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FlyPast, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK
email: [email protected]118 FLYPAST May 2015The fallen of Mussidan
While my wife and I were driving
through the town of Mussidan,
north of the Dordogne region of
France, we noticed a large mansion
with a memorial at the roadside. On
investigation we found that in June
1944 the mayor and his secretary
had been shot at this spot. There
was an invitation to see another
memorial down the side road, Rue
de Gorry. Here we found a tribute to
53 of the town’s men who had also
been killed that day. These included
15 who were aged 20 and under.
We headed to the tourist
office where the lady in charge
introduced us to the librarian next
door. With great reverence he
showed me a document entitled‘Mussidan Le 11 Juin 1944 art
Ses table Martyrs’. Even with
my limited school French I was
horrified by what I read. We came
away with a copy of the main story,
which I treasure, and now share
the history with the readership it
deserves.
In June 1944, the German
Das Reich Division, led by Gen
Lammerding, was sending
heavy armoured vehicles north
to reinforce troops resisting
the Allied landings. On the 11th,
the local Maquis (resistance)
commanders decided to blow up
the railway bridge over the River
Isle. A heavy battle ensued at
the railway station with losses onboth sides. Eventually the Maquis
had to withdraw because of being
overwhelmed by larger German
units. The bridge detachment also
had to pull back.
Around 3pm some 350 men of
the town were rounded up and
taken to the town hall. Later, the
disabled and those over 60 were
released. The rest were taken to
the school. At 8.45pm the men
were taken outside into the Rue
de Gorry, placed in two lines, and
shot. Four survivors managed
to escape, though two later died
from their injuries. The Mayor,
Raoul Grassin, and his secretary,
Camille Christmann, were beaten
but refused to divulge anyinformation. They were shot at
around 10pm, and around 115
people were deported. Some were
never seen again. Mussidan was
liberated on August 22, 1944.
Thank you to the RAF,
Commonwealth and Allied pilots
who saved us from invasion and
its consequences, including those
who paid the ultimate price and
others who sustained lasting
injuries. Thank you also to all
those who put them in the air and
guided their efforts, from the
station commanders to the staff
who kept up spirits with reviving
mugs of tea. A salute to you all.
EDWARD DOYLERUSH
ROWEN, CONWYFirefox fl ypast
I’m writing with regard to
Sydney’s Swansong, Richard
Paver’s excellent article in
the March issue about the
remaining airworthy Hunters
in Europe. Unfortunately
there needs to be a correction
regarding the ownership of
Hawker Hunter T.7A WV318
(G-FFOX) on page 63. The
aircraft changed ownership
in March 2014 and is now
operated by G-FFOX Group.
The principal for the group is
Mr Jan Andersson, the chief
pilot is Chris Heames and the
organisation co-ordinator is
myself, Chris Conley.
I would also like to add our
condolences to the many others
at the passing of Alan Ponting.
G-FFOX Group is well aware
of the efforts that Alan (andall at Delta Jets, as it was)
put into the return to flight of
WV318 (Firefox) in the early
1990s and beyond. Alan will
always be a part of the heritage
surrounding our aircraft.
When the group was
approached to have Firefox
perform a flypast at Alan’s
funeral there was no other
answer but “of course!”
Unfortunately neither Jan
Andersson nor myself could
make it to Kemble on the day,
but I understand the flypast
was well received, and it
was the least we could do.
Thanks go to John Sparks at
Horizon Aircraft Services for
making sure the aircraft was
serviceable and positioned for
this important sortie.
CHRIS CONLEY, G-FFOX GROUP
WARMINSTER, WILTSA nose for the
Lincoln
I enjoyed the fascinating article
by John Laming about the long-
nosed Avro Lincoln in the March
issue. More of the same, please!
The article brought back
memories of my one and only
flight in one of those magnificent
beasts. In 1957 I was the ‘second
dickey’ on an RAF Hastings of 511
Squadron, flying from Lyneham
to Adelaide, Australia, when our
aircraft suffered an engine failure
in Darwin. This meant flying a
spare engine down from Changi in
Singapore, and we were grounded
for five days while waiting for it.
In those days there wasn’t much
to do in Darwin, so boredom soon
became the order of the day.
There was an RAAF detachment
of long-nosed Lincolns at Darwin
and I became friendly with one of
the crews. In the bar one evening
they mentioned they were doing
a training flight the following
evening and asked me if I’d like to
come along.
It turned out to be night ‘circuitsand bumps’ to upgrade a co-pilot
to captain, and it all sounded
rather fun. On boarding the
aircraft it was suggested that
I might like to ride in the nose.
“Quite exciting,” I was told, and it
certainly was.
The pilot involved was to do six
circuits and bumps under dual
control and then hopefully six
solo. The duals were certainly
interesting, exciting and
sometimes frightening. Lying in
the nose of the aircraft I found
myself sometimes looking down
the runway, but more often looking
at the trees alongside the runway
which looked somewhat ominous in
the glare of the landing lights.
After the six dual take-offs
and landings the instructor
pronounced the pupil ready to go
solo – much to my amazement.
The instructor then asked me
whether I wanted to stay on for
the solos or join him in the mess
for a nightcap. I settled for the
nightcap!
TORQUIL GEORGE
CHICHESTER, WEST SUSSEXLincoln MR.31 A73-60 of the RAAF’s 10
Squadron at Whenuapai, near Auckland, New
Zealand, in 1959. ANDREW THOMAS COLLECTION118-119_Flypost_fpNP.indd 118 17/03/2015 09:08