Angles Anecdotes
During considerable research for the 75th Anniversary Ceremony, a few interesting details emerged.
Sgt, later WO Balcomb, had jumped from a 78 Sqn Whitley a few months prior to July 1941. Could that have contributed to his sang froid in lugging the wounded P/O Eperon to the partially-blocked hatch to force him out before jumping himself?
Sergeant Rudlin was flying with the FS Godwin crew for the first time.
Though the ranks are correctly given on the grave-stones, they are all confused on the Stèle. We were able to correct that verbally on Sunday. Arthur Eperon was a Pilot Officer at the time, promoted to Flight Lieutenant, not Captain, by the time of his release from POW camp. Those shown as Sergent (a French rank pitched between Adjudant and Caporal), should have been shown as Adjudant or Adjudant Chef in French, Sergeant or Flight Sergeant respectively.
Though the perception at Angles had been that Arthur Eperon, unlike Eric Balcomb, was not interested in returning to Angles, and we do not have the truth on that, the Eperon Family were present in strength on Sunday and like all the other families, had had no idea that the village of Angles held their relatives in the crew in such high esteem.