Merville area in the early afternoon.
The DH.9s were to engage advanced
German elements in the recently
captured village at Neuf-Berquin, just
20 minutes flying away from 98’s base.
Roads around the nominated targets
were congested with troops and
transport, so the DH.9s dived and
dropped their bombs from 2,000ft.
The DH.9 flown by Holiday and
Whyte suffered a hang up, but like the
others they dived down to strafe in the
face of heavy ‘Archie’.Near Neuf-
Berquin, C6095 flown by Captain
Rupert Atkinson was hit by ground
fire, wounding his observer, Lt V
Brent, who became 98’s first casualty.
Atkinson survived the war with the
remarkable achievement of more than
1,000 hours of combat flying.
A third raid was ordered for the
early afternoon against Steenwerck,
which was successfully attacked. The
controls of C6090 were shot away,
despite which 2nd Lt H W Brown
and Lt D G J Odlam managed to fly
back. As they neared Clairmarais, the
DH.9 entered a flat spin and crashed,
although both occupants survived.
So intense was the effort that more
hours were flown, more bombs
dropped and more photographs taken
than on any day since the war began
and 98 Squadron had played its full
part.NEVER FAILING
Because of the German advance early
on the 13th, the squadron flew out to
Alquines, 10 miles west of St Omer,
from where 98’s men witnessed the
flow of refugees. The situation at
the front remained critical with the
enemy benefitting from persistent
mist, rain and low clouds.
Regardless of the conditions,
98 Squadron’s DH.9s lifted off at
1130hrs to bomb Menin, albeit with
mixed success. The malfunctioning
engine on the aircraft flown by 2nd
Lts Holiday and Whyte forced them
to return.
The rest of the formation was split
up. Captain Fawcus with Lt Dardis
were initially posted missing, but later
returned.
By April 16, the Germans had
made significant advances into the
Allied lines in Flanders, where Mount
Kemmel became a key feature.
Despite the continued poor weather,
II Brigade’s two DH.9 units – 98 and
206 – twice attacked Bailleul and
targets on the road to Meteren.
On April 18, Major O’Malley
read out to his men a message he
had received: “The General Officer
Commanding, Royal Air Force in
the Field, wishes me to express his
thanks and good wishes to the
officers, NCOs and men
of 98 Squadron for their
fine work at the start of the
present battle.
“He hopes that the same
spirit of doggedness,
determination and
sacrifice will still beHoliday, noted in his
diary: “It was very cold.
We crossed the lines
and immediately got
my first experience
of ‘Archie’ [anti-
aircraft fire] and did
not like it. We dropped
our ‘eggs’ on Wernicq and
immediately turned. We scored several
hits on the town and I managed to
get off a good many rounds at the
trenches and roads. Altogether it was a
good show.”BACKS TO THE WALL
The next day was seen as the most
critical of the offensive, during
which Field Marshal Douglas
Haig issued his famous “backs
to the wall” proclamation. The
Germans continued to press towards
Hazebrouck in the face of relentless
air attacks that continued throughout
to try to blunt the threat, taking
advantage of the improved weather.
The DH.9s of 98 Squadron set off
at 0640hrs to strike at German lines
of communication. The formation
climbed to 11,000ft routing past
Dunkirk for Hazebrouck, releasing
bombs 90 minutes later, seeing some
hits. They landed back at 0840hrs.
A second raid took off for the criticalAbove
A close-up of the nose
of a DH.9, showing the
vulnerable radiator.
E F CHEESMANRight
Second Lt Cecil Whyte
of 98 Squadron. He
became well versed
in dealing with the
DH.9’s troublesome
Puma engine. AUTHOR’S
COLLECTION62 FLYPAST Aprill 2018
Holiday, noted in his
diary: “It was very cold.
We crossed the lines
and immediately gotAbove
A close-up of the nose
of a DH.9, showing the
vulnerable radiator.1918 2018Near Neuf-engine on the aircraft flown by 2nd
Lts Holiday and Whyte forced them
to return.
The rest of the formation was split
up. Captain Fawcus with Lt Dardis
were initially posted missing, but later
returned.
By April 16, the Germans had
made significant advances into the
Allied lines in Flanders, where Mount
Kemmel became a key feature.
Despite the continued poor weather,
II Brigade’s two DH.9 units – 98 and
206 – twice attacked Bailleul and
targets on the road to Meteren.
On April 18, Major O’Malley
read out to his men a message he
had received: “The General Officer
Commanding, Royal Air Force in
the Field, wishes me to express his
thanks and good wishes to the
officers, NCOs and men
of 98 Squadron for their
fine work at the start of the
present battle.spirit of doggedness,
determination andand immediately gotnot like it. We dropped
our ‘eggs’ on Wernicq and
immediately turned. We scored several
hits on the town and I managed to
get off a good many rounds at theHoliday, noted in his
diary: “It was very cold.and immediately got