Dags att återknyta bekantskapen med kämparna från slaget om Storbritannien i
inlägg 370.
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Flight Lieutenant
Maurice Hewlett Mounsdon, född 1917 el. 1918 (var 22 år då han blev nedskjuten sommaren 1940).
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32621310
Mounsdon fyllde 100 år i september i år och hedrades med en liten flygshow utanför sin pensionärsbostad på Menorca.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-Arrows.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...ows/ar-BBNAHNS
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Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon is one of the last surviving heroes of the glorious Few, whose daring and bravery saved Britain from Nazi tyranny.
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Now aged 100 - frail and unable to walk unaided - he celebrated the milestone with a nod to his military past as the Red Arrows - elite pilots from the modern age - paid tribute to the former pilot with a spectacular skyline display.
Sitting in a friend's apartment on the coast of Menorca, where he has lived since his retirement, the war hero watched as nine Hawk Jets' smoke trails carved '100' in red, blue and white over the Mediterranean.
The 30-minute performance saw jets flying at speeds of up to 360mph - a reminder of the time Mr Mounsdon served as a Hurricane pilot with 56 squadron based at RAF North Weald at the Battle of Britain had reached its height.
'It was a real honour for me for the Red Arrows to come to Menorca and put on this display,' he told The Times.
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Flight Lieutenant William Terence Clark, född 1919.
För ett år sedan hittade jag inga uppgifter om Clark på nätet. Men nu vet vi att
Terry Clark, som han gemenligen är känd som, fyllde 99 år i april och firades med ett party i 40-talsstil på äldreboendet i York.
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/161...ates-99-years/
https://www.facebook.com/veteransfou...1011377259965/
https://twitter.com/wabbey/status/984352197600260096
Citat:
On his 99th birthday yesterday (Wednesday, April 11), Group Captain Keith Taylor, commanding officer of RAF Linton-on-Ouse, with a contingent from the station, and members of the Military Wives Choir, joined guests at his birthday party at Minster Grange Care Home.
“I’m not special,” said Terry. “I was just doing my job.
“It’s their way of saying thank you and of course I appreciate it.”
He wore his special Battle of Britain tie, only worn by those with flying connections to the Battle of Britain, for his special day.
Staff at the care home off Haxby Road, York, where Terry now lives, gave the party a 1940s feel.
Därtill kom tidigare i år nyheten om att en veteran från slaget om Storbritannien, som hittills trotts vara död, levde i högönsklig välmåga på ett äldreboende nära Dublin.
John Hemingway, född 1919, är den ende fortlevande irländske veteranen från slaget.
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war...tain-hero.html
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/h...itain-survivor
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-new...-dead-12601061
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Hemingway’s name has been left off the official roll of honor which names the airmen from that battle that are still alive. Officially, he was presumed dead.
That has changed now that a member of his family has contacted the Battle of Britain Fighter Association to let them know that the 98-year-old veteran is still going strong.
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Hemingway’s son, Brian, is a film production boss. He describes his father as a bit of a recluse. He says his father rarely discusses the war. The senior Hemingway doesn’t feel as if he did anything particularly special.
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Hemingway joined the RAF in 1938. He was assigned to France when war was declared against Germany and worked to provide air support for the British Expeditionary Force.
He shot down his first enemy plane in May 1940. After that victory, his Hurricane fighter plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, and he was forced to make an emergency landing.
During the Battle of Britain, which took place from July to October 1940, Hemingway had to bail out from his plane twice. The first time occurred after he intercepted a flight of German Junkers over the North Sea. He saw the Junkers approaching and climbed to 18,000 feet to avoid them.
He miscalculated, though, and the enemy was able to hit his plane in the engine, spraying the cockpit with hot oil. Knowing that he couldn’t make it back to England with his plane in that condition, he bailed out into the sea and swam through jellyfish until he was rescued two hours later.
The second bail out occurred after he engaged German planes near Essex. He missed a Dornier fighter plane with his first shot and was lining up a second chance when his plane was hit instead. He landed in the Pitsea marshes.
At the time, the average life expectancy for an RAF pilot was four weeks.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross after shooting down several enemy planes. He then began work as a flight controller but missed being in action on the front.
Senare stationerades Hemingway i Italien som
squadron leader, och blev nedskjuten ännu en gång, nu av tyskt luftvärn. Han räddades av italienska civila, som klädde ut honom till bonde och lyckades smuggla honom tillbaka till sina egna.
Hemingway fortsatte att tjäna i RAF ända till 1969. Efter sin frus död flyttade han hem till Irland och tappade kontakten till sina forna vapenbröder.
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John Pulfer is the head of the Battle of Britain Historical Society. He said the organization is thrilled to hear that Hemingway is still alive. It’s not often that they get to add names to their roll.