Day 5 Seeing the Bomber Command Memorial

The day starts with the normal quandary - should we have cereal, fruit and toast, or perhaps the cooked breakfast option or maybe croissants and a pastry. Usually the low stress option is best and save making any decisions early in the morning, and sample a little of everything, washed down with fresh fruit juice and coffee.

Doug Williamson & Eddie Leaf donning medals for
their filming session.

We had two guests at breakfast, Peter Edwards from Canada who knew Doug and happened to be staying next door, and Bob Leadham, a flight engineer from Eddie's crew. A great reunion, which was improved somewhat when Des recognized Bob and discovered he was in fact his Flight Seargent, whom he had not seen for 67 years!!!

           

Discussing the planning and designing of the Bomber
Command Memorial with the architect Liam Connor
in the RAF Club Cowderay Room

NZ Close-up TV One film crew and the outside of the
Bomber Command Memorial

Getting ready to view the memorial and honour
fallen friends. Eddie Leaf leads the way.

Prior to lunch we were treated to three more eminent guests; Tony Iveson who was the main driving force behind getting the memorial constructed and spoke to us about the process involved in design and fundraising, then the architect who designed the memorial - Liam Connor spoke and he was followed by Wing COMMANDER Nick Olney who is the defence attaché for NZ in London.

Walter Halliwell lays a wreath, Gill Higgans
from Close-up TV looks on. 

Harry Cammish salutes at the Bomber Command Memorial.
Des Hall reflects in the background.

The Bomber Command Memorial-They got there!

Tony Iveson and Liam Conner with the 5 and friends.

Des Hall, Janet & Doug Williamson.
The memorial from a different angle.

A quiet moment for Eddie Leaf in front of the
Bomber Command Memorial.

After lunch it came time to cross the road to the memorial -a distance of 200m (sorry 200yards). However at that point the heavens opened big time so we had to, with the help of the club staff summon several taxi cabs to 'ferry' people over the road. The memorial is magnificent and each Veteran in turn, laid a wreath at the base and spent a few moments in contemplation and reflection.The TV cameraman was there and could have been deemed to be obtrusive but the men coped very well and were most tolerant and obliging. The memorial depicts a typical flight crew from a Lancaster bomber who have returned from a mission as their faces are strained and drained and exhausted, which, as Des explained is how everybody felt at the end of each mission.

A long and emotional day, and made a little longer for Eddie who did his hour long interview with Gill Ryan from the Close up team. Each of the five floors of the RAF Club is festooned with paintings, squadron emblems and memorabilia. The men spent some hours in the evening moving from painting to painting discussing the attributes of different aircraft and experiences they have had.

It is a joy and privilege to be with them and learn from them as they share their recollections and experiences.

Observations from Jonathan Pote Tour Leader:
Sleep is so wonderful!   Refreshed we all came down to breakfast, in 'The Ballroom', and private.   Much chatter and the usual morning brief.  The 'Kiwis do Fly' for liam O'conner had a long message of thanks inscribed by Des, and his fellow men all signed it.  

I passed around a lovely welcome card I found in my room, from 'The supporters of Bomber Command', a facebook group.  From there we drifted towards the Cowderay Room.  I bumped into Tony Iveson, an hour early. He was in fine form, but headed to the Library perhaps for some research.   He joined us a bit later.  

Soon Nicko (Wg Cdr Nick Olney, NZRAF Attache arrived; at last an accent I am familiar with!  Nick was off to Rome for a conference the next day but made every effort and got to us. Outside it was pouring after a perfect day the day before. 

A little later I was glad I spotted a distinguished gentleman entering the room, clasping a rolled print. Liam was younger than I had expected, a delight to meet. I introduced him to everyone, and he and Tony gave us an account of the rocky road towards the Memorial (which we had briefly seen from our coach as we arrived).  

In Hong Kong I saw a quotation from Mao Tse Tung "A tiny spark can be the start of a prairie fire".   So it was with this project, more or less a chance meeting at English Heritage when the later Robin Gibb spoke to Tony of his desire to see a memorial built, and Tony's fervent agreement that it must be done before the limited time left ran out.   'Going public', they had 80,000 letters within weeks, and the 'Daily Telegraph' was behind them.  The prairie was well alight.
 
Liam brought a delightful montage view of the memorial parhaps a meter across.  The 'lads' signed it for him, and it is off to the RAF Museum as a reminder of the group.
 
After lunch together, we had to brave the now monsoonal rain.   Murray commandeered a couple of cabs whilst Nick and I juggled five wreathes on a wheelchair in a gale to cross Piccadilly.   

The memorial is wonderful beyond description - I thought I knew what I would see, but no. Truly imposing, accurate in every detail, the tired faces looking up to the sky, spattered with rain as it often was then - or was it tears?   I have to admit that in my eyes then, it was tears.   Such a sacrifice, then shunned.
 
There were people there even in the heavy rain, but after a few shook hands, they moved back to give us almost free access.   The lads were filmed by the Close-up Team as they had their first look close up, and then some were interviewed.  After perhaps twenty minutes, there was a small formal wreathe laying.   The five marched up singly and laid their wreathes with great dignity and poise.  

Dougie was first, having the most operations. Many, many photographs were taken, Murray braving the elements whilst at times we were in shelter. Liam suggested compositions and placings - he had explained to us his intentions in the architecture before. Finally, we left after an hour perhaps, in weather that few today would brave. Nick's umbrella was totally destroyed as we walked back. Sir Arthur Harris once said "They have sown the wind: They shall reap the whirlwind". I think he had today in mind. 
 
Hypothermia was banished by more hot drinks in the Club; perhaps we were fortunate in having so few others at the Memorial in that weather; but anyway, truly unforgetable.  Eddie was interviewed in the apt surroundings of the library.  For the first time he told others of how it felt to view an Me 110 face to face, to kill or be killed.  "Were you afraid?" was perhaps the most rhetorical questions ever.   Yes, he was very afraid, but he won out, although he was never officially credited with his success.   His main fear now is going back to his RSA having 'shot a line'.