大象传媒

My War Years
By Trevor Keeling

In 1940 I was learning my trade as a fitter, fabricating parts and building aircraft refuellers at Thompson Bros鈥�. During the war years besides doing your normal job of work one had to take on duties such as fire watching, Air Raid Warden, Home Guard, Auxiliary Fireman or perhaps Observer Corps. I chose to join the Home Guard and started my duties when I was seventeen but was only officially accepted on my eighteenth birthday 17 January 1941.
I became a signaller in the South Staffordshire Regiment after polishing up on my ability to send and receive messages in Morse and semaphore, learned in the Boy Scouts.
Later, in September 1941 I volunteered for the R.A.F., however I was in a reserved occupation and was not released for my service in the R.A.F. until 13 May 1942.
I started life in the R.A.F. training as a mechanic at R.A.F. Locking, Somerset, after which I was posted to Finningley (then an O.T.U.). I also served at its satellite at Bircotes servicing Wellington Bombers. I was later posted to Oxfordshire, Bicester and Hinton-in-the-Hedges. Here I was servicing Ansons, Airspeeds, Oxfords and Miles Masters.
In September 1943 I volunteered to go on a 鈥楩itter 11 engines鈥� course at Blackpool (Squires Gate) and during this time I volunteered for aircrew as a Flight Engineer.
Then after passing out as a 鈥楩itter 11 Engines鈥� I was posted to St Athan. It was now February 1944.
As an experienced Flight Mechanic and now a 鈥楩itter 11 Engines鈥� the only training required before joining a crew was seven weeks 鈥檛ype training鈥� for Lancasters. On completion of my training and now with the rank of Sgt. Flight Engineer I was posted to No 1667 H.C.U. Sandtoft, Yorkshire.
My first training flight on Halifaxs started on 20 May 1944. After one week I was to join a crew.
To my surprise I met up with an old friend with whom I鈥檇 been in the Boy Scouts, one John Lovatt, whom I had last seen in 1942. John and his fellow crewmembers had just arrived from O.T.U. now to recruit a Flight Engineer. John introduced me to their skipper. F/O Gene Atyeo and I became their Flight Engineer. Our training on Halifaxes commenced on 鈥橠鈥� Day 6 June 1944. Training on Halifaxes was necessary because of a shortage of Lancasters for training purposes.
On 1 July 1944 we started our final training of a one-week course at Lancaster Finishing School at Hemswell. On completion we were posted to Ludford Magna, 101 Squadron.
101 Squadron was a 鈥檚pecial duty squadron鈥�, the aircraft being equipped with airborne 鈥楥IGAR鈥� jammers, three transmission aerials were used with this devise, two aerials being mounted above the fuselage, between the rear of the cockpit and mid upper turret, and the third below the nose.
In addition to the normal crew of seven, 101 Lancasters carried an additional, special wireless operator, making a total crew of eight, he was positioned on the port side above the bomb bays and behind our regular wireless operator.
The aircraft was also fitted with a Rose-Rice tail turret carrying two 5鈥� Browning Machine Guns in place of the usual .303 four gun unit. As well as the jamming gear the aircraft carried a full bomb load.
We started flying on the 10 July, by the 14 July we were on our first operational flight with the squadron in aircraft 鈥榁2鈥�, a night raid to Revigny, France. As the target had already been 鈥檚aturated鈥� when our wave arrived the 鈥橫aster Bomber鈥� called off any further bombing, so we turned around and dropped our bombs in the North Sea.
On the 18 July, in aircraft 鈥楾鈥�, our second operation was a daylight raid to Mannerville in France, Our third operation on the same day was a night raid to Aulnoye returning at 2:25 am on the 19th. I particularly remember on this raid how the tracer shells rose like a curtain as we crossed the enemy coast and that there was constant flack until we were back from the enemy from enemy territory.
Our next operation on 2 August, in aircraft 鈥橶鈥� was a daylight raid, to Joigny Laroche followed on the 2 August by another daylight raid to Conquereaux.
After flying 5 operations we were flying in 101鈥檚 famous 鈥橲鈥� sugar DV245.This aircraft completed 118 missions before being lost in March 1945. Unfortunately after 5 more 鈥檕ps鈥� in this aircraft it had to go in for a major service.
Our first operation in 鈥橲鈥橠V245 was a daylight raid on the 3 August 1944 to Trois-St-Maximim. This raid was lead by 3 Mosquitoes flying in formation, the target a V2 rocket site. The plan was that all bombs would be dropped from all planes at precisely the same moment, this being done visually, taking cue from the three leading Mosquitoes.
The following day, 4 August 1944 we set off for another daylight raid to Pauillac. On this operation we flew out at low level keeping below 1,000 feet from take off, flying down the Cheddar Gorge out over into the English Channel and out over the Bay Of Biscay, the entering the Garonne (Girronde) Estuary and rising to a bombing height of 11,000 feet. The enemy was completely taken by surprise, the flak guns only opening up as we approached the target. Pauillac was a submarine refuelling base; the smoke from the blazing fuel seemed to rise in a column to the height at which we were flying. The following day we carried out a similar raid on another submarine base at Blaye, also on the Garonne Estuary, this time we took a more direct approach over mainland France. We carried out two further raids with 鈥楽鈥橠V245, one on the 7August, a night raid over Caen, targeting military objectives and on the 10 August to Dijon to bomb railway marshalling yards.
Our next and what turned out to be, our last operation on the 12/13 August 1944 with 鈥榁鈥� (Venus) PB258 was to Brunswick, Germany. I remember that Clem Pearce the mid-upper gunner complained that he was not getting an oxygen supply. I gradually turned up the oxygen supply but only enough to satisfy realising that if I had turned it up full there would not have been enough to supply the crew for the duration of the flight, probably resulting in us having to abort this mission and turn back.
We made a successful run over the target, dropped our bombs, a mixture of H.E.s (high explosives) and incendiaries. On leaving the target we were to descend to 16000 ft and level out. Later the navigator, John Lovatt reported that it was now 0110 hours and we were twenty miles north of Hanover. Just 2 or 3 minutes later the rear gunner, David Balchin, said that flack was coming up at our rear. Gene Atyoe, the pilot asked to be advised if the flack got any closer, David did not need to do so as we were hit, puncturing the main fuel tanks on both sides of the plane, the starboard side tank immediately burst into flames. The order came, 鈥淏ale Out鈥� - 鈥淏ale Out鈥�.
Until the recent raid on Dijon I had always been rather careless as to where I left my parachute. A Lancaster that was over the target in front of us had had its inner port engine knocked out by a bomb falling from above it, resulting in the wing snapping off and the plane diving to the ground. I only saw one parachute partly open. I actually met this survivor in Stalug luft 7 many weeks later. He had been in hospital with broken legs.) Since this incident I was more careful where I stowed my chute.
I clipped on my 鈥檆hute鈥� and proceeded to the front hatch. Blake Patterson, the bomb aimer, and always referred to as Pat, had attempted to eject the hatch cover, but it had jammed diagonally across the rectangular exit. It was impossible to push out by hand so I sat on the front spar and repeatedly kicked on one side of the hatch inching it forward until it finally fell out.
Pat indicated that he had not yet clipped on his parachute and that I should jump first. John Lovatt was close behind me. As I was already sitting on the edge of the hatch opening I simply rolled forward somersaulting out. I spotted one other chute on the way down travelling faster than mine, this I thought was probably John Lovatt, who later told me that one panel of his chute had torn.
There were 10 Lancasters from 101 Squadron on this raid, 3 of, which were lost. Other Lancasters from 101 Squadron were on another German target and lost one aircraft. Of the 4 Lancasters lost 32 men lost their lives and six survived all members of my crew. I have since learned that Henry De Solla a Special Wireless Operator, also from 101 Squadron, and on the Brunswick raid, and tasked with a new jamming technique thought that his transmissions were attracting the night fighters. He decided to disobey orders, stopped jamming and returned safely.
I landed in a field right beside a young bull, which immediately showed his dislike at being disturbed. I began to run, gathering up my chute as I went. By the time I reached the edge of the field the bull was almost upon m. I dived though strands of barbed wire fence suffering no more than a small rip in my trousers.
I was unable to retrieve my parachute to hide it as it was by now completely entangled on the barbed wire fence.
I removed my 鈥淢ay West鈥� life jacket and retrieved a small lamp and battery that was clipped onto it and threw the May West under a bush. I had always carried an airman鈥檚 small prayer card with me that I read and then decided to move from this spot.
I started off in roughly a westerly direction and soon heard the barking of dogs and a man calling to them. The thought of large dogs tearing at my throat filled me with panic and I started running as fast as I could and came across a small quarry. My momentum was such that I could not check myself in time and fell about fifteen feet into the quarry; fortunately the landing was soft and did me no harm.
I now carried on at a slower pace eventually coming to a well with clean water in it; the bucket had already been drawn up. With the running and excitement of events, perspiration was pouring down my face, so a drink was very welcome. Shortly after leaving the well I came to a path running north/south. To the north I could just make out the man with the two large dogs but he had not spotted me.
The ground to the west side of the path seemed wet and boggy, and by the light of the half moon that night it seemed to me that the westerly direction across the boggy ground was the best option. There were lots of clumps of tufty grass growing across the area looking like stepping-stones.
After a while I became disorientated because the moon sometimes clouded over and I found myself travelling in the wrong direction, there were also trenches of water crossing my path, this forced me to turn south.
I eventually came to a small hill where I collapsed exhausted.
When I woke up it was beginning to get light but was still not light enough for me to see much of my surroundings. I settled down beside a pile of stacked peat for what must have been a couple of hours until a small terrier dog barking at my feet woke me up. A farm worker was not very far away so I slipped away keeping the peat stack between him and me.
I next came to a farmhouse with a well in the yard and now feeling very thirsty I stalked my way up to the well only to find the water was stagnant.
Later on I came to a field with irrigation ditches along its sides and I decided it was here that I would hide for the day, there being water at the bottom of the ditches. Soon I found that there were German guards in the field watching over French labourers who were being forced to work. I had to keep low all day. I ate a little concentrated chocolate, then tried to draw water from the irrigation ditch with a plastic tube into a latex balloon; both supplied in my escape kit. It was impossible to collect water this way without drawing in two or three tadpoles so I had to fish the tadpoles out with my fingers and then put in two Halezone water purifying tablets and wait twenty minutes for the water to become drinkable.
On studying my silk escape maps I believed I was on the southern edge of Lunenburg Heath and not very far from a single-track railway. In the evening the workers left the fields and I then decided to move, hoping to find the single-track railway line.
I came across a road with a canal running alongside. There was a bridge crossing the canal to the north. I saw someone wearing a black uniform and riding a bicycle towards me. I dashed down the embankment towards the canal, dropped my trousers in order to hide my flying boots and stooped in the tall grass as if I had been 鈥榯aken short鈥�. The cyclist passed by!
After making my way to the other side of the canal, over a hillock and along the edge of a field a man appeared on my left from behind a chicken coup where he had been shutting them up for the night. I was still 100 yards from him and knowing that he had seen me but perhaps not realising that I was an English airman, I decided to carry on, as by turning back I would have aroused his suspicion if I hadn鈥檛 already. My path did not take me any closer to him than I was already.

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