polecat2 (#5),
...BBC TV South today reported that the pupils at a school in Southampton felt that Flt Lt James Nicolson, Fighter Command's only VC, should have some sort of memorial in Southampton as he earned his VC in combat over the town...
Met him casually in the Calcutta "Grand" in 1944 after my 'prang'. Looked at my battered face, said sympathetically: "Reflector sight trouble ?" Had a long chat over our "John Collins", very nice chap, no "side" to the man at all.
Years ago I Posted the story of the day he earned his VC on "Pilot's Brevet" Thread, tried to find it to put it in as an excerpt here; "Search this Thread" (predictably) as much use as a sick headache; Google (which can usually find most things) no better. Maybe one of you can find it now.
...Nicolson was later promoted to Wing Commander. He died in May 1945 whilst an observer on an aircraft that crashed into the sea off Burma...
[Wiki].
Only a few weeks before the end in August ! What a pity !
JOE-FBS (your #21),
...Ref' that rather nice story from Southampton, a mate of mine who has lived near that school for many years tells me that there was an earlier memorial "erected where Nicolson landed, down near the docks. It was within the grounds of Mullards / Phillips' works, and apparently until the 1970's could be visited by request, but that whole area's been flattened and rebuilt at least once since then, and we've found no indication of what happened to the memorial; it seems likely to have been bulldozed along with the rest of the buildings."...
More than likely ! (sometimes I despair of this country).
Danny42C.