Lone spitfire

Oh Faye - that is just amazing but it doesn't shock me. I have total respect for these people - they kept 'mum' no matter what. It is a sense of loyalty that has sadly disappeared. When you look at all the 'Z' listers and 'hangers-on' who blab at the hint of gossip that could earn them quick money I shudder to think how they would manage under similar circumstances, where ordinary people never betrayed a trust.
I knew my mum was involved militarily as she had a steel helmet. She told us of the day she was rushing home from work and heard the siren. She did what she had to do which was to throw yourself in to the gutter. When she did this the siren stopped so she leapt up and continued to run. She heard the siren and repeated the procedure. It was only on the third time that she realised that it was the wind blowing through the holes in the helmet...oh dear, major embarrassment!

A friend here told me of an experience in London shortly after her mother died. Rosemary's brother watched an expensive black car pull up in front of his home. A chauffeur got out, walked to the door, and knocked lightly. He inquired if he was so-and-so...the son of Mrs, such-and-such. When he answered yes the chauffeur handed him a hand-written letter of sympathy and said, "The Queen Mother is very sorry. She always liked your mum." He then left...leaving Rosemary's brother wondering, "What the?" Well, as a lawyer he had a few contacts and the family eventually discovered that their mum had been chambermaid to the Queen Mother...and they hadn't a clue! She had signed an oath of secrecy and after she left the Queen's (at that time) employ to marry their father, she never said a word about it to anyone. Turns out they learned that she had been the one to awaken the Queen, bring her a cuppa, open the drapes, help her dress, etc.

that is amazing - I wish I knew more but by the time i reached the 'I really want to know' stage both my parents had died. i can remember funny stories they told us but never what they really experienced.
Our school secretary worked at Bletchley, where they broke the Enigma codes - and we didn't know that until the year before she died.
I suppose taking an oath of secrecy meant exactly that - and for life!

Wonder if your mum talked to my cousin...LOL I have a cousin in a nursing home in Devon at present who was in radio communications in East Anglia during the war. She worked on transmitting some of the false info about the D-Day landing coming from there. She was also in the War Room when the communique came through that the Bismarck was sunk.

My uncle was only in his early 20's when he realized that he was the only one on the airfield and had to do it himself. His rupture was the reason for his discharge...but he saved the crew on the incoming plane.

Wow - that was a brave thing to do! But, when you look back and listen to the stories from the veterans of WW2 there were so many heroic deeds done that they considered 'the norm' or 'their duty'. An amazing generation.
My dad was stationed at Speke, just outside Liverpool. That was where he met my mum. Towards the end of the war he was due to be posted to the Far East and was based in Durban when he was diagnosed with an inverted duodenum and was discharged on medical grounds. On returning to the UK they were both in London.
He was posted to the Auxillary Fire Brigade while my mum was working for the Admiralty in the Citadel, which was the top secret communications centre which was in the solid, ivy-covered building on the corner of Horse Guards Parade next to the Air Ministry. It is still there today. I never did find out what she did there so it must have been pretty sensitive.

Wonder if your dad knew my uncle...who was stationed in Yorkshire, I believe...he single-handedly pushed a Spitfire off the runway for an incoming emergency landing...think my uncle also worked on Hurricanes but that's just a foggy memory...

Thank you so much T&F!! I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures - and how fortunate your uncle was to survive. My dad was in the RAF but he was a mechanic who worked on Spitfires - everyone played their part - I wonder what would happen (God forbid) if we ever had to do the same - but, no doubt, it will all be done by stealth and drones

I was pointed in this direction by Faye because of the subject and something I had recently mentioned.
My uncle was a Spitfire pilot during the latter part of WWII. He was one of the lucky ones who survived and returned to civvie st after the war . . . and now I am off to look at that video clip.

Thanks for the posting and all the other photos you have posted . . . coming from 'Bomber County' I have always had a bit of a passion for the RAF's 'company cars' (lol)

Thank you Laura - your dad must have been very proud given what those brave pilots did.

BTW...my dad trained pilots during the war.

Oh my, Faye, that video was fabulous. WOW. That is so cool. I would never have seen it, had you not put up the link.

Brie, great shot of the magical spitfire.

Well now...maybe I'll remember to "post" my comment this time! LOL

You're very welcome. :D It's amazing how often an e-mail will arrive and a day or two later someone posts a puzzle that relates to it.

FAYE!! I can't thank you enough! What an amazing film - I didn't know the USAF flew Spitfires either. What bravery to fly over Germany unarmed and alone. And how wonderful for the film - his face was amazing when he realised it was footage of himself crashing!
My sister in law's father was a Spitfire pilot - one of 'the Few' - it still stirs hearts when it flies over. It was a phenomenal plane.
Thank you again - that was truly great :o)))))

Thought you might enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ie3SrjLlcUY

Oh Lyndee, it was - along with the Hurricane, these two fighter planes saved the country during the Battle of Britain in WW2.

Looks like a mean machine!!!!