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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: gunwharfman on 13:42:13, 29/11/19

Title: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: gunwharfman on 13:42:13, 29/11/19
I wrote about what I heard this morning on Desert Island Disks in the Forum's 'Running' subject.

I came home and looked it up -

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiF47LtxI_mAhXEmFwKHQz6AlAQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fav%2Fmagazine-35874257%2Fnightingales-sing-with-raf-bombers-overhead&usg=AOvVaw3y2tC092sTR3UJECGqm4Fq
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: Dyffryn Ardudwy on 18:08:09, 04/12/19
Very thought provoking and quite moving as well, knowing many of the young pilot crews in those Bombers over head, would never return home.
I wonder how many of them survived their tour of duty, during the war.

When they became aircrew in Bomber Command, a tour of duty, was thirty sorties over enemy territory, but the possibility of not returning was very real.

Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, volunteered for a second and third tour, during the war.

The first tour, was thirty flights, and the second and third, involved twenty flights each.

Brave brave men, and listening to that gorgeous Nightingale, knowing many of those young lads would never make it home, was quite moving.

Very very moving, and emotional.

Something so beautiful as a bird singing, mixed with something ever so sad.


WAR AND PEACE
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 18:42:59, 04/12/19
My dad’s oldest brother was a tail end Charlie in a Lancaster bomber during the war. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive and was killed in 1945 at the age of just 22. I can’t imagine going to war at any age let alone dying at such a young age, as many did in the world wars and all the conflicts since.
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: gunwharfman on 10:24:26, 05/12/19
My drinking pals uncle aged 97 is still alive and doing well. He did 30 missions over Germany in Lancasters, We are trying to find out via his flying record if he took part in that 1942 raid.
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: gunwharfman on 10:27:13, 05/12/19
Have you downloaded your dads oldest brothers information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site? We have done this for my relative who died in the trenches on November 3rd 1917. We named our son after him.
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: Jac on 11:56:56, 05/12/19
Indeed, very poignant for without meaning to diminish the heroism of the young airforcemen how may of us, now have had the chance to stand a listen to the song of a nightingale.
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 21:45:54, 05/12/19
Have you downloaded your dads oldest brothers information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site? We have done this for my relative who died in the trenches on November 3rd 1917. We named our son after him.
I hadn’t done this before, but this was a very useful suggestion. Thank you. I was able to find the cemetery and plot number where he is buried in Germany and could even see the exact spot on a satellite view of the cemetery.
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: gunwharfman on 10:40:18, 06/12/19
Did you also do the A4 printout of him? When my son was young he printed a fair number of them then bought some cheap Argos A4 picture frames and gave them to our relatives as presents. My son was lucky because whilst at school one of his teachers organised a class trip to the headstone Lijssenthoek Cemetery, Poperinge. We have a very nice photo with him behind the headstone and his classmates standing either side. His headstone is a few rows back near to the fir tree on the left hand side. A very large cemetery, just one woman's headstone.


https://www.cwgc.org/-/media/images/cwgc/pages/carousels/featured-cemeteries/lijssenthoek/lijssenthoek-1.ashx
Title: Re: A Nightingale sings and Bombers overhead 1942
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 07:09:37, 07/12/19
I haven’t downloaded anything yet, just viewed it on the website. My dad probably won’t be able see or read anything, as he has macular degeneration in both eyes. He will remember though the post war photograph of my grandparents and their 13 children, with my uncle Jack in his flight sergeant’s uniform added using the technology of the day. February will mark the 75th anniversary of his death, so perhaps I should try to put something together for my 85 year old dad to commemorate this.