THIS IS
FINDON VILLAGE —
www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her
home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
THE HIGH SALVINGTON
MESSERSCHMITT 109 — 14TH AUGUST 1940
Copyright
Valerie Martin 2004.
Between
1st and 18th August 1940
the RAF lost 208 fighters and 106 pilots. Later in the month saw even
heavier losses. Wastage now outstripped the production of new aircraft and
the training of pilots to fly them. Those British pilots that did survive
suffered from combat fatigue.
After the evacuation of the tired
and ragged men of
the Allied forces campaign from Dunkirk, the months of August and September 1940
witnessed fierce air battles fought in the skies over Findon.
On Tuesday 13th August 1940 the Luftwaffe began attacking R.A.F.
Fighter Command's aircraft, airfields and installations.
Miss J. Naish of Pavilion Road in Worthing
had vivid
memories of that summer and the events taking place on Wednesday 14th August
1940. She recalled many years later seeing a single-engine Messerschmitt
109 shot down in flames ...
| I was lying down in the grass on
the Downs reading a stamp magazine when the silence was broken by an awful
roar and the sound of machine gunning in the blue sky.
Suddenly a Messerschmitt fighter hurled past about 200 yards away going
from east to west. A little smoke was trailing from all over
the plane. It flew on, losing height, and struck a hedge several
hundred yards away and then burst into orange-yellow flames.
The black smoke towered into a tall column and I saw two
more black columns behind Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring.
I saw four little white parachutes against the sky and a British Spitfire
at the bottom of the hill where it had plunged into the ground at an
angle. The British fighter was surrounded by soldiers.
The
wide ploughed field between Honeysuckle Lane and the track by the old
waterworks was soon full of fire engines, ambulances and police vans.
We heard that one German pilot had parachuted into Wiston Park Lake and
drowned and that another had come down near Titch Hill Farm, Beggars Bush,
and had refused a glass of milk from a farm girl because he was told in
Germany that he would be poisoned if he landed in Britain.
A third airman came down on top of a tree on the A24
road to Horsham and had to be fetched down by force.
|
The column of smoke behind Chanctonbury Ring as
described by Mrs Naish could have been one of our own fighters that crashed in
the marshy valley by the A283 between Steyning and Bramber.
This was map reference 181 117. This aircraft dug itself so deeply
into the soil that rescuers had to cut the tail off and then bury the remainder
of the plane until years later when it was finally removed.
I have endeavoured to discover
exactly how many aeroplanes were shot down, or crashed in the Findon area during
the dark days of war. It has been very difficult for me. There
appear to be no comprehensive details and it has been a very difficult and
confusing task but I have attempted to record them as accurately as I can.
Not being around at the time, has not helped me.
The Findon News dated May 1967 refers to wartime memories
of Findon and an incident that caused excitement. This was the crash
of "a German bomber" that came over High Salvington under such heavy fire
that it had its tail shot away.
The report said that
"two parachutes blossomed over Findon
somewhere near Gallops Farm". It was said that the farmer was
threatening to exact the fatal penalty when the Canadians arrived to
restrain him.
One of the German crew landed in a tree at North End and
the first person to make the capture was said to be Edward Budd's brother,
a member of the Home Guard. He persuaded the Canadians to let him have the parachute as
a souvenir. There is no mention of a date for this crash.
The Findon News of 1967 concluded that
—
"memories of the 1939/45 conflict
were already becoming too hazy for exact reportage! "
How well I know that feeling now!
My guess is that whoever wrote the report for the Findon News
back in 1967 and describing the enemy aircraft as "a German bomber", meant in
fact the single-engine Messerschmitt 109 that crashed on Wednesday 14th August
1940. Perhaps the further one gets away from the date, the more
accurate the reporting!
Continue if you would like to read about
The High
Salvington Heinkel — 16th August 1940.
This
is Findon Village —
www.findonvillage.com is
a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for
documenting life in Findon.
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