550 Squadron had been give their orders, for what at the outset seemed a relatively routine trip, the target was a gun battery on the Clifftops at Arromanches on the Normandy coastline. They were armed with 14 x 1,000lb bombs. It took just under 2 hours to reach their target destination and drop to 8,000ft, the height at which the pathfinders markings for the gun emplacements would have been visible. However in the words of Navigator ‘Ward Thomas:
“When we got there we couldn’t find it, it was dark. It wasn’t until they made the mistake of shooting at us that we could see them….”
Bombs despatched at 11.24pm the plane had turned and was heading for home when the most extraordinary sight became visible in the bright moonlight. The sea was simply covered in boats, hundreds and hundreds of them as far as the eye could see. The enormity of what was about to happen hit home -D-Day had arrived!
- Pilot Flying Officer Kenyon Bowen-Bravery
- Flight Engineer Sergeant Len Thompson
- Navigator Pilot Officer G E (Ward) Thomas
- Bomb Aimer Flight Sergeant J P Fyffe
- Wireless Operator Sergeant A Cleghorn
- Mid-Upper Gunner Sergeant A Bodill
- Rear Gunner Sergeant R Thompson (sic)
Bert was baptised 'Robert Redpath Thomson' at Eckford in 1924 and in 1944 he married his childhood sweetheart Elspeth Bell Brown. Post war he returned to his job as rabbit catcher, before later becoming a lorry driver. Throughout his life Bert was well known for his cheerful disposition and ‘can do’ attitude. He passed away on 25th November 2000 aged 76.
Firstly as a Rear Gunner he would never have seen where the plane was going, only where it had been!.
Secondly and more importantly, every record I can find relating to Bert, even the C de G award certificate itself has misspelt his name! It was Thomson without a ‘P’!
It would be nice to think someone, somewhere could rectify this problem with a note to the records so future generations wishing to read about his exploits that night can actually find him!
LINKS
You can find much more information and pictures relating to 550 Squadron here:
http://www.550squadronassociation.org.uk/