I am
now at the nearly completed stage for the Cambridgeshire
book and have collected many eye-witness accounts and superb
photographs but would still be delighted to hear from anyone
who has wartime memories any photographs of aerodromes, any
recollections of German bombs dropped in the
vicinity....does anyone have any aircraft parts that could
be photographed for the book any recollections of any
aircrashes in the area up to 1945, any details (no matter
how unusual) will be considered for publication, like the
Hertfordshire book this is a chance to commit memories to
print
I am
keen to see any such photographs with a view to publishing
them in agreement with any copywrites that may exist. In
addition I am interested in any photographs of German
aircraft wrecks in Cambridgeshire, as well as those of the
RAF and USAAF. In fact anything that Cambridgeshire
residents feel should be recorded so long as it aviation
linked and only up to 1945. I am not particularly interested
in anything that has been published before preferring to
create books rich in local genealogical facts, the like of
which is often overlooked and is then lost forever
. For the last 30 years I lived in
Stevenage and have been involved in aviation archaeological
research in Hertfordshire. This was triggered when I was 15
by someone saying "that wood over there is where the bombers
crashed". In 1979 when I had just finished my O levels I
decided to have a look in the wood and even after 35 years
there were still bits of engine, airframe and parachute
shreds in the trees....I was hooked. I decided to make notes
and interview eye-witnesses to most of the aircrashes in
Hertfordshire during the 1939-45 war. The book`s content
concentrates primarily on the years 1912-1945. I amassed
tons of notes, which are now unique as the people who
contributed to them are sadly in many cases long passed
away. I started to trace families and relatives of aircrews
for their opinions, many of them kindly lent me treasured
items and gave me access to family photo-albums. I traced
wartime evacuees who had "liberated" bits from crashes often
legging it there and away ages before the elderly Home Guard
could catch them (I have some absolutely great accounts of
young children pinching bits many very humourous). This
research led to a local incident being researched and that
was the crash of a German bomber , eventually as a result a
meeting took place between the RAF pilot who shot the plane
down and the German flight-mechanic. Perhaps most poignant
was the location of a dog tag on a local B17 bomber crash
site that after much research and work was sent once again
back over the Atlantic to the crew-members younger brother
in the USA. For many years people suggested that a book
should be written so that all these historical Hertfordshire
details may not be lost...well after all this time I have
got off my bottom and put it together with the help of many
wartime pilots / crews families. So many people have
contributed its been incredible. The book was published in
July 2007. In August this year I had a gentleman come over
from the USA who asked if I could give him a piece of the
German aircraft that bombed de-Havillands at Hatfield...as
his father was injured in this raid.... I am able to do
this. Another gentleman from the USA came over in August to
see the wood where his Uncle was sadly killed in a B17 that
crashed there in 1944. The generosity of families throughout
this research in allowing me the use of photographs has
meant that often where I was familiar with names and crew
members I can now actually look into their faces and see
just what the looked like. This book probes into rural
Hertfordshire and exposes some of the most dramatic
occurences that took place here in the world of aviation,
many people will be suprised at just what happened in their
localities. The contents range from an early balloon flight,
pre-WW1, the Zeppelins over Herts, interwar years with a
large section detailing all the Luftwaffe crashes, and
several dramatic collisions of USAAF aeroplanes, also East
Herts Luftwaffe bombing patterns. Featured in the book are
finds made at many crash-sites and many rare wartime
photographs of crashes and actual crew involved. For me its
been a fascinating journey and Im happy that I can now share
the end result with everyone. The Cambridgeshire volume will
be along the same content lines
PS
The Hertfordshire book is available directly from the
publishers or from all good local bookshops including
Waterstones and Smiths
