大象传媒

It was November 1944 and a foggy day. My parents farmed at Oak Farm, Wakes Colne and father was in the Home Guard. We ran a Fordson tractor, but when needed, used a horse and cart to collect tractor vaporising oil from the station at Wakes Colne. I was 6 at the time.

That day we had collected a 40 gallon drum of oil and I was travelling in the cart with the drum. My parents were walking with the horse. As we climbed Vernons Hill, I heard an aeroplane and looking in that direction, saw it suddenly appear out of the fog and crash about 80 yards away in the field beside the road.

I can still see the red nose hitting the ground and the propellers buckling before it exploded. Trees next to the road caught fire from burning fuel. I ducked down in the cart as pieces flew over. A large lump of the red nose landed beside the cart, but neither I nor my parents were touched. Our placid old cart horse just stood still and only moved when spoken to!

We learned later that the pilot of the American Thunderbolt fighter bailed out when he became lost in the fog and was unhurt. Even today, small pieces of the plane are still being brought up by the plough.

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