Cranborne/Nettleton Memories
By Mitch Stirling
When I view some old black and white photographs of 'trains and
boats and planes' by the likes of Tony Hawes and the British Air
Ministry I'm transported back in time to the year 1956 when two wee
boys, with their ma and pa, got off the boat-train at Salisbury
station... with their eyes like saucers! Dusting off the soot from
that old Garrett steam engine, they assembled their few possessions
and made their way (I can't remember how) to their new abode - the
Cranborne hostel. It had been a long journey from Glasgow to
Southampton and then by Union Castle liner 'Stirling' to Cape Town,
followed by train to Southern Rhodesia. THIS is where it all began -
our love for the land of Rhodesia and of its people - and for the
wee boys' love of flying machines.
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Cranborne in the 1950's
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The hostel where we stayed had been used
as barracks by the many airmen from all over the world who trained
there during the Second World War. Thousands of aviation personnel
had learned their trade and honed their skills in sunny Southern
Rhodesia in what was known as the Empire (later Commonwealth) Air
Training Scheme. At our new home in these old Cranborne barracks -
the old 20 SFTS (Service Flight Training School) and 31 ARU
(Aircraft Repair Unit) - I began to learn about the wonderful
history of the men who had passed through this place. In a young
school boy's imagination I could sense their presence in the bits
and pieces of discarded aviation, left over from times gone by. RAF
Cranborne (1940-45) was one of a number of Rhodesian Air Training
Group bases where North American Harvards were used for training
pilots... and not without the occasional mishaps!
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| Harvard Airborne |
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| Crashed Harvard |
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Salisbury October 24, 1940
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The nearby primary school I attended was named after Squadron Leader
John Dering Nettleton VC, with school 'houses' named after four more
RAF recipients of the Victoria Cross - Aaron, Gray, Hornell and
Malcolm - awarded posthumously in various theatres of war. Although
not a Rhodesian himself (South African born) Nettleton led the
fateful low-level bombing attack on the U-Boat diesel engine factory
at Augsburg in 1942 with Rhodesians P/O Partick Dorehill DFC from
Fort Victoria, Sgt Donald Huntly DFM from Salisbury and W/O Laurence
Dando DFM as members of the raid. P/O Haworth Peall, Sgts Brian Moss
and Peter Venter were killed. Dando and Sgt Albert Dedman were taken
prisoner by the Germans after being shot down. As school children we
began to comprehend a little about the bravery of these men, but it
was not until I reached adulthood that the enormity of these acts of
valour and the complete dedication to duty began to sink in. The
story is well-known, but the mental picture still sends tingles down
my spine. It's a picture of bomber crews receiving their target
brief on the morning of 17 April '42 and six Lancaster bombers of 44
(Rhodesia) Squadron RAF getting fueled-up to max 2154 gallons and
bombed-up with 4/ thousand pounders... and departing Waddington in a
double Vic formation for a daylight crossing of the English
Channel... on the wave tops.
+Squadron.jpg) |
| Seven members of a Lancaster crew on a training flight |
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Lancaster with Lincoln Cathedral in view
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| Lancaster over Waddington in 1942 |
Code-named 'Operation Margin', it was the first major operation of
Avro Lancasters and one of the most daring raids of the war,
penetrating hundreds of miles into enemy territory. Joined by 6 more
Lancasters of 97 Squadron from RAF Woodhall Spa they roared across
France and Germany like a huge flight of 12 migratory birds. Up
ahead swarms of RAF fighters and bombers were laying down
diversionary attacks on ground targets in an attempt to lure the
enemy fighters away and clear the flight path for the Lancs. It
almost worked.... until they were spotted by packs of Messerschmitt
Bf 109's and Focke Wulf Fw 190's that jumped them from above. Four
Lancasters of Nettleton's wing were immediately shot down and only
two finally arrived over target. And, once there, another aircraft
was hit by flak and went down. The second wave of six bombers had
evaded the attack by the German fighters, but when they arrived over
target one was hit by ack-ack and exploded in flames and two others
were hit and caught fire. The survivors limped back home to England
under cover of darkness. Nettleton's machine, in tatters, landed at
Squires Gate near Blackpool. It was almost one-o-clock in the
morning and they had been airborne for nearly 10 hours over hostile
territory. Seven of the twelve Lancasters had been lost - 37 crew
members had died and 12 were taken prisoner.
Air Marshal Arthur (Bomber) Harris, who had farmed outside Salisbury before the war said, "The officers and men who took part, those who returned and those who fell, have indeed served their country well." John Dering Nettleton's Victoria Cross was gazetted on April 1942, but he was to die soon after (on 13 July 1943) during a raid on Turin, Italy. Night fighters shot him down off the French coast. His body and those of his crew were never found.
Air Marshal Arthur (Bomber) Harris, who had farmed outside Salisbury before the war said, "The officers and men who took part, those who returned and those who fell, have indeed served their country well." John Dering Nettleton's Victoria Cross was gazetted on April 1942, but he was to die soon after (on 13 July 1943) during a raid on Turin, Italy. Night fighters shot him down off the French coast. His body and those of his crew were never found.
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| Nettleton's crew after the raid on Augsburg |
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| Children from Nettleton School examine the Vulcan |
.jpg) |
Avro Vulcan XA 901 of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron.
In 1959/60 an RAF
Avro Vulcan visited Salisbury, proudly carrying the 44 (Rhodesia)
Squadron badge after all those years. The squadron had been named by
King George V in 1917 and only a king could remove its designation.
So the glorious elephant badge of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron remained
until 1982 when the last Vulcan was withdrawn from service. It was
much admired by a new generation of children from Nettleton school.
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Memorial Service at Nettleton School
 
In 1978 a Memorial service was held at the school attended by
various dignitaries from government and civic life as well as
representatives of the Rhodesian Air Force.
IN HONOURABLE MEMORY OF 44 (RHODESIA) SQUADRON ROYAL AIR FORCE WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES !1939 - 1945
  Dunholme Lodge Memorial  The Bell Near RAF Spilsby 
Dunholme Lodge Church
Photo credits with thanks to:
Phil Evans, Stan Rogers, John Reid-Rowland, Tony Ward, ex-pupils of Nettleton School... Marianna Bayerian-Kondourajian, Hayley Houghton Thomas, Cherry Bessant and Jennifer Momsen End
Thanks to Mitch for sharing his
article with ORAFs, thanks also to all those that made photographs
available.
Comments are always welcome, please mail them to Eddy Norris at orafs11@gmail.com
Recommended reading.
Lest We Forget April 17, 1942 (Raid on Augsburg) http://www.ourstory.com/thread.html?t=481432#598336 THe Spirit of Augsburg Lives On http://www.ourstory.com/thread.html?t=525770#648823
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Labels: 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, Augsburg, Nettleton
posted by Rhodesia Remembered @ 10:57
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