Twilight fell swiftly, that horrible night,
With rain lashing down from a darkening sky;
Came loud roar of bomber, that gave us a fright,
With engines diminishing, then shrieking high.
Five years of long war had taught us the sound,
Of planes that were stunting and stooging around,
But this sounded different somehow to my ear,
And up welled within one a sickening fear.
For the crew of that plane who were homeward bound.
They fought against odds to clear the large town,
Seeking clear country before they touched down;
And succeeded, thank God! but fate was unkind,
Something went wrong, and down they came,blind;
But avoiding the town, so perilously near,
They gave up their lives for us living here.
Vernon Wood
Written by Vernon with his father as part of his homework – as a 13 year old he visited the crash site of the 51 Squadron Halifax LK844 MH-M that came down in the evening of 14th November 1944.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember
them. - Laurence
Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is © 2012 - 2025 Aircrew Remembered and owned or managed by us
and should not be used without prior permission.
•
Last Modified: 26 May 2014, 07:53 •