Hi AM
I have sent the original but here is what I typed if it helps it has been looked at by about 50 people.
Michael
Interesting! Any chance of scanning the page and posting it?
I have sent the original but here is what I typed if it helps
we did not want to bail out then for obvious reasons (p10) and made a fateful decision to try to get back unfortunately we could not maintain height by the time we were back over the English Coast area, we where to low to bail out, we tried to find a airfield designated a crash airfield with long runways to accommodate damaged and hard to control aircraft, but because we could not locate it because the radio was u/s and there was an intruder about which meant enemy aircraft and so no perimeter lights would be on, so we decided to try to get back to base in East Kirkby but we were probably too low and in a desperate situation and just at this time we could hear a squeaky noise in our headphones indicating that we were approaching barrage balloons and therefore in a short while this squeaky noise cleared and at that moment the perimeter lights of an airfield came on so we could at least have somewhere to land, but because of damage could not contact them to get clearance, so we started to fire our Very Light, and they flashed a green Aldis Light giving us permission to land, it was not a very big field but we had no alternative but to try to land, so we made a circuit and started to descend and seemed to go well and I thought we had touchdown, and said “wizard landing skip” but almost immediately he said “don’t be too sure brace, for impact”, I grabbed the sting and gun sight with both hands and put my head in my hands, this is to avoid smashing my face into it as it is only inches away, I don’t remember the first impact just a rocking sideways and I was knocked unconscious, I came to when I heard people running nearby and lots of shouting, I could see there was lots of flames and could hear gun ammunition exploding, I thought the aircraft was still in one piece and as I could not move I thought I was going to be burnt to death, I was still not fully aware what was going on, I suppose due to unconscious, but as I began to appreciate fully what was going on I started to struggle to get out, just then I saw a person running by, and shouted to him to help me, he was very surprised to hear my voice because he couldn’t see where I was, in fact I was halfway up a tree still in the turret, with part of the fuselage (p11) what had broken off and being thrown some distance down the street into someone’s front garden, so the reason I summoned him was because I was away from the rest of the plane that had caught fire when it had crashed into the house, in my confused state however I thought the plane was still intact, and I was trapped so when this chap heard my voice and came to help he had quite a job, trying to lug me out of the turret, as I said it was halfway up a tree but part of the fuselage was low enough so that it could just be reached, but he was an elderly gentleman and was not having much luck until gravity took over and I fell out of the turret unfortunately right on top of him, and I was laying on my back hearing his voice asking me to get off of him, but as I was semi concussed I did not seem to be able to, luckily he managed to extract himself and went for help, two RAF medical types arrived and with their help I got to my feet and with one on each side began to walk towards an ambulance that was parked up the road near to the scene of the disaster it was only then I saw to my horror that everyone in the front of the plane must have perished and anyone in the two houses too. I remember calling out names of my friends and imploring the rescuer to try to get to them, and bring restrained against trying, but it was a futile gesture, it was obvious nothing could be done. The medics were going to put me in the ambulance when one of them said “don’t put him in there” and they put me on the front seat next to the driver, it was a very old vehicle and I remember being asked to hold the choke open so the driver could get the engine to start and why I should remember in the midst of such carnage I don’t know, but it seemed so normal.
They took me to what looked like a large private house, which was in front of a sort of cottage hospital, it was outside the perimeter of Croydon Airport but the staff were all service types, and they were very kind and helpful, Arthur was already there and we were both very relieved to see each other, we enquired about our other friends hopeing some of them had survived, but we knew in our heart of hearts and because the nurses and doctors were so evasive, that the rest of the crew were gone we had been very close almost like brothers helping each other, supporting each other never wanting to think that this might happen, so Skipper, Mac, Nobby and Jack were gone, Dennis who had been wounded and on the crash bed