Our Father's Generation. F. M. Worden
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Airborne, we climbed to twenty thousand feet on an easterly heading. In a few minutes, I saw what looked to be a hundred Nazi bombers with at least twenty ME 109 escorts crossing the English coast at ten thousand feet below us. The sky had turned to high, thin scattered clouds, with a strong north wind.
My Squadron Commander did not hesitate, “Tally ho,” he called over the R/T. We peeled off one at a time, I picked a Dornier 17 on the outside rear of the formation. A two second burst, followed by another, and the left engine of the bomber started to flame, a good hit. Down through this formation I went and pulled up below the flight, I put the Hurricane into a sharp climb. This new machine could really climb. Looking north, I saw three Squadrons of Spitfires joining the melee. They were intent on breaking up the escorts, they did a good job. The sky was full of shooting, diving, flaming and smoking fighter aircraft.
I made two more passes before I ran low on fuel and out of ammo. I made it back to my home airfield. Smithy and his crew had me airborne again in ten minutes. He told me the RAF said this was the biggest Luftwaffe raid England had ever had in one day. Back in the air, I could believe that, London was catching all kinds of hell. Smoke from the fires in and around London could be seen fifty miles away. Once on the north of London, I saw a Big Wing of Spitfires coming to join in the fight, looked to me like ten squadrons.
My contribution to the fight was same as before. Climb above the bombers, dive through and try to get hits as I passed an enemy plane. On a pass from the north I had just leveled off ready to make my climb when “holy shit” an ME 110 passed right over the top of me and flew straight away. All I had to do was push the firing button when he filled my wind screen, pieces of the aircraft began to fly passed me, some hit my aircraft, I was lucky no damage was done. The 110 burst into flame and exploded within one hundred yards of me, the crew never had a chance to bail out.
On my next pass, I was north of London again, low on fuel and ammo. I looked for a field to resupply, I found Hornchurch and landed. A ground crew was on my plane before the prop stopped. A WAAF climbed on the left wing and handed me a cup of tea and some crumpets. I sat in the cockpit and finished eating just as the crew finished.
Airborne again, it was the same—climbing, diving, shooting and repeating the same over and over. Around four p.m., I had had it, the bomber Gruppe formations had vanished. I headed to my home airfield and landed, Smithy directed me to my parking spot, I was completely drained of all my energy. I sat in the cockpit as Smithy and the ground crew refueled and rearmed my aircraft, Smithy climbed on the wing and told me, “Looks like the Huns have stopped for the day.”
All I could say was, “Thank God.”
I climbed out and walked {on shaky legs, I might add} to the debriefing hut. The debriefing officer spent twenty minutes on a question and answer session, he released me to get food and some sleep.
I awoke to loud knocking on my door. Half asleep, I answered to find Sarah standing there.
“May I come in?” She asked
What could I say but, “Sure, come on in.” I went and sat on the bed, she sat down beside me.
“Quite a day you had, we heard much of your time on the R/T, I was praying for you all the time.” She pulled me to her by putting both her arms around me. She kissed me tenderly on my cheek. “I love you, Tommy.”
All the emotion I had in me overflowed, I pulled her to me and kissed her hard on her beautiful lips. “I love you too, Sarah.” At that time, I loved her as much as Allie., but I came to my senses. “I can’t love you, Sarah. I have a wife and child, I love my wife dearly.”
“I know you love me, Tommy. We are here now, let’s make the most of our time together, tomorrow may never come for us.”
Chapter 6
Sarah and the USA
Sarah and I went to the NCO mess and had breakfast. While eating, Commander Martin came in and informed me I had been promoted to a Flight Officer. He also gave me orders that instructed me to be a new Squadron Leader, he told me I had to be an officer to be a squadron leader, he also said I only had one experienced combat pilot in my squadron.
At the dispersal area, the CO introduced me to my new command. They were young, real young, most of the young men were 18 and 19 years old. I questioned these pilots, most of them had very little flying time, some had as little as ten hours in an aircraft. “How in the world can I make fighters of these young men? It’s murder to send these kids against the Luftwaffe.” I gave the CO a hard look, he spun on his heels and remarked as he walked away, “You have your work cut out for you.”
Sarah was standing a few feet away and she heard all of the conversation. I looked to her. She only shook her head “no.” I dropped my head and said out loud, “Dear God, I need your help.”
Sarah joined my payer, saying softly, “God bless and be with you.”
I thanked her by saying, “You’re a real jewel, Sarah.”
She walked a few feet away, turned and put her right hand fingers to her lips and threw me a kiss, I threw one back, she walked away.
I started teaching the boys what I expected from them. “We don’t engage fighters unless we have to, Hurricanes are used to go after the bombers. We dive on the formations from above; we try to break them up, dive through and get your shots in quickly, climb back for another run.” All the boys shook their heads “yes.” I could see they knew what I meant.
On our first sortie, I lost two fighter boys, one flew into a bomber, I don’t think he meant to, he came out of a dive and rammed a Heinkel before he could turn away. Needless to say all the bomber crew and my boy were lost. The other pilot clipped wings with a bomber, my boy went down with his aircraft. The others pilots got on the job training.
In the months that followed, I worked my butt off trying to protect my boys and teach air- combat. Somehow I got thru to them, I saved a lot of our kids. With a lot of praying and God’s help, I might add.
I received letters from home quite often. Allie wrote beautiful letters and always sent pictures of our little girl and snapshots of her and the baby. Oh, how I longed to hold them and see them, I got letters from Mom and Dad. My brother Frank had checked in and was safe, that made me feel better.
I got to see Sarah a lot; she seemed to be around when I had free time. I really got to enjoy her company, we talked and walked every chance we got, I looked forward to seeing her. What a nice woman. Who wouldn’t like her? She was filling a real void in my life.
My squadron had returned from a scramble. After a debriefing, the CO came and told me to take three days off. “Take this girl of yours, go somewhere away from the war for awhile,” he demanded.
I had just got to the door of my hut when Sarah pulled up in an MG Roadster. I had to change my clothing and get my kit. We were on a road south in a few minutes, the air was cold as December was fast approaching.
She told me, “We’re going to a village my father always sent Mother, my little brother and I to spend the summer months. He would come and join us on the weekends. I love it there, I want you to love it, too.”
We arrived around seven p.m. in the south coast village of Hastings. We registered in the Hotel Royal, room # 205 front. The room looked down on the street below and the small beach that was below the sea wall. We had dinner in the hotel dining room, the people there were cordial and friendly. The cook managed to fix a splendid meal. Sarah had removed her cap and let her long dark brown hair down, she was as pretty a woman as I had ever seen, her big laughing brown eyes set in an angular face, she had a smile and laugh that could light any man’s heart, I was a goner. Feeling guilty was not enough, can a man love two women at the same time? I know it’s so.
There were two other couples as guests at the hotel and twenty or so people living there. Someone put a dance record on a player {Once in Awhile by Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra.} We all had a go at dancing, a most enjoyable time for Sarah and me. By eleven p.m.,