Blenheim Boy

Sorry to dig up old thread

Crew of R3763 40 Sqn 25/26-07-1940
were
Pilot: Sgt Philip Harry Steele 566364
Obs: Sgt James Moore 581520
WO/AG: Sgt Roger Peacock 546775

All PoW and all baled out

The reason I was looking at this again is that Roger Peacock baleout in Into The Silk by Ian Mackersey pub 1956

Though the target not right in book. It describes how Peacock baled out very low after aircraft went into slow spiral spin had not heard baleout command. Pilot landed later in same area so jumped out in same ‘vertical spot’ in spiral spin but 6,000 feet higher but Obs landed several miles away

The plane blowing up underneath him inflated his only partially opened canopy and blew him up and sideways from wreckage and saved his life

hi,
a tiny thread drift, but I,m reading ” the Reich Intruders ” by Martin W Bowman, 2-3 chapters concern the Blenheims of 2 group, doing Ramrod, Circuses, and shipping strikes. In the summer of 1941, they were going down like 9 pins, statistically you could not survive more than 7 to 10 ops. Anyone who survived 7 trips was promoted to Flt. Lieutenant, and on average anyone who’d done 15 as a Sqd. Leader, ie Squadron Leader Richard A. Shuttleworth age 21,

regards,
jack…

Roger Peacock

Hi Geoff. I too was at Lascelles from 1956 to 1961 and Roger was my math teacher. I became friendly with Roger years later and we spent good times together. I live in the USA now, but on one occasion that I and my family visited the UK, Roger ‘borrowed’ my two son’s and they spent a day together looking at the “London that Roger knew” They remember that day with great fondness.

He was a great, and wise man. Most definitely, he, his teaching, his mentoring, his humanity, has steered the course of my life ever since.

I hope that everyone has the chance meet someone like Roger Peacock in his/her life time. I am glad that you did.

Then, I lived on Hill Rd in Harrow. Some of the folks I knew then include Denville Reed who I consider my best friend, Dick Barley, Alan English and more. Love to hear more of your time at Lascelles and generally in the Harrow area.

Regards
/colin
[email]crtmmac@comcast.net[/email]

My word this is a ‘zombie’ thread. I had forgotten I read this book!
mmitch.

This is a great book – I really enjoyed it – and even better – it’s available on Audio too !!

I think his setting of the scene and the mood in 1939/40 was just terrific.

Arc

Roger Peacock – A teacher at my school

Roger Peacock used to teach Religious Knowledge and Social Studies at my secondary school (Lascelles) in the 50s. He was a very interesting teacher and all the pupils liked him a lot.

I never knew he had written any books, and now I’m on the lookout for them.

I tried to make contact with him during the 90s, but he had changed address and then I found out he had died in a retirement home in Harrow, Middlesex.

I wanted to meet him as he had sparked my interest in the German language, which he spoke fluently, and as I lived for 20 years in Switzerland, so do I.

He used to organise frequent school-trips to a youth hostel in Germany (Kloster Oesede, near Osnabrück). He used to recount stories about the war and ghost stories to us before we went to sleep. It was because of his stories about the war that I read the book “Boldness be my friend”.

I should have made a better effort to find him…

Cheerz, Geoff (Pickles).

Very interesting, thanks gents. He didn’t mention which squadron in the text, but thanked the 90 squadron association in the preface.
Excellent book.
mmitch.

Also.. ‘Richard Passmore’ has written of his captivity in the book ‘Moving Tent’

For trivial completeness:

Sgt Roger Peacock was POW #192
Sgt P Steele POW #195
Sgt J Moore POW #188

Moving Tent
Hardcover, ISBN: 0950601233
Publisher: Thomas Harmsworth Publishing, 1982

” An anti-hero story of POW’s who plumbed the depths.”

Richard Passmores real name was Roger Peacock and he flew with 40 Sqdn out of Wyton on 25.7.1940 he was crewed with Sgt P Steele and Sgt J.Moore, who both survived, in Blenheim R3763 an was attacking Eelde airfield when shot down. Roger was flown in the turret of the 1st rebuilt Blenheim at Duxford.

The date in the book is Thursday July 25th 1940. Jenver airfield near Wilhelmshaven. My original remark was made more at the way the book ends without tidying up the details. The fly leaf tells how he was eventually repatriated because doctors thought he would not live long. However he was a schoolteacher for 30 Years afterwards and had retired!
mmitch.

Do you have a date (and mission) for the shoot down???

Blenheim Boy #2

He is just called ‘Dig’ in the book.
mmitch

Doesn’t really help you to “Dig” up an answer does it !! 🙂 Seriously, if you have the rough date you could ask somebody to check the 90 squadron Forms 540 and 541 at the NA/PRO – presumably, from this extract from Ross McNeills RAF Commands site, it would have been before 8 April 1940, when it became an OTU so you should have only a small period to search?

6 90 West Raynham Norfolk 03/09/39 Blenheim IV, 03/39. Blenheim I, 09/39.
6 90 Weston-on-the-Green Oxfordshire 07/09/39
6 90 Upwood Huntingdonshire 19/09/39 Became No.17 OTU, 08/04/40.
2 90 Watton Norfolk 07/05/41 Reformed. Fortress I, 05/41.

hope this helps – Allan 🙂

He is just called ‘Dig’ in the book.
mmitch

Blenheim Boy

Hi Mmitch – if it gives the 3rd crew members name you can check to see if he appears in the CWGC website and answer the question that way. 🙂 But only if they use full (and genuine) names of course !! – cheers – Allan