大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Jacqui Clayton from the Braunton Memories Team on behalf of Andre Potier and has been added to the site with his permission.

How low can you fly!

My name is Andre Potier I was born and brought up in Braunton, N.Devon. My story concerns one of my eldest brothers, Michael Potier a flight lieutenant in a bomber command RAF. He had volunteered before conscription and could be looked on as a bit of a daredevil.

In the early part of 1940 the telephone at home rang and my father answered it and found that it was Michael on the other end. Apparently he was at Chivenor a RAF Station in North Devon about 2 miles from where we lived. His squadron had been on a bombing raid to Brest, in France, where some of the German Navy were in port. He was flying a Blenheim two engine bomber and they had landed at Chivenor for re-fuelling on their way back to their base in East Anglia.

My father asked if it would be possible for us to come to the airfield gate and meet him, but as they were only there for a re-fuelling stop, it would not be possible. However he said that when they took off he would fly over the house and we might see him that way.

My mother, father, brother and I went out into the garden and waited and we heard several planes taking off. In a short while one of the aircraft came towards our house, which is situated at the end of the valley towards Ilfracombe. It got lower and lower and flew over the house at a height I have never seen, and an aircraft fly so low before. As it went over you could see him un the pilot cockpit waving to us like mad. The noise was deafening. It flew up the valley did a turn and flew back over the house, slightly higher this time and as it went over the plane waggled it wings.

Neighbours and people in the road not only heard the noise of the aircraft but were worried as to what was happening, when the word got around that the pilot was Michael Potier the comment were 鈥渢rust him鈥� or 鈥渋t could only be him鈥�.

The story has a sad ending as a few months later his squadron were posted to Malta, for a fortnight to relieve the squadron that was there. On the tenth day they were sent to bomb the fleet in Tripoli harbour, North Africa. A volunteer was asked for to fly in first and attract the fire from the war ships, so that the remainder of the squadron would have an easier raid. Unfortunately like all volunteers, the aircraft was badly damaged and he instructed his crew to bale out and he, being seriously injured flew the plane toward one of the large ships and crashed it by flying into the bridge. His waving from the plane as it flew over Braunton was the last time we saw him.

He lived for flying and was looking forward on his return from Malta to going for training on flying four engine bombers, which would mean long raids into Germany. Like a lot of other young people ing the RAF he was 21 when he died.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.