The Bomber Will Always Get Through

The holiday, it worked out, was to attend the funeral of my Aunt Ethel, killed during a Luftwaffe attack only a few days previously. I found out later, whilst researching Hastings wartime history, that the enemy raiders had consisted of Me 109s and FW 190s. Their targets were the large art-deco building of Marine Court (built to resemble the Queen Mary), and the important road junction at Silverhill. During the raid, heavy damage and casualties were incurred, my aunt unfortunately being one of them.

During the raid, an army lorry stopped, and the driver rushed out. He pulled up the tarpaulin at the back and armed the heavy machine gun. Firing continuously at the marauding invaders, his actions undoubtedly helped prevent any further loss of life. Soon after, with ambulances and fire engines at the scene, all attention was focused on helping those injured. The identity of the driver who had saved so many lives though, was unfortunately never discovered, and remains unknown to this day.

In September 1943, I left my temporary residence in Houghton Conquest, and returned home to be with my parents. As the war progressed and the tide slowly turned in favour of the allies, I knew from listening to the radio that it was only a matter of time before something big would happen to change the direction of the war for good. This was reinforced even more when, only a short time later, I saw strange black and white markings situated on the wings of some of our aircraft. At the time I did not know what they were, but of course, we now know them as invasion stripes. Used to identify friendly aircraft, they helped reduce the risk of friendly fire, something which had happened a few months earlier with a group of Dakotas. The following year, D-Day occurred, and the invasion stripes I had seen were put to good use.

   

As you can see from the brief description above, aviation, especially for a young boy living through some of the darkest years of history, invokes quite a few memories. Now, as a historian, and someone reaching their eighty-seventh year, the memories are just as vivid as they were as a young boy.

Yes, the bomber did get through to sow the wind, but Germany to its cost reaped the whirlwind.