board, that I was interested in photography and had my own small Brownie camera in it鈥檚 canvas bag with me. His first question was,
鈥淐an you read and write?鈥�
I pointed out that I had managed to read the notice and was told not to be cheeky. (A surprising number of men could not read or write at that time), The SWO was an old time Warrant officer but he wasn鈥檛 a bad old fellow. He asked me a lot of questions and decided that I was OK for the job. I was to report to Wing Commander Sydney Cotton at Number 2 Camouflage Unit at Heston Aerodrome. He wanted a driver and personal assistant. I wondered why I needed a camera or be interested in photography to be in a Camouflage Unit.

I reported to the Motor Transport Section and was conveyed to Heston forthwith, complete with kit. After some time I was ushered into the Wing Commander鈥檚 Office. I was very surprised to see rather an elderly man sitting in the chair (he was 45 at the time and I was 19!). He welcomed me and asked lots of questions. I felt the interview was going well; after some time he said 鈥淧ut your kit in the North American Beechcraft on the tarmac and I will see you after lunch!.

I asked myself where we could be going? Soon after lunch we started towards the plane and I asked, 鈥淲here are we off to?鈥� 鈥淧aris, to start with.鈥� Cotton replied. I wondered what I had let myself in for. I was soon to find out; we also had Cotton鈥檚 valet with us. After a short flight we landed at Le Bourget Airport and were conveyed to an hotel in Paris for the night. I can鈥檛 remember the name of the valet, but after dinner he suggested that we went out for a night on the town. He was a much older man and much better equipped for drinking than I was. I drank wine like lemonade, knowing no better.

After a very bad night I reported, as directed, to the Wing Commander at the breakfast table. With a head like a football I could not eat, but managed some coffee as I tried to hide my condition from WC Cotton. He produced a bunch of keys from his pocket and told me 鈥淚 am flying down to Alsace Lorraine, take my car keys and bring the car to Nancy. Meet me at Nancy Airport when you arrive.鈥�

I didn鈥檛 know where Alsace Lorraine was, let alone Nancy. He went on, 鈥淭he car is a Hotchkiss Eight Saloon. It鈥檚 in the garage at the back of the hotel. Take George (or whatever the valet鈥檚 name was) for company on the road. There is a map in the glove pocket.鈥�

So there I was, a teenager with a head the size of a football, in a strange country, driving on the wrong side of the road and no idea of how to get this eight cylindered car to Nancy. Cotton disappeared saying, 鈥淪ee you in Nancy.鈥�

By midday I had plucked up enough courage to take a look at the monster parked in the hotel garage. The bonnet looked about ten feet long! However, we made a start, George with the map and after three circumnavigations of Paris we managed to find the right road. The blackout, lack of streetlights and dark lanes made it seem prudent to stop for the night, so we found a chambre d鈥檋ote in a small village. George made himself comfortable and had a good meal but I still felt too ill to eat. Afraid of leaving the monster with it鈥檚 Union Jack on the number plate, I decided to sleep in the car (not very successfully).

The next morning we started off again for Nancy and after getting lost quite a few times we eventually arrived at Nancy Airport. This was a private aerodrome; no RAF were allowed near us. We were 鈥楽ydney Cotton鈥檚 Private Air Force鈥�. Then I found out that Number 2 Camouflage Unit was just a name for security purposes.

All personnel lived in the Hotel de l鈥橴nivers in the town of Nancy. After reporting to WC Cotton I went straight to the hotel and crashed down for a good sleep, still having eaten nothing. Next morning, feeling very hungry, I went down to breakfast. In the dining room the tables were set out with baguettes, butter and jam. I sat down and poured myself a cup of coffee and waited for my breakfast, expecting the usual English meal. After a while a waitress came, 鈥淵ou have some breakfast Sir?鈥� 鈥淵es please鈥� I replied, 鈥淏acon, eggs and toast鈥�. She looked bewildered, but returned after some time with a plate containing a slice of ham and a small omelette. I didn鈥檛 bother with breakfast after that, I made do with bread and jam. We all dined in the hotel and wine was provided with the meal (Paid for by Sid Cotton, I think.)

I soon found out that I had attached myself to the Survey Flight of Number 1 Photographic Development Unit. Our aircraft at that time were two Spitfires, one Blenheim, the Beechcraft and the Lockheed Hudson. The unit was kept very busy preparing the aircraft for their use in aerial photography. Guns were taken out and cameras fitted where the ammunition boxes had been housed. All gaps were sealed with Plaster of Paris and the planes were painted sky blue or pink. After modification the speed of the aircraft could be increased by 20 to 40 knots.

Work and routing patrols took up most of the time to Christmas. Everything was very casual, no bull, no guard duties, in fact WC Cotton carried on as if he was dealing with his civilian staff back at Aerofilms. Morale was very high, everyone wore casual dress, the only thing he insisted on was that we were properly dressed for dinner at the hote.
Roy Nesbitt in his book 鈥� Eyes of the RAF鈥� wrote:

鈥淲e young airman delighted in this informality, no saluting, casual dress; we were Sydney Cotton鈥檚 Private Air Force, working on and with the aircraft, all working together. The end product was good intelligence producing photography.鈥�

Having been attached to the Wing Commander for some weeks we became very friendly and he set me tasks that I think I managed well. One day, when I was driving him he said, 鈥淚 think I should at least have a Leading Aircraftsman as my driver鈥� I replied, 鈥淵es Sir, I think that you should have a corporal鈥�. 鈥淒on鈥檛 push it鈥�, was his answer. I was told to see the Adjutant and tell him I was promoted to L.A.C. from them on. The Adjutant, red in the face, didn鈥檛 seem to approve, but the promotion went through quickly, although not as quickly as Syd Cotton鈥檚 civilian to Wing Commander in five days.

The Special Survey Flight had been stationed at Coulomniers, near Paris, but had moved to Nancy just prior to my arrival, to be nearer to Germany. Flying officer Longbottom flew the first sortie on November 18th over the area between the Seigfreid and Maginot Lines. Teardrop windows had been fitted on each side of the cockpit to give better vision. On the 22nd November Longbottom again took off and photographed the Aachen area of Germany. However, low cloud restricted operations until 21st December when photos were taken of the whole area, Dusseldorf, Aachen and Cologne, with excellent results.

Christmas 1939 was soon upon us. Christmas Day was a rest day 鈥� at least so I thought 鈥� until after breakfast I was approached by nthe Wing Commander, who said, 鈥淭he pilots are going to bomb the German Aerodrome at Strasborg at 12 noon, just when the German airmen would be sitting down for drinks before their Christmas Dinner鈥�. He went on to ask me to see the chef at the hotel and to try to get some bags of flour. Cotton and Longbottom were intending to drop them in front of the hangers as a joke. The sortie went well, the bombs were dropped 鈥� hopefully at the right moment.

The Germans, having no sense of humour, returned the compliment on Boxing Day and dropped two real bombs on the aerodrome. However the joke was on them again as we were all in town at the hotel, having lunch.

Back to Christmas Day and to show what Syd Cotton was like, after lunch he asked me what the boys were doing on Christmas evening. I told him some of them had been invited out by some locals and a few of us had been asked out but to a place on the other side of town and we had no transport. Without hesitation he said, 鈥淭ake the Hotchkiss, I won鈥檛 be using it. Make sure you look after it, won鈥檛 you?鈥� The party went well, lots of drinks; plenty of girls and everyone became well oiled. It was quite late when we set of to get back to the hotel and one of the airman bet me I couldn鈥檛 drive the care all the way back in reverse. I did for a short way but remembered I had promised to look after the car and my conscience prevailed on me. By now it was the early hours of Boxing Day and pitch black when I saw a single white light approaching me on my side of the road! A bell clanged and I realised it was a tram 鈥� a tram in the early hours of Boxing Morning! Hard to believe 鈥� perhaps it was a ghostly tram. I managed to swerve to my offside, just in time, which sobered me up very quickly.

I remember one incident very clearly. Early in January 1940 I was called into the office and asked to take two oxygen bottles to the hospital in Bar-le-Duc, where they were needed urgently for the treatment of a British airman who had crashed nearby. It was not too far and I found the way without any trouble and on the outskirts of the town I saw a man in a ditch, cutting the hedge. I stopped and asked in my very best French, 鈥淓xcuse moi, direction pour l鈥檋opital s鈥檌l vous plait?鈥�. His reply was, 鈥淚 think if we speak English it will be better.鈥� He gave me accurate directions and I delivered the oxygen in good time. On the way back the man was still cutting the hedge and I now had time to talk to him. I asked him how he came to speak such good English and he told me he had lived in England for many years. I had noticed, when I had stopped for directions, that it seemed as if he was going to run away. I put this to him and he explained, 鈥渁t first I thought it was a German Staff car. When you got out I mistook your blue Air Force uniform for German grey.鈥� I wondered what on earth a German Staff car might have been doing in Bar-le-Duc.

On the 17th January 1940 the Survey Flights of Number 2 Photographic Development Unit were renamed 212 Squadron. This made no difference, the flights carried on as before. The change of name was made on security grounds, to confuse the Germans. During the next couple of months the survey flights continued; by the 26th January 1940 one Spitfire had photographed 5,000 square miles, mostly over neutral Holland and Belgium. During this time France had lost 60 aircraft.
Crossing over Turkey, they took photos of Batam, on the coast of the Black Sea. A certain amount of anti-aircraft fire was seen at 20,000 feet, but no damage was done. The Hudson returned to Egypt and was converted back to RAF markings and returned to Heston on the 13th April.

The pictures were interpreted and target maps made but due to other commitments the bombing raids on the Caucasus did not take place. By the 14th May things were looking very serious, the Blitz had started and the War was not going well. Holland fell on the 14th May; Belgium on the 28th and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary force had begun via Dunkirk. A second Operation to protect the retreat of the allied forces, Operation Ariel swung into action. The rear guard and the remnants of the BEF withdrew towards Cherbourg. By the 16th and 17th June 1940 there were 136,000 British, 20,000 French, Belgian and Polish troops evacuating via Cherbourg.

This was o help to 212 Squadron based in Nancy, Paris had fallen on the 14th June and we were cut of from the Channel ports. On the 17th June 3,000 troops and civilians died on the Lancastria when she was bombed and sank sailing from St Nazaire. On the 18th June Cherbourg fell to the Germans.

The Special Survey Flight received orders to evacuate on 16th June but Cotton decided not to obey. The order was repeated on the 17th. Personnel were instructed to get back to England by whatever means available. Some managed to get into the Blenheim and flew back, The Squadron and it鈥檚 mobile equipment set off in the direction of Poitiers. The roads were very crowded with cars and lorries all trying to make their way south. Cotton circled overhead and along the route watching he men from the Hudson. After a very long day we reached Poitiers where we camped for the night. We had found an abandoned Fairy Battle aircraft on the airfield. It had a damaged wingtip; some of the ground staff made a temporary repair with a piece of fence and some fabric, Cards were drawn for a place on the aircraft and Flight Lieutenant Tug Wilson flew back Sergeants Walton and Ward, LAC Cook and Aircraftman Jim Muncie to Heston.

The rest of the unit carried on next day (19th June) to a grass airfield at Fontenay-le-Comte where all the photographic trailers, trucks, tankers, a bowser, a power unit and a van were piled up into a corner of the field and set on fire. Cotton flew four other personnel back to England in the Hudson via Jersey and the rest of us slept in the open. Cotton returned to Bordeaux to pick up more of us stranded there the next day. Morale remained high in spite of the danger. Cotton made another rescue trip with a second pilot to Le Luc to pick up an abandoned Hudson there but found it destroyed on the ground by the Italian Air Force when he got there. At this time some of us decided to make our own way back, sleeping in the open was no fun and we had waited long enough. We took the remaining 15cwt truck and drove to Bordeaux. After a search of the quayside and a little help from the authorities we found a coal boat sailing for England that would take us. Abandoning the truck on the dock we decided to take a chance on this ship, the alternative was being killed, captured by the Germans or interned by the Vichy Authorities. I remember little of the journey home, except being locked in a very large cabin during the day and only allowed on deck when it was dark. We were well fed and warm; I don鈥檛 know but I think it was a neural vessel and we had to be kept out of sight from the authorities. Early in July we got back to England, after a long rail journey back to London and then to Heston we were reunited with the unit. Syd Cotton and Flight Lieutenant Niven picked up the rest of the unit from Bordeaux and everyone made it back safely.

Back at Heston the Wing Commander found a letter, written on the 16th June, waiting for him. Polite but terse, it expressed appreciation for his work but em that the Photographic Development Unit was to be removed from his command and would be taken over by Wing Commander Tuttle under the Commander-in-Chief Coastal Command.

Sydney Cotton鈥檚 Private Air Force had died and the World War II Photographic Reconnaissance Units had been born.

Wing Commander Cotton OBE DFC remained in the RAF until the end of the war, working on various operations including:
q The spotting of the build-up of forces before the invasion of Norway,
q The photographic survey and preparation for the capture or German Radar equipment in late 1941 at Bruneval.
q Spotting the Field Marshal鈥檚 tanks at Arnhem the day before Operation Market Garden and
q Photographic monitoring or the missile programme at Peenemunde.

I was called to the Orderly Room at Heston and issued with a rail warrant to return to 600 City of London Squadron. When I asked where they were I was told, 鈥淥h! It鈥檚 a nice quiet spot by the sea.鈥� I arrived at Manston just in time for the Battle of Britain! So it was ack to the ordinary war 鈥� Bull, SWOs, saluting, night flying duties, etc., but I still had my Brownie in ites little canvs bag鈥nused>

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