OC’s
Foreword
2014 - A year to both Reflect and Look Forward
This year marks an important milestone in British military history, 100 years since the beginning of the First World War, the war to end all
wars. During the course of this year there will
be many programmes on the television and
public events designed to inform us and to reflect upon the sacrifices made for our freedoms.
It was during the final year of the First World
War, on the 1st April 1918 that the Royal Air
Force was formed from the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps.
During a recent visit to London, I stopped
by the new Bomber Command war memorial
which is located in Green Park, just a short walk
away from Buckingham Palace. If you are ever
visiting our capital city the memorial is well
worth seeing. Its design is well thought out,
with a group of bomber crew statues at its centre housed under a roof of a geodetic design,
through which the sky and night stars can be
seen. This geodetic roof design is reminiscent of
the structural framework of the Wellington
bombers which pressed home many of bomber
command’s raids on Germany throughout the
Second World War. Yet it was the wording on
the back of the marble plinth upon which the
statues stand that made me stop and think:
“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone
who have the courage to defend it.”
- Pericles
We owe a lot to those men and women
who had the courage to defend our freedom and
way of life, irrespective of which conflict they
fought in, or in what role they played. There
are many stories of extreme bravery where men
and women have put the needs of others before
themselves. Men like Sergeant James Ward
whose Wellington bomber was attacked by a
German aircraft whilst returning home from an
air raid over Germany. The attack on his Wellington bomber started a fire in the aircraft’s
starboard engine, this fire being fuelled by petrol leaking from a severed fuel line. In order to
2497cosfordsquadron.moonfruit.com
The Bomber
Command
Memorial in
Green Park,
London.
save other crew members whose only other option was to bail out into the North Sea, Sergeant
Ward climbed out of the stricken aircraft whilst
it was still in flight, he then fought his way along
the blazing starboard wing and attempted to
stop the fire spreading by kicking away the
wing’s fabric which was acting as a wick for the
leaking petrol, this all being done in total darkness. Against all odds he succeeded in suppressing the flames, and the Wellington bomber
together with its crew made a rather undignified
but safe landing on a British airfield.
It is very easy to take for granted the life
style that we live today, with all its freedoms
and privileges. Hopefully we will never find ourselves in a situation where we have to risk our
own lives to preserve these freedoms. It is important though that we in the way we live our
lives, not only reflect the values so bravely defended by the men and women of conflicts past,
but also take advantage of the many opportunities to do those new, good and exciting things
that present themselves to us as our lives progress.
Flight Lieutenant G. Vince
Officer Commanding 2497 (Cosford) Squadron
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