A Pathfinders Story
Revised Proofs
Date: May 2007
First published in Great Britain in 2007 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
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Copyright Bill Robinson, 2007
9781781594582
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Acknowledgements
Although I have made good use of other works written about the RAF bomber campaign, as indicated in the notes, the story of Jack and Hilda Mossop could not have been told without five essential sources.
First the National Archives at Kew, whose staff were exemplary in providing assistance and advice on how to identify and locate the principal sources and provided access to the Operational Books of the RAF stations on which Jack Mossop served during his three operational tours. The files consulted were AIR 27 and AIR 28.
Second the Ministry of Civil Aviation file on the accident to Lancastrian G-AGMF, reference BT217, now held by the National Archives.
Third the Royal Air Force Personnel Agency at RAF Innsworth who provided details of Jack Mossops career.
Fourth the library of the RAF Museum at Hendon where, with expert advice from the staff, I was able to understand the internal layout of various aircraft in which Jack Mossop flew.
And Fifth information provided by Bill Lloyd and his daughter Jenny Coster on the complements of the crews on 76 and 35 Squadrons and their exploits. Beryl Hill, the widow of Warrant Officer Cliff Hill, also provided memories of Jack Mossop, and my cousin, Mary Fawcett, gave me information on the relationships in the Mossop family.
I must also acknowledge the help I have had from my family, in particular of course from my mother, Hilda, whose memory over more than sixty years is better than mine over one, and also from my son, Daniel, who contributed much to the structure of the story and provided some invaluable proof reading.
This story is dedicated to all aircrew of the RAF, RCAF and
BOAC who flew with Jack Mossop.
Introduction
I am going to tell you a tragic story; a story of love, too much war, too little peace and a sad death. The story is based on facts so far as I know them, but whereas the facts about war are, in general, well recorded, the facts about peace and love are often hidden. You will find, therefore, that most of this book tells the story of one mans experience of war and its aftermath. The story of the love between that man and a woman is more quickly told, but told it must be, for without that love I would not be here to tell it. Love is an antidote to the poison of war, but only the fortunate find it, and even in peace there is uncertainty and risk.
Behind the main tragic theme you will find a number of lesser themes: love, bravery, politics, strategy, technology, Canadians, bombing operations and, rising above all the others, risk. Risk of death, risk of injury, risk of capture, risk of illness, risk brought about through the need for battle in war. In peace the risk is of a lesser degree than in war, but we will see that the consequences of a hazardous event can still be fatal.
The war which forms the backcloth to the greater part of this story is the Second World War, which lasted in Europe from 3 September 1939 to 7 May 1945. The people of Great Britain and of the British Empire and Commonwealth toiled throughout the war in all its theatres, providing for part of the time the only opposition to the expansionist axis of Germany and Italy. In 1940, with France beaten, it seemed inevitable that northern Europe would fall under German rule. The opportunist attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor late in 1941 brought the might of the USA into the war and it became possible that the Western Allies might, at least, not lose the war. However, the battles which would win the war were not fought until 1944. By chance 1944 was also the year in which love, between the two main protagonists in this story, led to marriage. As for death, it is never far away in the story, and in the end it proves its power. I will not begin at the beginning because I would like first to explain how things stood in the crucial year of 1944.
Chapter 1
The Diary
The Collins Aero diary for the year 1944 had a notice on its first page:
POSTAL INFORMATION
For postal information, apply at local Post Office. When going to print it was decided to omit this section as it was impossible to say what postal rate would be in force in 1944.
Uncertainty was a condition of life in most of Europe at the beginning of 1944. After four years of war the once unstoppable military successes of German and Japanese forces had been checked, but at much cost, and it was by no means certain that crucial battles ahead would be won. The uncertainty applied at all levels. The alliance between the Western powers and the Soviet Union was driven by necessity rather than by common aspirations, as would be seen during the final battle for Berlin in 1945. Differing strategic aims would also lead to uncertainty at the planning level, whilst at the fighting level the dreadful risk of sudden death hung over all, including the civilian population of the United Kingdom.
Without doubt it was a year of uncertainty for Flying Officer Jack Mossop. He had survived two tours of operational duty flying in Hampden and Halifax aircraft, but now he was destined for a Lancaster squadron. More than that, he was destined for the Pathfinder Force, No. 8 Group of RAF Bomber Command. The Pathfinders task was to mark the target of a raid with flares and then to ensure that the main force of bombers understood which markers should be used as the target for bombing. This role was necessarily more hazardous because it required a Pathfinder to remain in the danger area over the target for longer time than the main force aircraft. So when Jack purchased his copy of the 1944 Collins Aero diary, uncertainty over the cost of a postage stamp would not have been his major concern. With two operational tours behind him Jack had already outlived more than half of the aircrew he had trained with. He had flown over enemy territory on fifty-four occasions and had earned a Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) and a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The DFM meant the more to him because the DFC was only awarded to commissioned officers and it was often said that they earned their decorations more easily than those in the other ranks. Also, he had earned his DFM early in the bombing campaign, when medals were less often awarded. He had been on a daylight operation to bomb a German military airfield. His two-engined Hampden was badly shot up by defensive fire, and it only just reached the English coast before it crash landed at Bircham Wood, the first airfield they could reach, after a perilous return flight with a mortally wounded navigator.
