Hi can anyone help with the names of the Pilots fromthese Battle of Britain crash sites listed below.
I have below dates of some of the crash sites in the Halisham Rural district area,that i have found so far.
The reason being i am trying to trace whether there were any Polish Pilot fatalities in and around the surrounding area of Halisham (West Sussex.)
The only crash sites i have found so far are for……..
DATE AIRCRAFT AREA PILOT NAME
———————————————————————-
17/7/40 Spitfire Hempstead lane Halisham Pilot D.Taylor
16/8/40 Spitfire Dover House Possingworth No Name
09/9/40 Hurricane Squires field Pevensey No Name
13/9/40 Perrywood No Name
27/9/40 Hurricane Station Rd Halisham Pilot Percy Burton
07/10/40 Spitfire Court Fm,Lullington
27/10/40 Spitfire Battle Rd Halisham Pilot Edshall
30/10/40 Hurricane Blackford Fm, Herstmoneeux No Name
01/12/40 Hurricane Whiligh wood east Hoathly No Name
07/12/40 Spitfire Foreshore Pevensey Bay No Name
12/12/40 Old Park Fm Arlington No Name
Some of the above (i Know) are not from the Battle of Britain Period.and also have spaces i.e. no aircraft name or Pilot name,hopefully someone with the knowledge of this district can help to fill in the missing spaces.
Thus uncovering a possible Polish airman’s name, with the above or any other site in the Halisham District and surrounding areas,
Any help greatly Appreciated.
By: Arabella-Cox - 12th April 2013 at 08:42
Antoni
Yes, your explanation as to the origin of ‘lost’ in the ORB makes perfect sense.
However, my recall is that the ORB actually says “landed at Lost near Hailsham”. But I may be wrong? Certainly, the inference was that the writer of the ORB believed that this pilot had landed at a place that was named Lost, howsoever it is actually written up.
By: antoni - 11th April 2013 at 22:54
After a long chase after Messerschmitts over the Channel, Sgt Michał Mirosław Maciejowski ran out of fuel back over Britain. He landed Hurricane V6685 without any damage at Stoney Field, Blackford Farm near Herstmonceux, approx 1.20 pm. The local police mistook him for a German despite him trying to explain he was Polish in broken English. Eventually he was allowed to fill his Hurricane’s tanks and return to base where he claimed to have destroyed one Bf 109, probably shot down another and damaged a third.
The ORB was probably written up later by someone who misunderstood “… landed lost near Hailsham”, meaning he was lost when he landed, as he landed at Lost near Hailsham.
On the same date, P/O Bolesław Własnowolski, 213 Squadron, found himself lost and landed near Amberley, damaging Hurricane P3641/AK*P.
I expect there are communities all around the world called Lost, probably named by the person that found the place. There was a village in Scotland called Lost but it changed its name because the signpost kept being stolen.
By: Arabella-Cox - 11th April 2013 at 22:15
Having once lived there for too long, I can confirm it ought to Lost. Somewhere.
By: hawker1966 - 11th April 2013 at 21:41
Mind you i know how Sgt Maciejowski must have felt, as i have often been to that town called lost,most of the time i head out of Kent.(apart from Shoreham airport of course) )
Thanks again, if you do happen to come across any more info on his stay in Halisham. please let me know.
Cheers.
By: Arabella-Cox - 11th April 2013 at 21:19
Brad
Am afraid that I cannot really suggest any links for this item.
Sgt Maciejowski landed, wheels down, out of fuel. I need to check my notes, but pretty sure he flew out again later. Thus, bits of singed parachute unlikely, I’d have thought.
I know the 249 Sqn ORB rather amusingly states that he landed at ‘Lost’ near Hailsham. Of course, there is no such place and one must surmise that this was a ‘lost in translation’ moment! Imagine the scene; locals turn up and Polish pilot, in halting English, asks where he is. The locals perhaps write on a piece of paper in order to aid understanding: “ARE YOU LOST?” Ah, thinks Polish! I am at a place called Lost. And thus it was entered in the ORB!
By: hawker1966 - 11th April 2013 at 20:55
Thanks for your reply, sorry about the West Sussex bit, i was meant to put East. (Thank God for Sat Navs)
The reason for my post being that i had purchased a Tobacco pouch from one of the stalls at your Aerojumbe.apparently the stall holder stated it was from his Grandfather who was an A.R.P. warden in the rural district of Halisham, (Seemed the Genuine type) he received the pouch from a Polish airman maybe as a souvenir, (how and why no body knows.) the stallholder had listed the possible crash sites that he had researched thus far.
I know that with all these things that you take a gamble on what you buy, but at the end of it you like to think you have a genuine buy.
Im one of those that you cant just throw something like this away, as it could be the genuine article, (who knows) so i will research this as best i can to maybe salvage its possible history.and keep in safe hands.
I did noticed on the list that you kindly posted, the Polish pilots name Sgt Maciejowski, who you had down as his Hurricane crashing on the 30/10/40 at Blackford Farm.would you know anything else on this crash. i.e.was the Hurricane a write off? had the pilot landed this aircraft and lost control? had Sgt Maciejowski baled out? and any other info you may have.
One other thing i hadn’t mentioned is inside the Tobacco pouch was a small envelope containing a few fragments of tobacco. also inclosed was a piece of parachute around 6inches by 4.(of irvine type) the outer edges singed.
You never know the A.R.P. warden may of borrowed the pouch for a smoke and forgot to return it(ill keep dreaming)
I guess if anyone could help on this post help it would be you.as this is on your patch.
Many thanks for any help (if any) and anyone else.
Brad.
By: Arabella-Cox - 11th April 2013 at 19:32
From memory:
Dower House was McDonnell of 66 Squadron.
Court Farm was Sgt B Whall 602 Sqn
Blackford Farm Sgt Maciejowski 249 Sqn
Perrylands, P/O Urwinn-Mann 238 Sqn
Whiligh Wood, P/O Parrott 145 Sqn
Foreshore, Pevensey P/O R Taylor 602 Sqn
Old Park Farm, Sgt Lee – date was 22 Dec from memory.
I was born in Hailsham and grew up there, and researched all of these incidents in detail in the 1970s.
I can think of no Polish fatalities in the immediate area. What makes you think there are? The nearest I can think of was Sgt Kosarz at Mayfield on 8 Nov 1940.
By the way, Hailsham is firmly in the county of East Sussex – not West Sussex!
Sign In
April 11, 2013 at 7:13 pm