Obituaries
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
at6
1st Sergeant
Cpt Rick Jolly dies.
the only man from decorated by both sides that fought in the Falklands
'Hero' surgeon of Falklands War dies
the only man from decorated by both sides that fought in the Falklands
'Hero' surgeon of Falklands War dies
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
R.I.P.
His books are great reads too.
at6
1st Sergeant
R.I.P. Being decorated by both sides is a real honor to an honorable man.
fubar57
General
Gordon Mellor, bomber navigator who escaped down the Comet Line...
Gordon Mellor, who has died aged 98, was shot down over Belgium and managed to evade capture. With the help of the Comet Escape Line, he made his way to Spain and eventually reached England.
Serving with Bomber Command 103 Squadron, Gordon aged 22 was shot down in November 1942 while his Halifax bomber was returning from a raid over Germany.
"Returning from a short night raid over Aachen we were chased by a Messerschmitt 109. He cracked us four times on each set of engines and we started to hurtle down fast. I managed to bail out and crashed into a tree. The flight engineer came out behind me but his parachute failed and he hit a roof on the side of a house and was killed. I saw the plane burning in a field about 2km away. Inside were the pilot and rear gunner who hadn't managed to get out. I got out of the tree, stuffing my parachute between the branches.
As I stood in the darkness looking at the flames I had the loneliest feeling of all my life – a desperate feeling of being completely alone. I decided I had to get away as quick as I could so started heading south west across the blackness." Gordon was taken to a farmhouse and his long journey to freedom began. Dressed in civilian clothes, Gordon, now travelling with other allied escapees, was passed from one safe house to another as he made his way across Nazi-occupied France heading up towards the Pyrenees.
"As we passed through one town we boarded a tram and it was quite full so we stood on the platform," Gordon says. "Suddenly a group of German soldiers got on and we were all squashed up together on the platform. Further along, five German officers got on, so we all had to squeeze up even more.
"After a while the officers got off and the soldiers gave them the Nazi salute. All we could do was just try to look as nonchalant as possible.
"Sometimes I was certain that we looked different and the local people must have spotted us, but if they did, they never showed it."
Gordon's long journey took him through Belgium, France, over the Pyrenees and then to Bilbao, Madrid and finally Gibraltar where he was once again kitted up in uniform and flown back to Britain in a Dakota...
Gordon Mellor, who has died aged 98, was shot down over Belgium and managed to evade capture. With the help of the Comet Escape Line, he made his way to Spain and eventually reached England.
Serving with Bomber Command 103 Squadron, Gordon aged 22 was shot down in November 1942 while his Halifax bomber was returning from a raid over Germany.
"Returning from a short night raid over Aachen we were chased by a Messerschmitt 109. He cracked us four times on each set of engines and we started to hurtle down fast. I managed to bail out and crashed into a tree. The flight engineer came out behind me but his parachute failed and he hit a roof on the side of a house and was killed. I saw the plane burning in a field about 2km away. Inside were the pilot and rear gunner who hadn't managed to get out. I got out of the tree, stuffing my parachute between the branches.
As I stood in the darkness looking at the flames I had the loneliest feeling of all my life – a desperate feeling of being completely alone. I decided I had to get away as quick as I could so started heading south west across the blackness." Gordon was taken to a farmhouse and his long journey to freedom began. Dressed in civilian clothes, Gordon, now travelling with other allied escapees, was passed from one safe house to another as he made his way across Nazi-occupied France heading up towards the Pyrenees.
"As we passed through one town we boarded a tram and it was quite full so we stood on the platform," Gordon says. "Suddenly a group of German soldiers got on and we were all squashed up together on the platform. Further along, five German officers got on, so we all had to squeeze up even more.
"After a while the officers got off and the soldiers gave them the Nazi salute. All we could do was just try to look as nonchalant as possible.
"Sometimes I was certain that we looked different and the local people must have spotted us, but if they did, they never showed it."
Gordon's long journey took him through Belgium, France, over the Pyrenees and then to Bilbao, Madrid and finally Gibraltar where he was once again kitted up in uniform and flown back to Britain in a Dakota...
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
R.I.P. Gordon Mellor, a brave man.
Totalize
Tech Sergeant
R.I.P. all
at6
1st Sergeant
fubar57
General
Col Andrzej Jeziorski , a Polish pilot who flew Wellingtons in the 304 Polish Bomber Squadron during the Second World War, died last week in London aged 95.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLKtmyTMUMI
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLKtmyTMUMI
at6
1st Sergeant
R.I.P.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
R.I.P.