Found in a Diary

[Vfrpilotpb]

This is a little off the Heli trail, but some of you may understand the feelings,

Today I have found in my fathers old bits and pieces that I am slowly getting rid of after his death some of his personal very small diaries that he obviously carried with him during the WW2 conflict, he flew Beaufighters in North Africa and the Med it is very obvious that he and his fellow airmen were under a great deal of stress and worried about what was happening in the wider bigger picture of the War as a whole,

This is a small extract that I feel sums up the strength of human beings:-
On Wednesday the 8th April 1942 he writes that his pal "Lofty" has returned late in his Beaufighter they all feared he had bought it , but were very happy to hear that "Lofty" had shot down a couple of German kites and was late because he had to fly slowly back to base because his Beau was shot up a little!

On Thursday the 9th of April they were stood down because of bad wx,

On Friday the 10th of April it was the Squadron birthday and he proudly write's "213 Squadron, When Aroused We Sting" each was allowed to have a couple of beers,

Saturday the 11Th of April he writes " Lofty killed" and he explains that Lofty had been chasing the Hun and been bounced by more than he could handle, but he recovered his shot up Beu to the desert aerodrome where sadly he flipped the Beau over upon landing that caused his death, my father was the first at the crash site and with one other man pulled his dead friend from the wrecked Beaufighter, but on the same day Hancock and Wallace (both Sgt Pilots) shot down two German A/c.
He is immensly saddend by his friends death and is embarrassed to write of his tears shed on the reflection of Loftys age (21yrs)

His diary goes on page after page in this vein nearly every page(three days to a page) records the death or serious injury to his peers. and I to must admit finding some of the contents very sad indeed, and I am slightly embarrassed at my emotion upon reading these diaries, for I always considered my father to be a real hard man emotionally speaking, I knew he was in business.
Hope this little interlude is not to boring to you Rotorheads

PeterR-B
Vfr

[J.A.F.O.]

Thanks Peter, while we all still have the freedom to fly let us be grateful for that freedom and not forget how hard won it was.

Never be embarrassed by emotion, it is what stirs men to greatness and makes life the adventure that it is.

Thank you for sharing a very private moment with us.

[John Eacott]

Peter,

Commiserations on your loss of your father: mine, too, was a Beaufighter driver in North Africa. He was with 603 (City of Edinburgh), who operated along with 213.

Small world.

[Ascend Charlie]

You are lucky that your father kept a diary. Mine didn't, and all I have is his old logbook, with entries such as:
17 Apr 1943, Halifax II, Operation No 6 Kirkstone, Duty Carried Out
29 Apr, Operation Lambourne IV, unsuccessful, returned base, two engines U/S
and even the flight on which he was awarded an instant DFC was noted:
22 Sep 1943, Operation No 63, Spinster IV, successful.

He did tell me a little about "Apr 21 1942, Botha L, air collision during approach to land, crashed landing at Heathfield" and also about "2 June 1942, Botha, forced landing in sea 8 miles Turnberry" in which his radio operator drowned.

There are so many things i wanted to ask him, but now it is too late. You at least have a bit more depth of feeling. It must have been a hell of a time.:ugh:

[Robbo Jock]

Not boring in the slightest VFR. Thank you for sharing it.

[Rotorbee]

Thank you for sharing this.
I lost my mother a few month ago and while dealing with all the papers and things I had to do, I also discovered many new sides of her personality, which I never saw while she was alive.
As children we can only be greatfull about the time we have with our parents and don't be sad about the things you missed. He was your father and he probably wanted to protect you. But I know how you must feel.

[WLM]

VFRPILOTPB

Thank you for sharing these precious memories.It is nice to be reminded what our parents fought for, and the liberty that we are able to enjoy so freely our days. One wonders where the world is going to with all this craziness now with terrorism.
WLM

[heedm]

Not boring and not off topic. That's important for all to know. Thank you very much Peter.

Matthew.

[NickLappos]

Vfrpilotpb,

I feel for you in your loss, and also know what pride you have in your father. I only hope nobody ever forgets what we owe him and his fellow WWII vets. Preserving that diary is one way to be sure of that.

May your father rest in Peace.

Nick Lappos

[Cron]

Thanks for the opportunity of allowing me to read these diary entries. It's an honour to be able to share in them. Great, stuff from an obviously great man. I owe him as I guess we all do.

[SASless]

Isn't it amazing that we live with real heroes everyday...and do not fully realize what great people they are. Quiet courage is so admirable.

I never met my Paternal grandfather, but he was quite a man. During the Philippine Insurrection in 1898, Grandpa was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH) as a Private . During an ambush of his platoon, he went out under fire three times to carry wounded soldiers to safety.

Reading a couple of letters between him and his Platoon Leader was most enlightening. The Lieutenant was very complimentary and said how glad he was to be able to serve with my Granddad...and how justly earned the nomination was.

Granddad's letter was wonderful to read...he thanked the officer for his leadership, his support of the nomination, and downplayed the actions that earned him the nomination. Granddad ended the letter by saying his actions were being overplayed...."as he felt that as long as he was out in the open and the guerilla's were aiming at him....he was very likely not going to be hit."

He evidently had a good sense of humor.

He wound up receiving the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for the action.

[RDRickster]

Vfrpilotpb, cherrish that diary and thanks for sharing. It IS amazing how the "quiet professionals" speak volumes by their humility and humble conduct. My father served in the military, but I had no idea he'd done so until much later in life. In fact, I ended up in the same military outfit he previously served in 30+ years before, and I still had no idea that I was a second-generation paratrooper... that little tid-bit of family history wasn't revealed until later.

[407 Driver]

Thanks for sharing that with us........

[Milt]

Vfrpilotpl

It's all summed up in the saying

"lest we forget"

I have an ageing neighbour who flew Beaufighters out of a base in Scotland mostly into the thick flack of the Norwegian Fiords.

On one of his missions 12 went out and 4 came back.

Our "open the hangar doors" sessions over the fence are mind boggling even though I lost many mates in the Korean war.

[Chinook]

Lesson evident here:

Share your diaries, experiences, funny stories, fears, heartbreak and joy with YOUR children NOW.

I read a good deal of regret in this post - do something about it, as I intend to do also.

And for the record, my Dad flew Beauforts out of RAF St Eval with 217 Sqn .... any other 217 Sqn 'brats' or vets out there?

[Reefdog]

G/DAY PETER
YOU HAVE BROUGHT BACK SOME MEMORIES AND STORIES THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT MY GRANPA JACK...
HE WAS WITH THE 3rd BRIDGADE AIF (australian infantry forces), 9th LIGHT HORSE REGIMENT, IN WW1..

WW1 WAS DECLARED AUGUST 1914, HE ENLISTED SEPTEMBER 1914, ( must have enlisted as soon as he got word of it) RODE HIS HORSE 100 MILES TO ADELAIDE, AND ENLISTED AT MORPHETTVILLE RACECOURSE. WENT TO EYGPT FOR TRAINING, THEN GALLIPOLLI. MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES TWICE IN THAT CAMPAIGN..
REST OF WWI HE WAS FIGHTING IN PALESTINE AND THE SINAI DESERT..MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES AGAIN THERE AND ALSO WON THE M.M. (military medal) THERE.

RETURNED TO AUSTRALIA IN APRIL 1919.

I CONSIDER MYSELF EXTREME FORTUNATE IN THAT I HAVE MANY THINGS THAT HE BROUGHT BACK FROM THOSE 5 YEARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.... SUCH AS--

HIS PHOTO ALBUM, DAIRY, SPURS, WAR BAG (with every major horse charge battle he was in, the last name is Beerasheba), LEGGINGS, COUPLE OF OLD BAYANETS (1 TURKISH, 1 GERMAN) AND OF COURSE I HAVE HIS MEDALS...

MY AUNTY WAS A PLANK PILOT FOR AWHILE, AND SHE TOOK OLD JACK AND I FOR A FLY WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10 YO...I ASKED OLD JACK IF HE HAD BEEN IN A PLANE BEFORE, ( this was my first time), HIS REPLY WAS " A LONG TIME AGO",, AFTER THE FLIGHT I ASKED WHERE HE HAD BEEN IN A PLANE BEFORE...TURNED OUT BECAUSE HE WAS A SMALL AND LIGHT MAN, HE WAS OFTEN USED AS A BOMBER IN THE DESERT.... THROWING BOMBS OUT OF A OPEN COCKPIT, INTO THE TURK POSITIONS WHILE A PILOT WAS FLYING.. IMAGINE,,,GUTSY PILOTS....

ANYWAY THATS MY TWO BOBS WORTH

R