G’ day all formite’s 🙂
I have just done this book 3 time’s, as it’s very good 🙂
1993 ISBN 1 84037 234 6
Now out of the 32 Victoria Crosse’s Won, which did you personally find the most impressively gutsy, and the want to save his own crew.
I myself being an Aussie, and well after many goe’s over all the V Crosse’s, I can say it must be this guy for me.
No 12 Vic Medal
Flight Sergent Rawdon Hume Middleton No 149 Squadron.
Awarded the Victoria Cross 15th January 1943, On the 1st February 1943 his body was washed up at Shakespear Cliff Dover.
It’s tottaly amazing how he got the Stirling so close to home with what was left of him in the cockpit 😮 😮 😮
Now I am not taking anything away from all the other winner’s, they are all most impressive.
A few Kiwi’s among them too! 🙂 (must put that in I suppose after all me old man WAS a Kiwi)
See if you know this one, Ten’s Bisley’s went out, NONE came back!!:eek:
Or I think it was another was 15 Ventura’s went out and none returned.
And how many of these mad b@stard’s tried and did go outside their aircraft while underfire or on fire!! at what ever alt in the middle of the blak and Flak night!
Now THAT musta got the heart racing 😮
And that boy John Hannah only 18 when he got his medal, staying in that burning flying coffin hampden, and Connor the pilot got a DFC for flying the burnt out Hamp somehow home 😮 .
Have you seen the damage to this aircraft!!!!
Ok now you formite’s put up which of the Medal’s really Impressed YOU!
Ooooo Roooo for Now……………………CROC’S RULE :dev2:
By: STORMBIRD262 - 20th November 2007 at 02:35
Well done RM mate,
I suppose to be fair we should do the flyin yank’s M of H winner’s as well 😉 .
By: Radpoe Meteor - 18th September 2007 at 14:04
I am surprised this thread has not had many replies,so to feed a little life into it, I will add a couple more that impressed me.
Bearing in mind,I feel that all the recepiants of th V.C. equally deserve a mention.
Flt lt J.B.Nicholson V.C.- Bof B pilot who having his Hurricane literally shot from beneath him,got back into the inferno that was his cockpit & shot down the Me 110 that had attacked his aircraft.
Sgt Ward V.C.-after being attacked crawled out through the astrodome opening & across the wing of his Wellington bomber to attempt to extinguish an engine fire.
P/O Mynarski V.C.- (I may be wrong on this one)on going to exit his balzeing Lancaster noticed the rear gunner was stuck in his turret & was unable to escape,on passing through flames in an endeavour to help,his clothing caught fire but he still tried to help the gunner without regard to his own position.
Only after the gunner motioned Mynaraski to abandon the a/c did he stand up,salute the gunner & walk back through the flames,this was the last time he was seen alive,the gunner eventually escaping and able to re-itterate the story.
I appologise for any inaccuracy for any of these stories as I am at work & nowhere near a reference book.
By: Radpoe Meteor - 11th September 2007 at 17:18
I forgot to mention,its also found in the IWM Book Forgotten Voices:)
My greatest admiration goes out to all the recepients who paid the ultimate price.
By: JägerMarty - 11th September 2007 at 14:26
For me its Gotta be the late Bill Reid V.C.-bless him,he took of on a raid on Dussledorf,his a/c was hit ,the windscreen shattered & Bill wounded(including a head wound) en-route,did not tell his crew of his injuries but carried on rather than risk colliding with another aircraft coming towards him.
Somewhere along the route he lost his navigator 😮 & sucessfully nav,ed himself to the target by using the stars as ref points,I beleive his Lanc was hit again but still carried on to make the only drop of the raid on target(as confirmed by the target photo).
On the way home, he was hit yet again:eek: 😮 😮 ,lost conciousness,came round and with the help of his engineer was able to get to Woodford,on landing the Lanc’s u/c collapsed.-Bill was only 21 at the time.His full story in his own words was broadcast on the “World at war” documentary. 😎
So modest was he, his wife only found out what had happened when she found his V.C. in a drawer-20 years later! 😎 😎
R.I.P. William Reid V.C. & God bless
p.s. in honesty all the receipents impress me:)
Amazing effort, wouldbe god to see his intervew on W@W
By: Radpoe Meteor - 11th September 2007 at 13:40
For me its Gotta be the late Flt Lt Bill Reid V.C.-bless him,he took off on a raid on Dussledorf,his a/c was hit ,the windscreen shattered & Bill wounded(including a head wound) en-route,did not tell his crew of his injuries but carried on rather than risk colliding with another aircraft coming towards him.
Somewhere along the route he lost his navigator 😮 & sucessfully nav,ed himself to the target by using the stars as ref points,I beleive his Lanc was hit again but still carried on to make the only drop of the raid on target(as confirmed by the target photo).
On the way home, he was hit yet again:eek: 😮 😮 ,lost conciousness,came round and with the help of his engineer was able to get to Woodford,on landing the Lanc’s u/c collapsed.-Bill was only 21 at the time.His full story in his own words was broadcast on the “World at war” documentary. 😎
So modest was he, his wife only found out what had happened when she found his V.C. in a drawer-20 years later! 😎 😎
R.I.P. Flt Lt William Reid V.C. & God bless
p.s. in honesty all the receipents impress me:)
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September 11, 2007 at 7:02 am