1943 Exhibition of British war pictures exhibition

KEITH HENDERSON. 4,000 tons, and, after raking the decks with his forward machine-guns, released his bombs from mast 4 5 . T w o BOMBERS OUTSIDE T H E I R HANGARS. height, causing a terrinc explosion. Oil. 221 x 18. Within a month this young Australian was awarded Two Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance aircraft of the Victoria Cross for planning and leading a daylight the Coastal Command. attack on the port of Bremen, one of the most heavily pto defended towns in Germany. While approaching the German coast several enemy ships were sighted, and 46. A I R c J N N E R IN G U N TURRET. NIGHT. with no clouds to afford concealment Edwards knew Oil. 30 x 40 that this formation would be reported and that the defences would be on the qui vice. But, undaunted by An air-gunner at his post prepared to take defensive this circ.imstance, he brought the formation ).' miles Ile action against any possible attack by enemy aircraft. i NN - overianu to the target and in doing so new at a height of little more than 50 feet, passing under high tension cables, carrying away telegraph wires, and finally S S forcing his way through a formidable balloon barrage. EDMOND KAPP. On reaching Bremen the bombers were greeted by a hail of fire which hit all the aircraft, destroying four 5 47. UNDER THE GROUND-REGULARS. S or them. In spite or this he made a successful attack S Pen and Ink. l4 x 20 and then, with the greatest skill, withdrew the S s u r v i v i n g machines. A sergeant pilot who took part in the operation 4 8 . UNDER THE ARCHES. VAI S afterwards said: The first we saw of Bremen was Pen and Ink . 17-x14*. the balloon barrage and in a few moments we were MAW Two drawings of scenes in London shelters done flying just above the grey slate roofs cf houses. S / S on the spot during the early days of night bombing. By this time the Germans were fully awake to us S ' and we had to fly on in formation through a solid wall of "flak'. I suddenly saw a high tension cable straight ahead but managed to lift over it just in time. S 71 _ 1 0 E R I C KENNINGTON. I thought Wing Commander Edwards was going S to hit it but he ducked down below it at the last S - 49. GROUP CAPTAIN HUGHIE IDWAL EDWARDS, V.C., moment while his starboard wing missed a pylon by a D.S.O., D.F.C. couple of yards. We had noted the position of the . , . Pastel. 23 x 167. Mot balloons and were avoiding the cables Out at the level Group Captain Edwards is a Western Australian. at which we were flying we couldn't avoid things S Born on lst August, 1914, he served as a cadet in like telephone wires and the Wing Commander e . . . . a t P o i n t C o o k i n 1 9 3 5 , and in t h e m u s t h a v e i n t e r r u p t e o n e or two early morning following year was granted a short service commission German telephone conversations when he cut through S in the R.A.F. as a pilot officer, some wires without damaging his aircraft. A Scottish Though handicapped by a physical disability sergeant pilot a friend of mine, in the same formation resulting from a flying accident before the war, he was more souvenir-minded and brought back a fair has repeatedly displayed gallantry of the highest order strip of Garman telephone wire wrapped round his - in pressing home bombing attacks from very low tail wheel. Flying through a barrage of criss-cross altitudes against heavily defended targets. He 'flak' we could see the Bremeners taking cover received the D.F.C. for the part he played in leading behind motor cars as our bombs burst on timber a formation of aircraft in an operational sweep against yards, factories, buildings, a railway junction at PP enemy shipping off the Dutch coast in June, 1941. Burgdam, and on docks. There was one terrific A convoy of eight merchant vessels was sighted at impact on a factory and flames and smoke shot out." anchor about three miles outside The Hague, and in In December, 1942, Group Captain Edwards won the face of intense and accurate porn-porn and the D.S.O. for his daring leadership in low-level machine-gun fire the formation attacked from a height attacks with Mosquito bombers on Copenhagen of only 50 feet. Edwards singled out a ship of some shipyards. RANDOLPH SCHWABE. The Guildhall. 21