大象传媒

This story has been added to the People's War website by Anne Wareing of the Lancashire Home Guard on behalf of Edwin Horner, the story is in his own words..

I was stationed at Oransden Lodge Airfield as a Flight Engineer with 405 City of Vancouver Squadron, (Pathfinders), as the only member of the R.A.F. serving with this Canadian crew. We were on our second tour of operations

On the morning of V.E. Day we were ordered to fly with the squadron to Brussels to bring ex Prisoners of War home. There were hundreds of planes 'stacked' over the airfield and we joined the circuit at 2000 ft. After a long time we landed. The pilot and Navigator went off for their briefing for the return trip. There were thousands of ex P.O.Ws waiting round the airfield and I went to the head of the queue and signed the Sergeant Major's form for 24 'bodies'. I led them back to our Lancaster and they sat on the grass to wait. Each man had a small rucksack and I opened the bomb bay so that the parcels could be stored inside. I used the hand pump to increase the hydraulic power to shut the doors again.

One of the men had a magnificent pair of boots. I asked him where he had got them and he said he had been looking at them for months being worn by one of the guards. When they were released he made the guard swap for his broken ones.

When the pilot and navigator returned we loaded the 24. One was a Corporal Navigator who had been shot down and captured very early in the war. We let him sit in front where he could see out, but the rest we told to sit on the bomb bay. They were warned not to get up when the plane changed position for landing. The midupper gunner was there to watch them

We~landed at Westcott in the Cotswolds which none of us had heard of before. Only 405 landed there and the 400 or so ex P.O.Ws were given individual attention and a wonderfiil buffet by the W.V.S., Salvation Army, A.T.S and W.A.A.Fs before being sent home

We did not have anything to eat but flew back to base, arriving at 4.50 p.m.. There had been celebrations at Gransden Lodge all day but there was nothing left for us to eat In spite of this we felt it had been one of the most satisfactory days of our life

Many years later the villagers of Great Gransden and survivors of 405 placed a window in the church in memory of those who had been killed. We were invited to attend the dedication service and afterwards over 100 ex airmen marched round to the Village Hall to be entertained to a lunch and to meet the local people. I met a man who had been a P.O.W.. He had been flown home on V.E.Day, but did not know till then that it was by the squadron based at his home

Edwin Horner

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