by Gill Griffin
Frenchman Baron Roland François de la Poype (then Count de la Poype) was the equivalent rank of sergeant and joined us in the Sergeants’ Mess at the time when Paddy Finucane was CO. Roly still wore his original dark blue French uniform and cap. To us he was a typical young French officer, tall, slim and handsome, a wow with the ladies and good fun to be with. From time to time Roly received, via Switzerland, large sums of money from his family and would take us to our favourite pub, the Greyhound at Croydon for a right royal party, paying most if not all the cost. We also made forays to the nightclubs of London and on one such occasion Roly and I were more than merry. We had exchanged headgear and were stopped by the Service Police at Waterloo for being improperly dressed. I do not remember the outcome but presumably they did not press the matter. Roly was later commissioned and left the squadron to train and lead a group of French volunteers for the Russian Front, arriving at Ivanovo on 28th November 1942 with GC 3 Normandie. He stayed there for two years, and became Warrant Officer and then Captain. He even became a Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, he stayed for a while with the ‘Neu-Neu’ (French shorthand for the group Normandie Niemen) and afterwards he became the Air Attaché in Belgium, and then Yugoslavia.
Australian Sgt John Sanderson was a member of 602 before joining 452 Australian Squadron. On one of our ops his Spitfire was badly shot up and I have a picture of Sandy crouched beneath the wing, looking up through a gaping hole where the cannon shells had struck. Luckily Sandy himself was uninjured but he was extremely fortunate to get home.
Herbert Scott Sewell (Susie). Susie was twice a member of AFDU, first at Duxford in 1942 and for a longer stay in the spring and summer of 1943. In 1942, before my wife joined me at Duxford, I lived in mess and came to know Susie well. The following year, when we had moved to Wittering, my wife returned to her home in Redditch for the birth of our first child. She was away from early May until early July and I again moved back into mess. During this period Susie and I became firm friends. He was very good company, an attractive personality, popular with the ladies but also a typical fighter pilot, respected by his fellows. In July he was appointed to carry out comparative testing and demonstrations of the newly acquired FW190 and had made several flights during the month. On July 31st 1943 Susie was carrying out fuel consumption tests on a modified Mosquito and I was flying with him as observer, taking the flow meter readings. When we were over the Thames valley the port engine cut and Susie made a precautionary approach to White Waltham. At the last moment we were baulked by some men on the perimeter trap. Susie opened to full throttle to go round again and the starboard engine cut. The aircraft stalled and crashed on the airfield. We were incredibly lucky to escape with a few cuts and bruises. In fact the ‘blood wagon’ crew looked quite disappointed when we walked away. Susie was badly shaken and a few days later he was posted on rest and I believe he was off flying for a time. I was told that he served as a Squadron Adjutant before going back to operations in March 1944. I remained in contact and learned that he left the RAF late in 1945. He did not resume his pre-war job as a car salesman in Darlington but after training became a school teacher. After our Mosquito crash I, then also a Flt. Loot, took over Susie’s position of unit flight commander and also the appointment to fly the FW190.
S/Ldr T.S.Wade, known to all as ‘Wimpy’ from his resemblance to the cartoon character. Again, I was not aware of his success as a fighter ace until much later. He joined AFDU in October1943 as OC Flying, a position he occupied until October 1944. He then spent three months in the USA, returning to AFDU, which had then moved to Tangmere in February. He was there until the end of March 1945. In my humble opinion Wimpy was one of the best Spitfire pilots I knew. His handling was exceptional, he could do everything short of making it sit up and beg. He loved to show off with aerobatics at low altitudes. A favourite trick was to make his final landing approach inverted and roll out when crossing the airfield boundary. He would often perform a slow roll immediately after take-off while retracting his undercarriage. On August 14th 1944 we were testing a Spitfire Mk X1V that had been fitted with a curved windscreen against one with the usual armoured flat panel. One of the trials was at night when we took turns with each aircraft. I flew the ‘special’ first, then we swapped over and Wimpy flew the trial machine. One of the problems was that on throttling back for landing there were streams of sparks from the exhausts, which played hell with night vision. When Wimpy came in he was blinded and only got down at the third attempt. It was the only time I saw him badly shaken. He needed a drink but as it was then past midnight I had to take him home with me to get one. That machine, RM 689, was the one that crashed at Woodford Airshow killing David Moore.
Wimpy too lived out with his wife. Estelle and I attended the christening of their first baby, a boy. It took place in the chapel at Wittering, with many washings of the baby’s head in the mess after the ceremony. We had many adventures together, both in the air and on the ground. Wittering as you probably know is on the edge of the Burghley estate and the area around, at that time, abounded with game. The odd pheasant or partridge was a welcome addition to wartime rations. On one occasion Wimpy and I were driving in his staff car in a lane just outside the boundary and we already had a useful haul when we were caught by one of the gamekeepers. He had to jump for his life when Wimpy took no notice and just kept going. The episode with the sailing boat has already been mentioned in the Charnock story. I could go on for ages about Wimpy, he was a real larger than life character. In May 1949 he set a speed record between London and Paris in the Hawker P1052. On 3rd April 1951 he was killed while test flying the Hawker p1081, the swept wing fighter, when it crashed near Lewes in Sussex. His end when testing the first Hawker Hunter was very sad but almost inevitable. Our orderly room Corporal, WAAF Peggy Snashall, became Wimpy’s secretary when he worked at Hawkers.
W/Cdr E.S. ‘Hawkeye Billy’ Wells. At the time I met him he was the CO of 485 Sqdn. at Kenley, at the same time that his fellow New Zealander, Al Deere was C/O of 602 Sqdn. I flew on many of the shows in which he was involved.
G/Cpt. Allan Wright. Our CO in AFDU, at Wittering and Tangmere, 1944–45. Although already a veteran of much fighting, Alan looked like a shy schoolboy. He retired as a Group Captain in 1967 and lived near Holsworthy in Devon. He featured in a number of television programmes, one of which was Tony Robinson’s Time Team. His October 1940 recommendation for the DFC read: ‘One night in August 1940, this officer displayed great determination and skill in destroying a Heinkel 111, under difficult conditions. Pilot Officer Wright has consistently shown a keen desire to engage the enemy on all occasions. He has brought down a total of four enemy aircraft and has badly damaged four more.’
APPENDIX 5
LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE
After Len Thorne died on 6th June 2008, we received many letters and cards from his friends and connections in the RAF and Spitfire societies. Here are four.
1. Dr Gordon Mitchell, son of R.J. Mitchell who designed the Supermarine Spitfire.
2. W/Com Gerry Mayhew, Officer Commanding XIII Squadron, ex member of 41 Squadron, RAF.
3. W/Com A.M. ‘Andy’ Myers, Officer Commanding 41 (R) Squadron, RAF.
4. G/Capt Iain Panton, RAF, retired.
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First published in 2013
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