Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

http://www.braintreemuseum.co.uk/the-jo ... ing-dress/

Tom and Freda.
The Wedding Dress is on Display at Braintree Museum.

Freda would also make Silk Hankies with the unit badges embroidered on, we have 2 9th Airforce and Scottish Regiment.

A Commendation for the Crew on 27th Oct on Operation Plum II.

The son of Tom Hogg the RCAF pilot of Bitter Sweet sent me over 20 Photos, some more nose art and information to go with the photos a few with the SAS men posing with the crew before missions.

This one puzzles me though Toms son thought it was over Canterbury but the fields and distinctive join of 4 canals suggests Holland to me, can any one ID the location.

Bitter Sweet can be seen at 7 o'clock.

Solved, it is Aire-Sur-La-Lys France during Op Varsity.

If you are interested in the other 23 photos, Stirling Nose art and 299 Sqd, then you can view them on RAF Wethersfield Facebook Page.

I am now in contact with Tom Mousers Daughters, Tom Hogg's Son and Nephew ( who put his research on his Uncle into a booklet) with many extracts from 299 ORB, and Eric McAlister's daughter who has just started the search to find out about her father.

Mac was also in 101 Squadron, can I ask Ludford101 and K4KittyCrew if you could please provide any 101 info about Eric Milton McAlister's 101 service for her. She is looking out her fathers log book and other photos and documents to send or copy for the museum.

I had to crop this photo a lot to get down to image file size, it was taken a Derbert Canada in 1943 L-R Tom Hogg, Tom Mouser and Albert Purcell the 3 would meet again in 1944 and crew together in 299 Squadron on Bitter Sweet.

A service record exists for Albert Purcell submitted by a Leonard Purcell no luck in making contact yet though.

Hi Ross
Just picked up your message .. I will certainly have a look through the ORB to see what may be gleened.
101 would have been at Home on Spalding Moor at that time and it appears from the next posting he is back at an OTU within a couple of months .. so there maybe a story behind this..
Regards
Gary

Thanks Gary, here is an excerpt from a recent email with Mac's daughter, might help.

My dad passed away in 1993 of a sudden heart attack
and my mum Olive Susan Hunn passed way in 2012. She was born in Lichfield
She used to tell me that when dad was flying a mission he used to
fly back over her house as a sign that he was back OK ( quite low with the
wings moving from side to side). I think this happened when he was at
Fradley in a Lancaster squadron. Dad did not speak much about the war.

Interestingly Mac got married to an English girl during the war by late 44 at 299 Sqd he changed his next of kin from father to wife, no record of the marriage in his file though.

Where as Tom Mouser (Aus) met Freda from Wethersfield while at Wethersfield in 299, he came back in Oct 45 married and the moved to Australia there is a record in his file, of course the war was over and I guess more time to record this or the paper in Mac's file is missing it is all interesting and builds a picture of these heroic men.

From the 2 logs I have their last flight was on 29th Jan 44 and they next flew on 14th Jan 45. I m trying to imagine that Christmas and new year the emotions not knowing when the war would end, or if the next mission was your last, how you might die, or end up as a POW. All these men were in there 20s as Macs daughter says they never talked about the war, my grandfather was Black Watch and SAS I have his Pegasus Patches he too never talked about the war it's only by being left his papers like others I have begun to search for his story.

It is my intention to create a fitting Display in tribute to 196 & 299 Squadrons at Wethersfield with the Bitter Sweet story as the Center Piece.

I'm new to all this first mistake was I bought the Airfix Stirling which is a MKIII and should have bought the Italeri MKIV will change them over one day.

Hello Ross,
Just wanted to acknowledge the great work you've done here. A real quality thread, a great tribute.

Gary ( Ludford 101 ) is certainly the right guy to see with those details.
If no luck, I'll see what I can come up with.
Cheers,
John

Update is I made contact with the wireless operator the only crewman still alive I have contact with relatives of 3 others so there are now about 100 photos, 100s documents and items and a great story to tell at the museum on Bitter Sweet.

This is a link to a slide show in my drop box it will be available during Feb 2016.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hn06msci8vnnf ... t.m4v?dl=0