July 22nd 1940 We Remember

Castle Camps (where P/O Bickerdike died that day) is a few miles south of Cambridge

By coincidence, Lofty and I walked Castle Camps the Sunday of Legends.

Straight from Snapper’s bench dedication (via a hearty Red Lion brekkie) we stopped off on our way to Rougham and stood at the threshold of one of the runways.

A Spitfire droned past, a good way distant, but still clearly audible and unmistakable.

It was a magic moment.

Moggy

They shall not grow old…..

Nice tale Steve, I look forward to seeing the photos 🙂

And thank you whalebone for posting these…I may not comment everyday, but I do observe (and I am sure I am not the only one)

Whalebone, sorry for bumping this one back to the top and getting it out of sequence, but I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. There’s a reason why I’m particularly pleased to see one for 22nd July, and that is that yesterday I flew my first cross channel flight.

As we crossed north Kent on our way down, I could see the outline of the French coast, and suddenly I found myself realising just how small this corner of the world really is. And how full and dangerous the skies above it must have been sixty four years ago.

Coming back, we tracked in overhead Dover before turning west and descending to 2000 feet for a couple of orbits overhead Capel Le Ferne. I felt the need to say a thank you to them, you see. Catherine was happily clicking away, and so as soon as she’s sent me the downloaded shots I’ll post one or two up.

On looking at the web page you’ve linked to, I see a number of places listed which we either flew over or near yesterday. Castle Camps (where P/O Bickerdike died that day) is a few miles south of Cambridge, our home base. Our track out and back to Calais took us over Maldon and Sheerness, and Manston Approach provided our Flight Infomation Service across the Channel. Maldon, Sheerness and Manston all took bombs that day. I wonder how many other GA pilots who were up over Kent and Essex yesterday – and there were quite a few – gave the matter any thought while they happily chugged along from A to B?

Given the history you’ve posted of 22nd July 1940, and the identity of the sole RAF casualty that day, I sit here now and find it particularly fitting that Capel Le Ferne has a gate guard Hurricane, albeit an FSM. Both the memorial and the Hurricane are a fine tribute to P/O Bickerdike, and of course all his comrades, of many nationalities, who gave their lives so that sixty four years later, I could enjoy flying in peaceful skies. God bless them all.

a soft bump