Remembering...

I write this not long after attending this year’s Memorial Day at Capel’s National Memorial to the Few. I remember the first one that I attended: several veterans of the Battle of Britain were present. On spotting my collar one, Tony Pickering, told me proudly that he had been churchwarden at his local parish church. He and several of his comrades have since departed this life; just one, Paul Farnes, was there this year, one of the few remaining witnesses to events that are slipping from living memory into history.

Consequently, an appeal was made for relatives to share their departed loved ones’ stories. That reminded me of the one I was told as a boy, about my Uncle Will. My other uncles told me that he had flown Hurricanes in the Battle of Crete, dying from his injuries after baling out. Years later, I sent for his records; the truth had been rather different. He had indeed been on Crete and had indeed died on active service – only not as a pilot, but while operating the new-fangled (and top secret) radar.

I once visited a family whose mother had recently died. She had been very musical, they told me, unlike her late husband. Despite being tone deaf he had nevertheless built an electronic organ for her, tuning it with her help. A telephone engineer by trade, electronics had been his hobby. This interest had come in handy during his war service in the desert, when he had managed to modify radios so that British tanks could communicate without being overheard by the enemy…

This unsung hero’s skill and ingenuity must have saved many lives. An amazing story – which I would love to think could be true…!

Brian