Bombers' sacrifice has been forgotten

12:36pm Friday 15th August 2008

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RE: The letter calling for a national Bomber Command Memorial to honour the 55,573 volunteers who sacrificed their lives during RAF missions in the Second World War. High Wycombe was the nerve centre of RAF Bomber Command operations.

IN response to the letter two weeks ago from John Funnell regarding a memorial for the members of Bomber Command from the Second World War, this did strike a note with me.

I can think of 55,000 plus reasons why it should happen. As John stated, they were all volunteers.

At the end of the day someone had to pick up the gauntlet and take on the challenge of attacking Germany the only way we could at that time.

Quite close to High Wycombe in a wood just across the border in Oxfordshire, stands a small poignant reminder of this much forgotten campaign.

On March 30/31, 1944, Bomber Command suffered its most incredible loss of life on the ill-fated attack on Nuremberg. 105 aircraft were lost which equated to 537 dead, 157 POWs with 11 evading capture.

That figure was never to be matched again and that is what you call sacrifice! That small memorial remembers just seven brave air-crew from that very raid, the crew of a Halifax bomber LW579 from 51 Squadron based in Yorkshire.

In 1945, the bombing campaign became an embarrassment to our then prime minister, for him to distance himself from Bomber Command, its CIC Arthur Harris and in so doing alienating aircrews in the process.

In the Public Records Office is a memo from the prime minister to General Ismay USAAF dated March 28, 1945 virtually condemning the actions at Dresden in February 1945. A copy went to Arthur Harris too.

That was unforgivable. Even now a stigma is attached. I once overheard a hateful conversation in my local regards aircrews and what their thoughts were. It is all so easy to make comment and be derogatory about things you know nothing about, or you were not there.

So, yes to a permanent and much grander memorial.This is required to remember not just those who did not return but also those who still survive to this day, those who I am privileged and proud to be in contact with.

I am a post-war individual so I was spared all of what happened in that turbulent part of our social history we refer to as the Second World War, but there go I, by the grace of God, and the work carried out by the men and women of Bomber Command and all the other members of the Armed Forces to ensure your freedom and mine.

So forgotten is it and out of vogue even the film industry have avoided the subject I can only think of a handful of films depicting Bomber Command, The Dam Busters, Appointment in London, One of our Aircraft is Missing, Target for Tonight and A Matter of Life and Death.

Two of those were wartime propaganda films and one only eluded to Bomber Command in the first five minutes. I do not include later classics such as 633 and Mosquito Squadron. So, let them all be remembered.

Peter Charles Horwood, Bomber Command Research Group , PO Box 661, High Wycombe