大象传媒

AS A CHILD HAVING TO STAY AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AN HOUR LONGER ON A DARK COLD AND OFTEN WET SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN NOVEMBER SEEMED ENDLESS NOT FULLY UNDERSTANDING OR APPRECIATING THE CEREMONY THAT FOLLOWED ie, THE BUGLE BLOWING BY A NEIGHBOURS BROTHER AND THE MARCH TO THE VILLAGE SHRINE WHERE NAMES WERE READ OUT AND POPPIES LAID, ALL IN YOUR BEST COATS WITH POPPIES ATTACHED, SEEMED IMPORTANT.
HISTORY WAS ONE OF MY MOST LOVED SUBJECTS AT SCHOOL AND AS I GREW OLDER BECAME MORE AND MORE INTERSTED IN WW2 WHERE MY FATHERS BROTHER EDWIN WAS LOST.
EDWIN SON OF JOHN AND CAROLINE JOINED THE RAF IN NOVEMBER 1938.HE TRAINED ON THE I.O.MAN, OLD SARUM NR SALISBURY AND CRANWELL LINCS.
HIS RAF CAREER LASTED UNTIL 13TH MAY 1940 WHEN HE WAS SHOT DOWN IN HIS LYSANDER P.9063 WITH HIS PILOT PETER, HAVING LEFT FROM MONCHY-LAGACHE IN FRANCE AT 7.30am FOR A TACTICAL RECONAISSANCE FOR THE ARTILLERY.SEVEN MESSERSCHMITS ENDED THEIR LIVES AT 8.45am AS THEY CIRCLED OVER THE RIVER GETE ON THE OUTGAARDEN /GOETSENHOVEN
ROUTE.
I AM TOLD THAT 1 MESSER WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH AS THERE WAS NO CONTEST WITH THE LYSANDER.

THEY CAME TO REST IN A TREE WHICH WAS STILL STANDING 10yrs AGO WHEN I WENT TO FIND EDWINS GRAVE.THE GRAVE IS IN A CEMETERY IN OUTGAARDEN WHERE AFTER 2DAYS THE GERMANS ORDERED THE PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE TO BURY THE BODIES OF EDWIN AND PETER HIS PILOT.THE BURGOMEISTER, GARDE CHAMPETRE AND 10 OTHER MEN RECOVERED THE BODIES WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY AND BURIED THEM ON THE 17th MAY 1940.
WHILE TAKING THE BODIES OUT OF THE LYSANDER, THEY ALSO TOOK THE AIRCRAFT LOG BOOK (F700) AND 660 FRANCS FROM MY UNCLES UNIFORM.THESE WERE SENT BACK TO THE B.A.M. AFTER THE LIBERATION IN 1945.B.A.M SENT THE MONEY ON TO MY GRANDPARENTS,- AMAZING.MY GRANDPARENTS KNEW NOTHING OF MY UNCLE-JUST MISSING PRESUMED DEAD FOR SEVEN MONTHS UNTIL A LETTER ARRIVED ON CHRISTMAS EVE 1940 INFORMING THEM OF HIS FATE .
EDWINS BROTHER GERALD VISITED HIS GRAVE IN 1942 WHILE SERVING IN THE ARMY AND SENT A PHOTOGRAPH BACK OF THE TWO WOODEN CROSSES AND HEARTS WITH THEIR NAMES ON THAT HAD BEEN ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE.HE WAS TAKEN TO THE GRAVES BY A BELGIAN LADY AND SAID IT WAS VERY NICELY KEPT.THIS MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT SOURCE OF COMFORT TO MY GRANDPARENTS HAVING NO WAY OF TRAVELLING THEMSELVES.
WHEN I VISITED IN 1994 IT WAS STILL BEAUTIFULLY KEPT 50yrs ON.THE DEDICATION AND PRIDE FOR THE GRAVE ALONG WITH THE RESPECT FOR OUR MEN IS UNBELIEVABLE.
WHEN I STARTED MY TRIP TO BELGIUM ALL I HAD WAS THE SMALL BROWN AND CREAM PHOTOGRAPH FROM MY UNCLE WHO TOLD ME IT WAS IN A PLACE CALLED OUTGAARDEN.THE W.G.C. WERE VERY HELPFUL WHEN I CONTACTED THEM, THEY ASKED THE NAME OF MY UNCLE ,THEN LOOKED IN THEIR RECORDS AND SAID SON OF JOHN AND CAROLINE.THEY ALSO TOLD ME TO GET IN TOUCH WITH BELGIAN EMBASSY, WHO ASKED US TO MEET A CURATOR OF A MUSEUM WHEN WE GOT THERE AT THE TOWNHALL IN HOOGAARDEN.WHICH WE DID, AND THIS IS WHERE ALL THE EARLIER INFORMATION CAME FROM.
THIS JOLLY MAN CALLED JOE HAD SERVED IN THE BELGIAN AIR FORCE FOR MANY YEARS AND WAS NOW SETTING UP A MUSEUM.HE HAD BEEN TRYING FOR TEN YEARS TO GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE TWO MEN BURIED IN HIS VILLAGE SO THAT HE COULD INCLUDE THEM IN HIS MUSEUM.HE HAD WRITTEN TO THE M.O.D. IN ENGLAND AND ADVERTISED IN THE AIRMAIL, BUT TO NO AVAIL, SO THIS WAS A REAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR HIM.
HE TOOK US TO THE MUSEUM AND SHOWED US ALL THE INFORMATION ON THE INCIDENT ON MAY 13th 1940 IT WAS INCREDIBLE TO SEE THE LOG OF THE LYSANDER STILL IN PERFECT CONDITION.WE NEXT WENT TO THE CEMETERY WHERE THE TWO GRAVES ARE TOGETHER WITH WHITE RAF HEADSTONES AND BORDERED WITH AN ENGLISH TYPE KERBSTONE,AND PLANTED WITH THYME, PHLOX AND GEUMS.AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HEADSTONES LAY TWO POPPY WREATHS WITH RIBBONS OF THE ENGLISH AND BELGIAN FLAG COLOURS ENTWINED ACROSS THE MIDDLE.
THIS WAS A VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE AS THIS WAS NOT A WAR CEMETERY.THEY ARE THE ONLY TWO SERVICEMEN THERE, ALL THE REST ARE VILLAGERS.FROM HERE JOE TOOK US TO THE RIVER GETE WHERE THE LYSANDER WAS FLYING AND THEN ON TO THE FIELD WHERE THE LYSANDER CAME TO REST.IT WAS HERE THAT JOE SHOWED US THE TREE IN WHICH THEY LANDED.FINALLY WE WENT TO THE CHURCH WHERE THEIR SERVICE WAS HELD BUT COULD NOT GO IN AS THE CHURCH WAS LOCKED.
ALL THIS IN ONE DAY, AND WE REALLY DIDN`T NOTICE THE RAIN, HAIL AND SNOW.NOW IT WAS TIME TO SAY OUR GOODBYE TO JOE, WHO FELT LIKE A FRIEND ALREADY AND PROMISED TO SEND A COPY OF EVERYTHING IN THE MUSEUM,AND ASKED IF WE WOULD SEND PHOTOGRAPHS OF EDWIN`S CHILDHOOD, FAMILY, CHURCH, AND SCHOOL`S etc.ALSO HE ASKED IF I WOULD TRY TO FIND FAMILY OF PETER THE PILOT AND ANYONE LEFT IN 4th SQDN AND POSSIBLY LOCATE RAF CLOTHING OF THAT TIME- WHICH I DULY DID.
THE NEXT DAY WE WENT BACK TO THE CEMETERY AND PLANTED A SMALL RED ROSE AND A ROSEMARY PLANT AND PLACED A BUNCH OF WHITE HYACINTHS FROM MY GARDEN ON THE GRAVES.AS I WAS DOING THIS MY HUSBAND SAID HERE COMES EDWIN, AS I LOOKED UP A SMALL SINGLE ENGINED AEROPLANE APPEARED OUT OF THE CLOUDS INTO THE SUNSHINE AND CIRCLED ABOVE, I LOOKED AT MY HUSBAND AND SMILED.
FROM HERE WE WENT BACK TO THE FIELD TO PHOTOGRAPH THE SAID TREE, NOT KNOWING IF I REALLY BELIEVED AND AS THE CAMERA CLICKED , MY HUSBAND, SAID, HE`S BACK, HE`S FOLLOWING YOU AND THERE YET AGAIN WAS THIS SMALL AEROPLANE CIRCLING OVERHEAD IN THE SUNSHINE.JUST COINCIDENCE, I`M SURE, BUT GREAT TIMING.
WE NEXT WENT TO THE CHURCH AGAIN AS BEING SUNDAY WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE OPEN AND IT WAS.IT WAS A VERY HIGH CHURCH, CANDLE TABLES WITH MANY LIT,VERY ORNATE WITH RICH DECOR AND LIFESIZE ANIMALS CARVED, A DONKEY BY THE FONT AND SHEEP BY THE ORGAN AS I REMEMBER.WE PRAYED AND THEN VIEWED THE MANY BEAUTIFUL ASSETS.
AS WE LEFT I DECIDED TO LIGHT A CANDLE FOR THE TWO THEM, THE FIRST FOR PETER WHICH WAS SUCCESSFULL AND THE SECOND FOR EDWIN, TRIED SEVERAL TIMES BUT COULD NOT GET ONE TO LIGHT SO MOVED TO ANOTHER TABLE, SAME PROBLEM, SO MOVED TO TABLE No 3 THIS TIME SUCCESS BUT ALAS ONLY FOR A VERY SHORT TIME, AS IT FLICKERED AND WENT OUT, AT THIS POINT WE LEFT .
WHEN WE ARRIVED HOME I TELEPHONED THE W.G.C. TO TELL THEM OF MY MISSION, AS THEY HAD ASKED, SAYING I WASN`T SURE IF I BELIEVED ABOUT THE TREE, BUT WAS ASSURED THIS IS QUITE NORMAL AS THEY PRESERVE LOTS OF WAR-TIME OBJECTS SUCH AS SHEDS etc; AND THAT I SHOULD BELIEVE.I DID MENTION THE CANDLES AND THE AEROPLANE, TO WHICH HE SAID HE`LL KNOW YOU`VE BEEN, HOW ?WAS MY REPLY, I`M THE NEICE HE NEVER KNEW. BACK CAME THE SHORT REPLY, HE`LL KNOW.
THE PHOTOCOPIES OF THE PAPERS DULY ARRIVED FROM JOE AND TOGETHER WITH ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORIES I SPENT AN AFTERNOON WITH MY UNCLE, EDWINS BROTHER.WITH A TEAR IN HIS EYE HE SAID YOUR GRAN WOULD HAVE BEEN PLEASED YOU HAVE DONE THIS.MY SISTER HOWEVER QUESTIONED WHY I DID IT,YOU DIDN`T KNOW HIM, YOU WERE NOT EVEN BORN.THE FACT IS I DON`T KNOW WHY, PERHAPS THE MEMORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL, THE LOVE OF HISTORY AND AS I GREW OLDER THE REALISATION OF THE SACRIFICE EDWIN MADE (ALONG WITH MILLIONS OF OTHERS,WHO WERE LOST AND SOME NEVER TRACED)SUCH A HANDSOME MAN, NO MARRIAGE, NO FAMILY AT HIS GRAVE.I WAS TOLD BY A COMRADE OF HIS, THEY CALLED HIM THE OLD MAN - HE WAS 23, MOST WERE MUCH YOUNGER.
AFTER I CAME BACK I LOCATED ONE OF PETERS FAMILY, A NEPHEW, WHO LIVES IN LONDON AND HAD VISITED THE GRAVE 6 MONTHS BEFORE I WENT.ALSO I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE 4th SQDN WHO LIVED IN BASINGSTOKE.WHEN I WROTE TO HIM WITH MY UNCLES NAME AND DETAILS,IT WAS SUCH A SHOCK AND SURPRISE TO KNOW HE WAS ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS, AND HAD A PHOTOGRAPH REPRINTED IN BROWN AND CREAM OR SEPIA AS THEY CALL IT NOW, OF UNCLE EDWIN, WHEN THEY WERE TRAINING TOGETHER AT OLD SARUM. HE SAID WHEN HE TOOK IT OUT OF THE ALBUM, IT READ EDDY, 13th MAY 1940.HE TOLD ME HE WAS A GREAT GUY, FULL OF FUN, AND THAT THEY ALWAY`S REFERRED TO HIM AS THE OLD MAN.
ALONG WITH MY UNCLE, EDWIN`S BROTHER, WE MET ONE DAY WITH PHOTGRAPHS AND MEMORIES, JACK CAME FROM BASINGSTOKE AND PHILLIP FROM LONDON, MOST REWARDING WE AGRRED.EDWIN AND PETER`S PARENTS HAD KEPT IN TOUCH UNTIL THEY DIED, AND NOW TWO GENERATIONS ON WE HAD REUNITED AGAIN.JACK TOLD US ON THAT FATEFUL MORNING OF MAY THE 13th HOW HE HAD PASSED EDWIN AND PETER ON THE TARMAC, HAVING COME BACK FROM HIS MISSION, SHOUTED,.. GOOD LUCK.
HE SAID 50yrs ON IT WAS STILL VERY VIVID IN HIS MEMORY.
WHILE WORKING AT THE LOCAL HOSPITAL SOME 20yrs AGO, A LADY PATIENT ASKED IF I WAS LOCAL, YES, I REPLIED , ME TOO, WHAT WAS YOUR SURNAME , MOLD , I MAY HAVE KNOWN YOUR GRANDMOTHER, WAS SHE CAROLINE,AND LOST A SON EDWIN IN THE WAR, YES THATS RIGHT. I MET HER COMING OUT OF THE COOP, ASKED OF HER FAMILY, EDWIN LEAVES TOMORROW SHE SAID AND HE WON`T BE BACK.SADLY SHE WAS RIGHT, BUT I DIDN`T THINK SO AT THE TIME AND DULY TOLD HER SO IN MY SCHOOL MAA`M VOICE.
SO MAYBE I DID DO IT FOR MY GRAN, WHO KNOWS, BUT I AM VERY GLAD I DID IT.
EDWIN`S MEDAL`S ARRIVED IN NOVEMBER 1950,THE BOX IS THE SAME TODAY AS THEN,.THE MEDALS WERE NOT TAKEN OUT OR PUT ON THE RIBBONS.SUCH WAS THE LOSS TO MY GRANDMOTHER.THE MEDAL`S WERE STILL WRAPPED AND THE POSTAGE STAMP IS SO CLEAR TODAY - 50yrs ON.
JOE HAS SADLY PASSED AWAY IN BELGIUM, AFTER KEEPING CONTACT FOR MANY YEARS,ONE DAY I HOPE TO GO BACK.I AM UNABLE TO MAKE ANY CONTACT WITH JACK THESE DAYS, SO FEAR THE WORST.HE ALWAYS ENDED HIS LETTERS OR CONVERSATIONS, WITH, KEEP SMILING, HE SAID IT TOOK HIM THROUGH THE WAR.
I DON`T KNOW OF ANYONE ELSE THAT WAS IN TH 4th SQDN.I HAVE FOLLOWED AND VISITED EVERY LEAD, ONLY MONCHY-LAGACHE TO VISIT ONE DAY SOON I HOPE, TO SEE WHERE EDWIN`S FATEFUL DAY STARTED.
I TRIED TO FIND OUT IF THE MAN THAT SHOT EDWIN DOWN SURVIVED THE WAR, NO MALICE, JUST INTERESTED, BUT THE GERMANS DON`T KEEP RECORDS I WAS TOLD.
I STARTED TO WRITE THIS, HAVING COME BACK FROM PUTTING EDWIN`S CROSS ON THE VILLAGE SHRINE ONCE MORE. HOPING THIS IS FITTING FOR YOUR ARCHIVE SO THAT EDWIN`S SURVIVING BROTHER CAN READ IT.

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