大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer on behalf of Pilot Officer John A. Martin DFC (retired) Larne, N. Ireland and been added to the site with his permission. Mr Martin understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I鈥檝e asked myself many times since the war ended, 鈥淲as it all worth it, given the lives that were lost during the war?鈥� I was at Waterbeach as a Flight Mechanic and I then went to train as a member of aircrew, and afterwards joined the Squadron. I had flown about 25 bombing missions, I was an old sweat by that time. Everyone else had gone, and Taffy Whitfield, the fellow who slept in the next bed to me, he arrived as a Flight Engineer. He was attached to an Australian crew. They went in to get briefed for their mission that night, it was an attack on Berlin. They came out from briefing and we went in for ours. I asked him whenever we came out, 鈥淲hat do you think of the mission tonight?鈥� He said to me, 鈥淲ith this crew, I have got no hope, no hope in this wide world. Getting through with this! They鈥檙e hopeless.鈥� We got to Berlin and I was in the astrodome. Berlin was like flying down Royal Avenue in Belfast, all the lights were on, everything was as clear as a bell. Once you start into Berlin, you never think you are going to get to the other end of the city. It鈥檚 so long. While I was in the astrodome, I saw Taff going over ahead of me. The next thing I saw, a fighter came up and shot him down, and that was the end of Taff. It all happened right in front of me, he was shot down. I was able to read his aircraft registration on the side of his aircraft. That was Big Taff Whitfield. You realise just how close you were to being shot down yourself, and wonder how did you get through the war? You were so close to combat and didn鈥檛 get any injuries.

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