大象传媒

This story is submitted by Helen Hughes of the People's War team in Wales on behalf of Group Captain G. H. Everitt CBE, DSO, DFC, AE, RAF (Retd), and is added to the site with his permission.

In late 1942 I was based at RAF Swinderby near Lincoln and was nearing the end of my second tour of bomber operations. On the night of 5th October whilst attacking Aachen, in Germany, my Lancaster aircraft was hit by flak which damaged a fuel tank and also put the two starboard engines out of action. We struggled to reach the coast of Kent and with a 300 foot cloud base, I succeeded in crash landing at RAF West Malling. The aircraft was a write-off.

The next day my crew and I were flown back to base. As a result of that incident which co-incided with the London Gazette announcement of the award of a bar to the DFC, I was given two days leave to visit my wife in Penylan, Cardiff. We'd been married there three months earlier. (There was no counselling in those days!)

Since it was not practical to go all that way and back by train in the time available my fellow flight commander, an Australian, agreed to fly me in a Lancaster to RAF St. Athan, the nearest airfield to Cardiff. As we approached that area we noticed the newly constructed - but unattended runway at Rhoose, which was much closer to Cardiff. We decided to land there and I was dropped off at the end of the runway before the aircraft took off again. As I was leaving the airfield I was confronted by a man who pointed out that the airfield was not yet open. I explained politely "It is open now - I've just landed and declared it open" and went on my way to hitch-hike into Cardiff.

In retrospect, and out of its wartime context, the landing at Rhoose could be deemed highly irresponsible. However, bearing in mind that back at base on 10th October, I was on operations over Wismar in Germany on 12th October and Kiel on the 13th, and also that our changes of surviving a tour of operations were slim - to say the least - our misdemeanour as Rhoose paled into insignificance.

We can claim though that on 8th October 1942 I made history by opening Rhoose - no known as Cardiff International Airport.

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