Following My Father's WWII Story

Following

 My Father’s

World War Two

Story

Michael Rossiter

Foreword

This article is dedicated to the men who fought both in the air and on the ground to give us the world we have today. Without their hard work, dedication, tenacity and sacrifice, we would not have our freedom.

I have just returned from a life-long visit to see where my father (Thomas Rossiter) was based for five months in 1945. I was in England due to my son playing hockey for six months and my wife and I decided to spend Christmas with him instead of staying in Melbourne. As he was based in Bristol, we planned to take two days out of our holiday and travel to the northern part of England, some three hours from Bristol. I had heard of two brothers some years back that had bought a Lancaster bomber in dedication to their brother who had been lost during the World War II conflict. It just so happened that these two brothers based their business at the same airfield where my father was based in 1945, East Kirkby.

In preparation for the trip, I had researched the Organisation (Lincoln Aviation Heritage Centre) and had spoken to a work colleague who had visited the centre some years back. The centre's website described the business well and are the proud owners of Lancaster 'Just Jane' which takes paying passengers for taxi rides only. This is due to the aircraft currently not being airworthy, which means that it cannot fly. So accommodation was booked in the historical town of Lincoln and off we go to step back into the past.

On the day before we left our son's new hometown, another confirmation check of the website was carried out and hurdle number one encountered. The centre was closing for Christmas break on that day and hurdle number two, 'Just Jane' was undergoing a heavy maintenance visit, stripped off all it's paint and was not in any condition to be looked inside. I was devastated and to have come so far and not be able to see this magnificent aircraft, my stomach sank. However all was not lost and after a quick phone call to the Centre, my spirit was again buoyed. I spoke to a gentleman named Phillip who, once I told him my story let me know that my family and I were welcome at the Centre even if it was closed. He told me that he would be in the Centre's office and just ring him before we left Lincoln for East Kirkby and he would meet us. It would turn out that Phillip was one of the founder's sons and he was intrigued and sympathetic to my cause.

So, on Thursday the 15th of December we trekked from Lincoln to East Kirkby to see the spiritual home of 57 and 620 squadrons of Lancaster aircraft. At the height of WW II, there were up to 50 Lancaster bombers stationed at this airfield. We arrived and were warmly met by Phillip Panton who invited us into his reception area. I gave him the expanded brief of why I was so keen to come to East Kirkby and gave him photos of my 20 year old father in his flying uniform, a copy of Dad and his Lancaster crew and a photo of what I believe is 57 Squadron. I had also brought with me a full copy of Dad's logbook showing the number of raids he was part of between January and June 1945. Of also the same importance, the logbook listed where Dad was from when he enlisted in 1942 to when he came home in late 1945. I explained to Phillip that when Dad arrived home, he and fellow RAAF airmen got together back in Melbourne and started a group called The Odd Bods UK. This important group is now in the second generation of which I am a proud member of, 'Friends of The Oddbods'. This association ensures that the spirit and tenacity of these airmen will never be forgotten as they forged the world we live in today.

After our initial introduction, Phillip escorted us around the East Kirkby airfield and showed us the site lay-out of the buildings, for example where the aircrew slept, where they flight planned their operation, a chapel listing all crew lost from both squadrons (This was a very moving experience). Then it was with great excitement that he opened the hangar door and there was 'Just Jane' in her bare metal glory. Due to the time of the year, ‘Just Jane’ was up on jacks, landing gear removed, paint stripped, engines in various state of installation and flight controls removed. The Centre is using this down time to see exactly what needs to be done to get her back in the air. There are currently two airworthy Lancasters, one operated by the RAF at Conningsby, England and the other across the water in Canada by a privately owned organisation. ‘Just Jane’ will make it three eventually but it will be a long process, aiming to be by the end of the decade. This maintenance visit is an exploratory inspection to see exactly what is needed to ensure she is fit to fly again. The fuselage is being X-rayed to see how much corrosion is in ‘Just Jane’ as this is the enemy of any old metal fuselage. At the end of this visit, ‘Just Jane’ will be re-painted and made 'ground' serviceable again so it can commence it's taxi rides which will start in April 2017. For a cost, the public can go for a taxi ride on this beautiful aircraft around East Kirkby and this is a major part of the income revenue stream, which will go towards getting her back in the air.

After looking at her in the naked beauty, we were allowed to look around at various artefacts of the history on the two squadrons and the Lancaster fleet that lined both sides of the hangar walls. There were airmen's logbooks (which will now have an Australian example and an OddBod), a pictorial scrap book of both squadrons, a real life size version of the Dambuster's bouncing bomb, various airmen positions and what they actually did on the aircraft ( eg Wireless Operator, Flight Engineer ) and tributes to  each country by having individual flags adorning the walls ( we saw our Australian Flag ). As we strolled around these items, my mind and heart were filled with great pride on what these guys had done. We were being given full access to stroll around this facility at our leisure. Both sides of the hangar walls had stories to tell and great description of everything you could imagine. I did find the 'Dambusters' section very interesting and to be able to see what the bouncing bomb looked like was brilliant.

Once we finished looking at the displays, we ventured outside to the Airmen's Chapel and Phillip left us alone to reflect on the many names on the wall-boards of the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their countries and adopted country. From the chapel we were then taken into the Control Tower, which has, several sections fitted out as if it still was 1945. Radio calls can be heard informing crew of the meteorological conditions at the airfield and giving aircraft clearance for take-off and landing. Flight planning rooms, a muster room and even a pictorial representation of where 164 Lancasters fell.

My trek to this unique part of the world was everything I wanted it to be and more. To look out at the airfield on the foggy December day gave me an inkling into what those fresh-faced young airmen were faced back in 1945. I can't imagine what the feeling was like to board an aircraft at night with 49 other Flight Crews not knowing if you were going to make it back into your bed after that sortie. Primitive, agricultural and even crude navigation devices both inside the aircraft and on the ground made these operations extremely risky to say the least. There was no such thing as risk mitigating these movements, it was a time to just get it done and that's what aircraft like 'Just Jane' did.

Bomber Command Memorial

After experiencing the euphoric sensation of visiting East Kirkby, my family and I travelled to Central London. It was there that I needed to visit one last piece of my puzzle during my trek. In 2012, the Bomber Command Memorial was built to commemorate the loss of 55,573 airmen during World War II.  It stands with life size statues of seven Bomber Command aircrew made up of the 1) Navigator, 2) Flight Engineer, 3) Mid-upper Gunner, 4) Pilot, 5) Bomb aimer, 6) Rear Gunner and lastly 7) The Wireless Operator. The Memorial was erected following a five-year campaign by the Bomber Command Association to recognise the contribution and sacrifice of the 125,000 men who served in Bomber Command.

The purpose of the memorial is to remind us of these gallant men and to ensure that the scale of that sacrifice is understood and remembered by future generations. You could feel the emotion welling up as you stand there and looked at the statues and the individual facial expression has been captured perfectly. I was especially keen to see the Wireless Operator who is situated on the far right side of the Memorial, as you look front-on with Kensington Palace behind you. The Wireless Operator was the position my father filled in his role on the Lancaster Bomber.

As you will see in the pictures at the end of this report, the Memorial has 11 distinct features, which are;

1) Design – What sort of stone was used in the design;

2) Thank-you Inscription – The message to say thanks to all who made the Memorial possible;

3) RAF Badge – The motto reads ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra’ which means ‘Through Adversity To The Stars’;

4) Roof – Replicates the construction used in the Wellington and has sections from a Halifax Bomber shot down over Belgium in 1944 with all eight crew killed;

5) Winston Churchill Quote – ‘The fighters are our salvation but the bombers alone provide the means of Victory’;

6) Sculpture – The centrepiece of the Memorial;

7) Message of Reconciliation – ‘The Memorial also commemorates those of all nations who lost their lives in the bombing of 1939 – 1945;

8) Bronze Wreath – Designed by a veteran of No 578 Squadron;

9) Bomber Command Badge – This features the motto ‘Strike Hard, Strike Sure’;

10) Dedication Inscription – States that the Memorial is dedicated to the 55,573 airmen from the United Kingdom, British Commonwealth and Allied nations who served in the RAF and unfortunately lost their lives. These crews came from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and occupied nations including Poland, France and Czechoslovakia;

11) Screen Wings – The seven columns are freestanding and match the seven crew in the sculpture.

 

In closing, the rear of the Memorial states ‘Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it’. All we can say as the next generation is thank-you as we “Press On Remembering these men”.

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Appendix I – East Kirkby Photos

Above are the two lists of men lost from the base of East Kirkby. This moving tribute is inside the East Kirkby Chapel

Above items are from the 57 Squadron scrap book inside the hangar

Lancaster briefing.

Dam Buster Photo of the hero of the raid, Wing Commander Guy Gibson (VC, DSO & Bar, 

DFC & Bar) 

Mr. Barnes Wallace.

Dam Buster Photos, note the size of the bouncing device (cont)

Dambuster Timelines.

Photos around the East Kirkby Base

Inside the East Kirkby Control Tower (note the RAAF reference)

Lancaster Flight Engineer Detail

Lancaster Wireless Operator Information

Inside the East Kirkby Control Tower

Information on Lancaster NX611 ‘Just Jane’

‘Just Jane’ undergoing maintenance

Small window on the side of the fuselage (just behind pilot’s canopy) is the Wireless Operator’s window.

Just Jane when painted (photo from the Lincolnshire Heritage Centre website)

Three Lancasters taxiing out for flight.

Appendix II – Bomber Command Photos

Memorial Statues

Memorial Information

Internal Memorial Tribute Encryption

Small Pictorial Description

The Author before the Memorial

The Memorial from behind.

Appendix III – Thomas Rossiter Photos

Copy of Thomas Rossiter’s RAAF/RAF history 

Thomas Rossiter (standing, second from left)

His Lancaster Crew of which the Pilot (in the middle at the front) was Harry Martin from Perth.

Remainder of the crew were either from the UK or Canada.

Group Photo of 57 Squadron. F/O Rossiter is seated in the front row and the left end.

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