Shiny Two Stories - every now and again we'll add stories to give you a flavour of life on Shiny Two through the ages.
Two Times for II(AC) in Abbeville
The Squadron Archives contain many unique artifacts; photos in albums; loose photos; paintings; official records; citations, etc. All have their fascination but perhaps the most interesting can be the letters sent by past members of the squadron that relate times gone by and their own "record of service".
Such was the source of the following; an account of the days at the beginning of the Second World War when the squadron despatched to Northern France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, the BEF.
The correspondent was Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (WOP/AG), Leading Aircraftman Clarence Evans. His story - which has been slightly abridged - was told in the typical unpresuming style of the times but fails to mention that during his time around the area of Abbeville his bravery as an Air Gunner in fighting off 15 Me109s was rewarded with the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM).
Such was the source of the following; an account of the days at the beginning of the Second World War when the squadron despatched to Northern France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, the BEF.
The correspondent was Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (WOP/AG), Leading Aircraftman Clarence Evans. His story - which has been slightly abridged - was told in the typical unpresuming style of the times but fails to mention that during his time around the area of Abbeville his bravery as an Air Gunner in fighting off 15 Me109s was rewarded with the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM).
Dear Sir,
With II(AC) Sqn at Abbeville 1939/40
I joined the Squadron at Hawkinge in November 1937 as a wireless operator and later became a WOP/AG. At that time we had Hawker Hectors, later changing to Lysander Is and IIs.
The Squadron moved to Abbeville in, I think, October 1939. It was a grass aerodrome with one hangar which was kept for major maintenance work only. We were dispersed round the drome in the open. Later we dug one or two large covered dug outs and slit trenches which provided a bit of protection.
The winter of 1939/40 was atrocious, with very heavy rain and cloud at 10/10ths most of the time. Just after Christmas the snow came. It was not deep but soon froze solid for weeks on end. We were "frozen to death" on the drome and we all envied the MT drivers with their leather jerkins! Aircraft were refuelled from bowsers but more often than not from large, rectangular “throwaway" cans (later put to 1001 uses with the usual RAF ingenuity). The fuel was poured into the tank through a large funnel – not a pleasant job especially if it was windy. I remember noticing with amazement the spilled fuel freezing on the fuselage. It was so extremely cold it grounded most aircraft for one short period. However, after a fresh fall of snow (in February?) the fitters were able by boiling oil over a brazier and by the constant replenishment and changing it through the night in one engine, to get an aircraft off at dawn for a reconnaissance sortie. The resultant photo map obtained by the "A" Flight aircraft and which covered the floor in one of the rooms in the chateau in Drucat where we were based (which also doubled as the Officers' Mess) earned the Squadron a commendation from on high, as the new snow had exposed the German camouflage (presumably part of the Siegfried Line). It was rumoured that our’s was the only aircraft flying in Europe that day!
One amusing incident of that period was when an aircraft of "A" flight needed to be taxied over to the hangar at the far side of the drome for a major inspection. Unfortunately, with the thaw it had sunk to its axles in the mud. The whole of "A" flight with sundry helpers was summonsed and had tried to push/heave it out with no result. (There were no tractors in those days.) The pilot, Flt Lt Drysdale (who was an ex-Scottish Lowlands Regiment Officer), decided to try and get it out by engine power. The fitter and his mate lay on their backs, one each side of the tail plane with legs tucked under the leading edge. With the engine revved up to almost full power, the plane slowly lifted out of the clinging mud. He waved away the two airmen and decided he might as well fly it over to the hanger.
The assembled throng, which included the CO - Wing Commander A W G, Geddes - and the adjutant, saw, with horror that as the aircraft rose steeply in the air one of the airmen was still clinging onto the starboard tail plane. It was only when the pilot started to trim the tail plane that he realised something was wrong. He turned and saw the airman hanging on grimly, so he banked the plane to port and quickly brought it down. As the airman jumped off there was a gasp of relief from all. The CO then turned to the Adjutant and said, " Brian, see that airman is issued with a new pair of trousers". (This was an old RAF joke, but I doubt if anyone there had heard it in its true context.)
Little operational flying was done during the bad weather. Some aircraft went down to Rouen on detachment and time was spent photographing the camouflaging of French defences and factories, etc. During one period we flew over daily to Le Touquet aerodrome to do some gunnery practice at sea pulling our own drogue at which the gunner fired. His main fear was shooting his own tail off! Our armament at the time was one 303 Vickers "K" gun in the rear (spring loaded cannisters) and 303 Brownings firing forward in each leg sprat. We also practised camera-gun evasive tactics with Gloucester Gladiators and Hurricanes. We coped fairly well with the Gladiators attacking from the rear but the Hurricanes were a different matter - especially when they attacked from the beam.
It is hard to believe now how primitive was the means of communication between pilot and gunner (whose other jobs were long distance wireless work, changing magazines on the camera and altering its settings, helping to identify targets, etc, etc. Exchange of messages was usually done by notes passed between the forward and rear cockpits! The radio transmitter (TR9 Trans/Rec sets) with which we were equipped had no intercom facility at first. These were later modified but the sound quality was very poor and speech was difficult to understand because the sound of the internal generator which supplied the set’s power was so harsh. Cpl Pickles (a WOP/AG) discovered that if the commutators of the generator were polished and kept shining bright that intercom was improved but it was still unsatisfactory as we quickly found when practising with the fighters. To counteract this inefficiency a bit of "high tech" was inaugurated - pieces of thick string were attached to the pilot's harness at each shoulder, passed through to the rear cockpit and then fastened to each side of the fuselage (on the gun support bracket I recall). A sharp slap downward by the AG on either string tugged the pilot’s shoulder and he took evasive action to port or starboard, as the situation warranted. This sounds (and was) primitive, but later in action against Me109s it certainly saved my life and that of my pilot F/O Scotter. (I read recently that he was the first pilot to later land a Lysander in Occupied France.)
When later we began our withdrawal from France there was a strong rumour amongst the Air Gunners that one of our own aircraft had landed behind enemy lines to destroy the Squadron HQ trailer which had been hidden in a wood during the withdrawal. It was said that certain documents had been left in it which should have been destroyed. It may have been "duff gen" but as we AGs were told not to discuss the matter we decided there was probably something in it!
The only time the enemy appeared when we were at Abbeville was an occasion when a Dornier D17 "Flying Pencil" appeared out of the very low 10/10ths cloud on the edge of the aerodrome for less than 20 seconds one awful winter’s day. The Army Long Range AA managed to get off a round or two at him but if he was any good at all he would have taken all the photos he needed.
The airmen of the Squadron lived in various barns and empty houses in the village of Drucat, a short ride from the drome. "A" Flight at first lived in a barn where we froze to death in the loft. Fortunately (?), when the first snow fell, we woke up one morning with an inch of snow on us that had been blown through the ill-fitting tiles, so the "powers that be" were forced to take action and we ended up in a house – which actually had a toilet!
The main domestic burden was drying our clothes and keeping clean. Every fireplace or stove had a "clothes horse" of some sort, steaming with drying shirts, greatcoats, etc. Stand-up baths in a bucket of water was the general rule but once a week we paraded down to the Public Baths in Abbeville for a shower - which varied between scalding hot and freezing. (Three to a shower was the rule to maintain decorum and RAF standards!). A bath could be obtained at the same place in town on your day off if you paid for it privately. It was rumoured that a smashing curvaceous French blonde would scrub your back for you for a small consideration but the only airman who tried it ended up with an ancient old lady with a moustache!
In the spring of 1940 "A" Flight moved westwards to near Bethune to a landing strip laid out on the top of a coal tip. We were billeted on the local inhabitants, a tale in itself, and I with other "A" Flight AGs were allocated to the village postman. It was from him that we found out, to our astonishment, that No 2 Squadron had been based there in the 1914/18 war!
We operated from there up until Germany invaded Belgium and Holland but at that time I was home on leave in Wales. I returned to France and chased all over the countryside looking for my squadron before I was ordered to make my own "strategic withdrawal" - via Cherbourg - finally catching up with it in England and based at Bekesbourne which, was Canterbury’s airport.
Yours faithfully,
C J W Evans DFM
Dated - Jan 1992
With II(AC) Sqn at Abbeville 1939/40
I joined the Squadron at Hawkinge in November 1937 as a wireless operator and later became a WOP/AG. At that time we had Hawker Hectors, later changing to Lysander Is and IIs.
The Squadron moved to Abbeville in, I think, October 1939. It was a grass aerodrome with one hangar which was kept for major maintenance work only. We were dispersed round the drome in the open. Later we dug one or two large covered dug outs and slit trenches which provided a bit of protection.
The winter of 1939/40 was atrocious, with very heavy rain and cloud at 10/10ths most of the time. Just after Christmas the snow came. It was not deep but soon froze solid for weeks on end. We were "frozen to death" on the drome and we all envied the MT drivers with their leather jerkins! Aircraft were refuelled from bowsers but more often than not from large, rectangular “throwaway" cans (later put to 1001 uses with the usual RAF ingenuity). The fuel was poured into the tank through a large funnel – not a pleasant job especially if it was windy. I remember noticing with amazement the spilled fuel freezing on the fuselage. It was so extremely cold it grounded most aircraft for one short period. However, after a fresh fall of snow (in February?) the fitters were able by boiling oil over a brazier and by the constant replenishment and changing it through the night in one engine, to get an aircraft off at dawn for a reconnaissance sortie. The resultant photo map obtained by the "A" Flight aircraft and which covered the floor in one of the rooms in the chateau in Drucat where we were based (which also doubled as the Officers' Mess) earned the Squadron a commendation from on high, as the new snow had exposed the German camouflage (presumably part of the Siegfried Line). It was rumoured that our’s was the only aircraft flying in Europe that day!
One amusing incident of that period was when an aircraft of "A" flight needed to be taxied over to the hangar at the far side of the drome for a major inspection. Unfortunately, with the thaw it had sunk to its axles in the mud. The whole of "A" flight with sundry helpers was summonsed and had tried to push/heave it out with no result. (There were no tractors in those days.) The pilot, Flt Lt Drysdale (who was an ex-Scottish Lowlands Regiment Officer), decided to try and get it out by engine power. The fitter and his mate lay on their backs, one each side of the tail plane with legs tucked under the leading edge. With the engine revved up to almost full power, the plane slowly lifted out of the clinging mud. He waved away the two airmen and decided he might as well fly it over to the hanger.
The assembled throng, which included the CO - Wing Commander A W G, Geddes - and the adjutant, saw, with horror that as the aircraft rose steeply in the air one of the airmen was still clinging onto the starboard tail plane. It was only when the pilot started to trim the tail plane that he realised something was wrong. He turned and saw the airman hanging on grimly, so he banked the plane to port and quickly brought it down. As the airman jumped off there was a gasp of relief from all. The CO then turned to the Adjutant and said, " Brian, see that airman is issued with a new pair of trousers". (This was an old RAF joke, but I doubt if anyone there had heard it in its true context.)
Little operational flying was done during the bad weather. Some aircraft went down to Rouen on detachment and time was spent photographing the camouflaging of French defences and factories, etc. During one period we flew over daily to Le Touquet aerodrome to do some gunnery practice at sea pulling our own drogue at which the gunner fired. His main fear was shooting his own tail off! Our armament at the time was one 303 Vickers "K" gun in the rear (spring loaded cannisters) and 303 Brownings firing forward in each leg sprat. We also practised camera-gun evasive tactics with Gloucester Gladiators and Hurricanes. We coped fairly well with the Gladiators attacking from the rear but the Hurricanes were a different matter - especially when they attacked from the beam.
It is hard to believe now how primitive was the means of communication between pilot and gunner (whose other jobs were long distance wireless work, changing magazines on the camera and altering its settings, helping to identify targets, etc, etc. Exchange of messages was usually done by notes passed between the forward and rear cockpits! The radio transmitter (TR9 Trans/Rec sets) with which we were equipped had no intercom facility at first. These were later modified but the sound quality was very poor and speech was difficult to understand because the sound of the internal generator which supplied the set’s power was so harsh. Cpl Pickles (a WOP/AG) discovered that if the commutators of the generator were polished and kept shining bright that intercom was improved but it was still unsatisfactory as we quickly found when practising with the fighters. To counteract this inefficiency a bit of "high tech" was inaugurated - pieces of thick string were attached to the pilot's harness at each shoulder, passed through to the rear cockpit and then fastened to each side of the fuselage (on the gun support bracket I recall). A sharp slap downward by the AG on either string tugged the pilot’s shoulder and he took evasive action to port or starboard, as the situation warranted. This sounds (and was) primitive, but later in action against Me109s it certainly saved my life and that of my pilot F/O Scotter. (I read recently that he was the first pilot to later land a Lysander in Occupied France.)
When later we began our withdrawal from France there was a strong rumour amongst the Air Gunners that one of our own aircraft had landed behind enemy lines to destroy the Squadron HQ trailer which had been hidden in a wood during the withdrawal. It was said that certain documents had been left in it which should have been destroyed. It may have been "duff gen" but as we AGs were told not to discuss the matter we decided there was probably something in it!
The only time the enemy appeared when we were at Abbeville was an occasion when a Dornier D17 "Flying Pencil" appeared out of the very low 10/10ths cloud on the edge of the aerodrome for less than 20 seconds one awful winter’s day. The Army Long Range AA managed to get off a round or two at him but if he was any good at all he would have taken all the photos he needed.
The airmen of the Squadron lived in various barns and empty houses in the village of Drucat, a short ride from the drome. "A" Flight at first lived in a barn where we froze to death in the loft. Fortunately (?), when the first snow fell, we woke up one morning with an inch of snow on us that had been blown through the ill-fitting tiles, so the "powers that be" were forced to take action and we ended up in a house – which actually had a toilet!
The main domestic burden was drying our clothes and keeping clean. Every fireplace or stove had a "clothes horse" of some sort, steaming with drying shirts, greatcoats, etc. Stand-up baths in a bucket of water was the general rule but once a week we paraded down to the Public Baths in Abbeville for a shower - which varied between scalding hot and freezing. (Three to a shower was the rule to maintain decorum and RAF standards!). A bath could be obtained at the same place in town on your day off if you paid for it privately. It was rumoured that a smashing curvaceous French blonde would scrub your back for you for a small consideration but the only airman who tried it ended up with an ancient old lady with a moustache!
In the spring of 1940 "A" Flight moved westwards to near Bethune to a landing strip laid out on the top of a coal tip. We were billeted on the local inhabitants, a tale in itself, and I with other "A" Flight AGs were allocated to the village postman. It was from him that we found out, to our astonishment, that No 2 Squadron had been based there in the 1914/18 war!
We operated from there up until Germany invaded Belgium and Holland but at that time I was home on leave in Wales. I returned to France and chased all over the countryside looking for my squadron before I was ordered to make my own "strategic withdrawal" - via Cherbourg - finally catching up with it in England and based at Bekesbourne which, was Canterbury’s airport.
Yours faithfully,
C J W Evans DFM
Dated - Jan 1992
