Ron Fitch Legion D'Honneur Presentation

Ron Fitch receives his Legion D'Honneur from the French Ambassador at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on 29th September. Congratulations to Ron.

Some Interesting Links

Our readers provide many interesting links to WWII aircraft (and later) stories and here are just a few from recent weeks.

Scottish International Airshow 2016. - http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-37255610

F-16’s Fly As Drones - http://video.boeing.com/services/player/bcpid1173939806001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAukPAlqE~,oAVq1qtdRjwBrIkHYj2MSytJiEK9s5fy&bclid=0&bctid=2684464741001

A Boy Solves His RAF Father’s Disappearance After 73 Years - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3793758/The-German-laid-war-hero-s-ghost-rest-73-years-Son-s-life-haunted-RAF-father-s-disappearance-stranger-pieced-puzzle-restored-faith-humanity.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

RAF Church Fenton -  First look: Behind the scenes at Yorkshire’s new film studios (From York Press) - http://m.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14747791.First_look__Behind_the_scenes_at_Yorkshire___s_new_film_studios/?ref=eb

Battle of Britain 75^th Anniversary Celebrations - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3202341/Remembering-Britain-s-hardest-day-Spitfires-Hurricanes-skies-75-years-battle-scuppered-plans-Nazi-invasion.html

Great Old Aircraft Photos

The photos shown below are just a small sample of a variety of WWII aircraft photos at - http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=14429&finish=15&start=0

Thanks to Fay & Gerald McPherson for the link.

Walter's Wisdom

That Was The Sweetest Aeroplane

Our title was a quote from an American pilot who went on to say "Everyone should fly a Spitfire at least once." John Blyth flew Spitfires for photo reconnaissance during WWII. We won't tell you any more here because the video below won an honorable mention for short film making at the 2007 Sundance Festival and it tells a wonderful story - Just click on the photo and enjoy.

The Battle of Britain 76th Anniversary Service

Battle of Britain 76th Anniversary - Held in the Sanctuary of The Shrine of Remembrance  on Sunday 18th September this years service featured Guest Speaker, Wg/Cdr John Ward, Air Training Group, RAAF Williams, Laverton.
Thanks to Friends of the Odd Bods President, Bruce Waxman, for the photos.

Ryder Cheshire Fund Raiser & Christmas Cards

An Afternoon of Poetry, Music and Song will be this year's fund raising event for Ryder-Cheshire Victoria. 
The event will be held at the RAAF Association rooms in Hawthorn East on Saturday 8th October from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Tickets are $25 each and bookings are essential. Contact Helen Newton on 9894 3191 or phnewton@bigpond.com.
Ryder-Cheshire Christmas cards will be available on the afternoon or through the above contacts.

Legion d'Honneur Recipient George Tulloch

Congratulations to George Tulloch, one of our latest recipients of the Legion d'Honneur.

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), is a French order established by Napolean Bonaparte on 19 May 1802. Napoleon believed France wanted a recognition of merit rather than a new system of nobility.

The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees of distinction. A number of Australian Airmen have received the honour in recognition of outstanding services in the liberation of France during the Second World War.

Stunning Colourised Photos From WW1

This photo is part of a series of WW1 photos. The caption reads -
An unidentified member of the 69th Australian Squadron, later designated No. 3 Australian Flying Corps (AFC), fixing incendiary bombs to an R.E.8 aircraft at the AFC airfield north west of Arras. Savy, Nord Pas de Calais, 22nd, October 1917. The entire squadron was operating from Savy (near Arras) on 22 October 1917, having arrived there on 9 September after crossing the channel from the UK. 69 Squadron was temporarily attached to the RFC while they gained experience on the Arras front. They began moving to a more permanent base at Bailleul on 12 November, operating as a full Corps squadron attached to 1 Anzac Corps. The last AFC aircraft and personnel left Savy on 16 November 1917. (Source – Australian War Memorial’s collection – ID Number: E01176 – Maker: James ‘Frank’ Francis Hurley) (Colourised by Royston Leonard from the UK) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colourized-pictures-of-the-world-wars-and-other-periods-in-time/182158581977012


More WW1 photos are available here - WW1 Photos

Thanks to Terry Maher for the link.

The Last Post - On Violin

Simply click on the picture for a stirring video of this Last Post rendition. Violinist Rachel Bostock had the following to say about her video - 26/4/2016

"Having had our ANZAC Day commemorations and memorials this past Monday, I felt inspired to pay my own tribute to our brave ANZAC's, including both of my Great Grandfather's. Sadly, neither of them made it home. To those who served then and to those who serve now, I thank you. Here is my rendition of The Last Post."

Friends of Odd Bods Member Receives Award

John Eacott (right) receives Master Air Pilot Award

The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, incorporating Air Navigators, was formed in 1929. It is now one of London’s livery companies which comprise ancient and modern trade associations and guilds.

"Before the Company was established in 1929, the future status of air pilots and air navigators was very much in doubt. The small group of commercial pilots who formed the "Guild" were virtually responsible for ensuring that their successors enjoyed a professional status, and one of the Company's objectives has been to foster and improve that standing. From the beginning the Company was modelled on the lines of the old City Guilds and Livery Companies and its constitution and by-laws reflect that foundation, although its activities and work is very much contemporary.

The Company became a Livery Company of the City of London in 1956: a rarely bestowed mark of distinction. This was a great factor in increasing not only the influence of the Company, the 81st Livery Company to be formed in 800 years, but of the entire profession of pilot and navigator in the United Kingdom and overseas.

In 2014, it received a further mark of distinction in being granted a Royal Charter in the name of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. HCAP is unique as the only London company with overseas regions."

FOB member, John Eacott, son of past Odd Bods President Walter Eacott, is a Liveryman of the Company (John is shown on the right in our photo).John was granted freedom of the City of London some years ago in keeping with other Liverymen. He is active with the Australian Region of the Honourable Company and has been Honorary Treasurer of the Australian Region for some time. John received a Master Air Pilot award in 2015.

In July this year John was advised that he has been awarded the Masters Trophy for the Australian Region "in recognition of your outstanding contribution to aviation in Australia and elsewhere and meritorious service to the Company." The award will be presented at a dinner in November. Congratulations John.

North Atlantic Aviation Museum

Committee Member, Gary Elliott’s, recent overseas trip included a visit to the North Atlantic Aviation Museum at Gander in Newfoundland. Gander was an important trans-Atlantic strategic base in WWII. Thank you to Gary for these pictures.

New Legion d'Honneur Recipients

George Tulloch and Ron Fitch have advised us that they have been awarded the French Legion d'Honneur with a presentation to take place soon.

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), is a French order established by Napolean Bonaparte on 19 May 1802. Napoleon believed France wanted a recognition of merit rather than a new system of nobility.

The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees of distinction. A number of Australian Airmen have received the honour in recognition of outstanding services in the liberation of France during the Second World War.

Our congratulations go out to all the following Odd Bods who have received the honour. If we have missed any names, please let us know.

George Smith           2005
Ron Cleaver             2015
Norm Goyen             2015
Don Howard             2015
Laurie Larmer          2015
David Morland         2015
Ron Pitt                    2015
Bert Tinning             2015
Gerald McPherson  2015
Keith Schmerl          2015
George Tulloch        2016
Ron Fitch                 2016

Field of Poppies Remembers The Somme

The centenary of the WW1 Battle of the Somme (1916-2016) was recently marked by a number of events around the globe.Our photo was kindly supplied by our UK correspondent Bryan Wilcockson as he recorded part of the 19,240 poppies installed by Royal British Legion on North Green outside Westminster Abbey in London.

Betty’s Tea Room Receives A Visit From A Genuine WW2 Veteran

Inspired by the art decor elegance of the original Queen Mary, the iconic Betty’s Tea Room in York is a famous landmark and our own Walter Eacott visited recently.

A few years after Bettys opened its doors in York war broke out, and Bettys – in particular the basement 'Bettys Bar' – became a favourite haunt of thousands of airmen stationed around York.

'Bettys Mirror', on which many of them engraved their signatures with a diamond pen, remains on display today as a fitting tribute to their bravery.

Our picture shows Walter standing outside Betty’s with his step-brother, Clive Eacott. More information on Betty’s Tea Room and the connection with WW2 airmen can be found here. - https://blogs.unb.ca/greggcentre/2013/09/13/world-war-ii-airmen-and-the-cafe-tea-room/

What To Do With War Time Memorabilia

The handling of memorabilia has been discussed a number of times at FOB committee meetings and it is fair to say that the subject is a work in progress.

As the years march on, the amount of memorabilia that needs to find a suitable home increases. The committee has received requests from members on what families should do with a variety of items including log books and service medals.

The Australian War Memorial (AWM) has had to overhaul its donation collection process in a bid to cope with the large volume of items it receives. On average about 40,000 items are donated to the AWM each year but about half do not meet the required selection criteria. Head of collection services retired Major General Brian Dawson recently said while each item was significant to the individual serviceman or woman, the AWM had to focus on collecting items of national significance.

The new procedure involves people completing an online questionnaire which allows the museum to conduct a controlled assessment of suitable items. Hopefully this will stop the unusual but rather dangerous practice of people turning up at the front counter with weapons. It should be noted that only 5% of all donations get to be exhibited at any one time.

At FOB meetings we have discussed the need to keep certain items for perpetuity as important reminders of national, community, and family involvement in our history. And it is the family connection that will often determine the right course of action. Service medals and log books are important items that can be kept within families. Odd Bods founder George Smith nominated that his medals and log book would be handed on to the first born of each generation and that path has been set.

Other suggestions for the handling of memorabilia include the possibility of setting up a special location for the display of Air Force memorabilia, perhaps through government funding, or an educational institution. In the meantime, individual family arrangements appear to be the suitable course of action.

We welcome the thoughts and proposals of readers on how we might handle memorabilia in the future.

Smoky Hibbens - The Habitual Escaper

FOB committee member, Jenny Hibbens has sent us this fascinating tale of her Father.

Sgt Vivian Joseph HIBBENS (Smoky) RAAF SN: 400712

The Habitual Escaper

Vivian Joseph Hibbens was born in Bemboka NSW on 16^th January 1922. His parents were Herbert Ernest Mingus Hibbens and Ethel Cecilia (nee: Pritchard). He had one younger sister, Norma Pearl.

In 1938 he was given a 17 hands high race horse which could no longer race. He promptly went out and enlisted in the 8^th Light Horse - telling a white lie about his age to be eligible - being rather patriotic he chose the 26^th January 1917 as his birth date.

He enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force on 13^th October 1940 in Melbourne. At the time he was employed as a Bank Officer with the Commonwealth Bank. 

After his initial air training under the Empire Air Training Scheme at 5 Elementary Flying Training School at Narromine NSW - he was shipped to Canada where he gained his wings at Camp Borden Ontario. He then sailed to the UK and undertook Spitfire Training at Hawarden Wales and was  attached to the 234 Squadron at Ibsley in Hampshire. After gaining his endorsement on Spitfires – he flew a few volunteer night sorties over France. Whilst here, his mother sent him a Koala mascot - whom he named ‘Anzac’.

In April 1942 he was posted to service in the Middle-East to fly Spitfires with the 145 Squadron RAF, travelling via Sierra Leone. After completing only eight operational sorties with his squadron, he was detailed to transport a Hawker Hurricane fighter to 33 Squadron RAF, at Landing Ground 154 near Alexandria during the First Battle of El Alamein, on 18 July 1942. He encountered a sandstorm, turned to the east to avoid it, and was then blown off course by wind and attacked by 13 German Me109 fighter aircraft. His aircraft was badly damaged and running out of fuel when he crashed close to German tanks near the El Alamein front line - but not before he shot down two of the  German fighters. His only injury was a bayonet wound to his right arm, sustained from an over jealous German.  He took his mascot Anzac with him as he left the aircraft. He was taken via the usual route via Mersa Matruh on the coast for interrogation, then to Dulag Luft at Frankfurt in cells for a week before being transported to the largest POW camp the Germans had - Stalag 8B at Lamsdorf Poland.  This was the only POW Camp in WWII where all the Australian Airmen were housed together in three barracks. There were 84 of them. He became POW No. 25096.

Being a country boy, he found the life in the POW camp boring as an RAAF Officer. The captured allied airmen were not permitted to go out on the working parties as the Germans accorded them the same respect as they did their Luftwaffe - whom they considered the elite of their forces. They were not for trivial manual labour. He was delighted when he was appointed the ‘Camp Librarian’ – only to discover that the books rarely came back. Those that did had most of the pages torn out by the borrowers to be used as toilet paper. Apparently the newly arrived in camp were given this dubious position as a bit of a joke. He also earned the nick name of Smoky - for his battering with cigarettes for food - this name stayed with him for the rest of his life.

When the British and the Germans agree to repatriate and swap sick and wounded POWs – Anzac was smuggled to a man being sent back to England with the message that “the owner is alive and well in Stalag 8B - send this message to his mother”. Unfortunately the POW could not remember who owned Anzac - except that it belonged to an RAAF man. Anzac was placed behind Reception at RAAF House in London. One day someone who knew him recognised the Koala . . . “That is Viv Hibbens’ Koala”. Anzac was reunited with his owner at the end of the war.

He attempted several escapes from within the confines of the camp – all were quickly thwarted. He would do his time in ‘the hole’ and then would try again. Realising that this was all futile - he then signed up to become part of the ‘Swap-Over’ group.

During an interview with Ron Wall in late December 2007 (also a RAAF POW in Stalag 8B) he is quoted as saying when asked if he remembered him “Oh yes. He was a quiet man. But he was never there – he was always out escaping. He would get caught and brought back and then he would turn right around and do it again. We got used to not seeing him.”

First, he became Private Stanley Francis Weir from the New Zealand Army (POW No. 5239). He apparently made 6 unsuccessful bids of escape during this time from the working party at  the Tichlau paper factory – but none of them were documented. Later, from 15^th September 1944 as Private Douglas William Simpson (POW No. 8033) from the Australian 2/2 Battalion, he made three unsuccessful bids for freedom. The first attempt was on the 12^th November 1944 – he broke out of camp and joined a working Commando at Oberglau (a beet factory 40 kms south of POW camp), 16 kilometres west of the Oder. He attempted to cross the Oder to join the Russians. He was free for 13 days, getting food from farmers and picking up some on the wayside. He was eventually picked up by the German S.S. Front Line Patrol, and sent back to the working party.

His second attempt was on 16^th December 1944 where he again broke away from the Working Party near the town of Frapatz, was on the run for 10 days – once again being picked up and returned to the Working Party.

Again on January 3^rd 1945 near Frapatz he escaped again and was on the run for 9 days until being picked up and returned to the Working Party.

When the orders came through to March out the Prisoners from Stalag 8B on 22^nd January 1945 - he was still with the working party. The real Private Simpson, who was still acting as Sgt Hibbens, decided marching off in the cold was not a good option - so he went back to the Army enclosure and was later taken out by cattle car.

His final and successful bid for freedom was on the Death March around 21st April 1945. Some of the other POWs on the Death March who had also escaped, were picked up by the Czech Partisans. They asked the Partisans to go out and find him. He was found huddled under a bush where he had been sleeping and he was taken to a small town called Kdyne in the SE of Czechoslovakia where he was hidden in the basement of a Delicatessen shop. This tiny town had hidden around 400 escaped POWs - which was incredibly brave, since if any had been discovered by the Germans - whole families would have been shot. When he heard that the Americans were on their way - he headed off to meet them on the 4^th May to join up with the 9^th Infantry Regiment of General Patton’s Army.

In a letter written from Kdyne on 7^th May 1945 - he talked about playing cards with an escaped Canadian and two Czech girls . . .  “none of us can speak the other’s language - but we are managing to have fun. The whole town is draped in decorations and flags and flowers adorn the US Army tanks and Jeeps”. The Americans kept him with them to act as Interpreter to the M.63 Signals Air Corps. He went with them into Prague and then on to Berlin. In mid-May they endeavoured to send him home - but not before he kept his promise to his mother that at the end of the war he would “see the sites of Europe”. He went on to Belgium and then Paris and eventually was repatriated back to England on 16th May 1945. He was the last man home of the RAAF POWs in Stalag 8B.

Smoky was a staunch RSL man all his life, leading the local Marches on Anzac Day and Memorial Day each year. He became a member of the Odd Bods UK - NSW Branch until his untimely death at the age of 50 in 1972 from a heart condition which his doctors believed was a result of his time as a POW and the Death March.

Anzac’s flying days did not end with the war. Smoky’s daughter, Jennifer, took him with her during her flying training in the late 60s and early 70s. Sadly, by that stage he had no fur left and had been sewn up after having been ‘examined’ by the Germans. He is now housed at the Australian War Memorial along with hundreds of letters and other war memorabilia which his mother had diligently saved.

Stunning Spitfire Photos

For a comprehensive gallery of some of the most stunning contemporary photos of Spitfires in flight the following website is worth a visit. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3598540/The-Photographer-captures-pin-sharp-images-final-55-airworthy-Spitfires-using-just-handheld-camera.html

Photographer John Dibbs spent years hanging out of fighter planes with a hand held camera to capture these iconic shots. He has published a book, "Spitfire - The Legend Lives On" through Osprey. Dibbs said - 'There is no finer compliment than to have one tell me I have captured the spirit of the Spitfire in my photographs'

Thank you to Peter Randell andKen Broomhead for passing on the link. Now where are my flying goggles?

VE Day 2016 At The Shrine of Remembrance

Friends of the Odd Bods carried out the traditional Victory in Europe Day commemoration at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne today. Veterans enjoyed the solemn and beautiful setting of the Sanctuary and the outside gardens as they paid tribute to their comrades. 

Terry Maher officiates with Squadron Leader Ron Leddingham(Ret'd), outgoing Governor of the Shrine in front of the Odd Bods banner.

Jack Elliott, a welcome appearance from Wing Commander Peter Isaacson AM, DFC, AFC, DFM, RAAF, and Doug Parry who read the Ode.

The wreath in front of the Odd Bods tree.

Our two guardians.