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'This story was submitted to the People's War site by Gareth Sergeant on behalf of Peter Flower, and has been added to this site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

The part of the A6 that cuts through Alvaston (Derby), Southbound, the boundary of which, in the 1940's, finished two houses past the entrance of Cornation Avenue., which in those days was a dead end, from that point on only open fields along the A6 until the village of Shardlow.

Adjacent to the corner of Coronation Ave. there is a large detatched house called 'The Limes', this was commended by the RAF as an intelligence unit, as Sgt. Ralph Barton in charge of 'The Limes', he was billted at No.23 Coronation Ave., where I lived with father Fred, mother Millie, Sister Audrey. Sgt. Barton used to finish at the unit around 10 pm; this was the signal for the five of us to sit down to a hot supper.

It should be pointed out that the gardens at the rear of all the houses on the same side as No.23 were quite long, and terminated at Booths Farm (Non-Residential), which ran parrallel to the length of the Avenue.

One evening approximately 9.30 pm in 1940, mother was at the cooker, which was next to the back door, preparing supper. there was a knock at the back door, on opening the door she was confronted by a man dressed in complete flying suit, helmet, goggles, parachute-harness etc. Mother just screamed 'Fred the Germans are here', dad rushed to the door, and it all turned out to be a Polish airman doing his night solo flight from Burnaston aerodrome, got lost, and put his Tiger Moth Biplane down in the field at the bottom of the garden, on gaining the main road he was directed to No. 23, where there was a member of the RAF. Dad took him down to The Limes, Sgt. Barton, Dad, and the airman, now divested of all the flying suits and equipment, he now wore his smart RAF uniform, with polish flashes, mother had set six places at the table, and with true Polish manners, the Pilot stood behind mothers chair, and refused to sit down until she had. Sgt. Barton and he went back to the 'Limes'and we never saw him again. I have often wondered if he did get his Pilots wings, and if he survived the war, I cannot recall his name.

The plane stood in the field for a couple of days, and was guarded by the police Home Guard. In turn, it drew a lot of onlookers along the A6. My father and I did manage to get a closer look, the pilot had been extremely lucky, the field had just been ploughed, and he had landed it without any lights lengthwise along the ruts. If he had done it across, then he would most certainly have turned over.

The RAF turned up with a Queen Mary, a lorry with long trailer, the plane was dismantled and taken away.

My mother swears that the reason she screamed when she opened the door, was because the figure stood smartly to attention, bowed, and said in somewhat clipped English, 'Good evening Madam'. I wonder if the event on record elsewhere?

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