5 BFTS Association Newsletter No.29 - Autumn 2024

Cadets came to America from all parts of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Irrespective of their home country, all the cadets thought of their families and things that made their homeland special. As we approach Remembrance Sunday (or Veterans’ Day), we remember those cadets who forever remain in America, those who lie in a foreign field and those with no known grave. We also remember those cadets who came home but now have ‘handed in their logbooks’. Each one had their own special memories of home as they embarked on the long journey to America and later as pilots, these memories went with them when they left on a mission often without knowing exactly what they would encounter and whether they would return. John Barber’s father (Dennis Barber) was on Course 26 at 4BFTS. His mother wrote this beautiful poem and for many years, John, who lives in Arizona, has read it in the RAF Remembrance Sunday service in Mesa where 23 cadets are buried. It is about England, but could equally apply to many parts of the UK. Oh England…can you keep for me, the dancing daffodilsThat frolic in the long, green grass upon the rolling hills.The cherry and the apple trees, that shower blossoms on the breezeIn the old orchard by the lane.England – ‘til I come againEngland can you keep for me the bluebells in the dellDown by the stream where nightingales and silver birches dwell?The lilac by the garden wall, letting its scented dew drops fall,With the laburnum’s golden rainEngland – ‘til I come again.England if they all must fade as summer passes byAnd leaves turn gold and brown beneath the autumn sky,Then keep for me if I come lateOne rose, beside the wicket gateTo sooth my yearning heart o’pain…England – when I come again. ‘Their efforts to preserve the freedom of the world were not in vain and will never be forgotten.

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 28 - Spring 2024

As I write, the sun is shining. As the UK has experienced the wettest February on record, with March and April being pretty wet as well, it is lovely to see the sun although it may not last the day! It won’t be long however, before we are complaining that it is ‘too hot’! Here in the UK, we love talking about the weather! We can be wrapped up against the elements on Saturday, picnicking in shorts and t-shirts on Sunday and battling torrential rain on Monday. Each year, we hope for a White Christmas (possibly thanks to Bing Crosby) – never mind the fact that the UK has only experienced a widespread, Dickensian-like Christmas snow four times in the past 51 years. We can have snow in summer and wear t-shirts in November. For some people, the weather forecast is vital, but arguably, never more important than in Summer 1944. The 80th Anniversary of D-Day is on June 6. Deciding the date was critical to success. Air operations required clear skies and a full moon, Naval operations required low winds and calm seas and ground troops needed to land at low tide. D-day was set for June 5, but poor weather delayed it until June 6. Although not ideal, as strong winds and rough seas caused problems for the landing craft with the tide coming in more quickly than anticipated, it went ahead as a second postponement meant a 2-week delay – and maybe operational failure for many reasons. Over 8,000 RAF personnel took part in the Normandy landings, and 11,590 Allied aircraft were deployed; I know that some of the pilots were 5BFTS graduates. Please read about Ian Blue in Riddle Round-Up who was in Normandy a few days after D-Day. This was the largest Naval, Air and Land Operation in History and we now know that it led to the liberation of north-west Europe from Nazi occupation. In the UK, amongst other celebrations and remembrances, the bravery and sacrifices made in 1944 in securing the peace and freedom we enjoy today, will be marked with the lighting of beacons across the country. And we remember all those who were graduates of 5BFTS and took part, or supported someone taking part, in the Normandy Landings in whatever capacity. ‘Their efforts to preserve the freedom of the world were not in vain and will never be forgotten.

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 15 - Christmas

Today (November 28) is US Thanksgiving Day (Canadian Thanksgiving for 2019 was on October 14). Consensus suggests that the first Thanksgiving was at Plymouth in 1621, prompted by the good harvest that year. George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving on November 26, 1789 and in 1863, Abraham Lincoln officially called for Thanksgiving in all states. It now begins the ‘Holiday’ season with the following day marking the start of Christmas shopping. Black Friday ‘sales’ invite people to spend their money, and here in the French speaking part of Switzerland, shops are highlighting their ‘Black Friday’ deals – the two words now being internationally accepted as a way to encourage sales! Thanksgiving Day is a day for Americans to reach out to family and friends with everybody giving thanks for what they have. They share a meal including roast turkey and pumpkin pie (in Switzerland, I enjoyed Dinde de Thanksgiving or ‘Thanksgiving Turkey’ with a sweet potato side!). Change the sweet potato and pumpkin pie to sprouts and Christmas pudding, and you have a typical British Christmas meal – traditional since turkey was introduced to Britain around 1526, although originally it was just one of several birds and meats at the Christmas feast. Today, I am thinking about my American (and belatedly, Canadian) friends many of whom I have got to know since I started writing this newsletter. And in 1941, the pilots in Clewiston were thinking about their homes and family: ‘A Pilots Thanksgiving Prayer’ in Flypaper, November 26, 1941, includes the following lines - as relevant at Christmas 2019 as they were then in 1941: “I thank Thee for my parents, ‘cause two better has no man;For brother and for sister, too, and friends: not one I ban.From asking that You bless them as You’ve blessed me this past year. Please grant them all continued peace.” And so, to everyone, I send Season’s Greetings using the words of Gerry Beardsmore, 5BFTS Chairman from 1998 to 2005:“From me and mine to you and yours, Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and Health and Happiness and Peace in the New Year

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 22 - March

It has been another strange year as life slowly comes back to normal. The UK has had two Monarchs and three Prime Ministers. We have experienced extremely cold weather and also extremely hot weather. Florida has had two hurricanes – Hurricane Ian (category 4) which made landfall near Fort Myers close to where Hurricane Charley (also category 4) made landfall in 2004 and then proceeded to destroy the last remaining 5BFTS WW2 building (a hanger) at Airglades Airport (aka Riddle Field), and Hurricane Nicole (category 1). In August, I spent a week in Florida, mostly at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach to help with building the 5BFTS Digital Archive. While I was there, I drove to Jacksonville to visit a wonderful lady who had been a little girl of six living with her parents and two older sisters in Fort Myers in 1941. This family hosted my father George and his three ‘best friends’ nearly every weekend throughout their time at Clewiston and after WW2, strong ties remained between their family and ours. I was so glad that I had visited and spent an afternoon reminiscing with her, because the next week, I heard that she had died. As far as I know, she was the last living link I had with George when he was in Florida between October 1941 and March 1942, and I shall miss her. There are 5BFTS people who are fortunately still with us, but none who knew him at Clewiston during these dates. Many of the cadets formed similar friendships during their time at Clewiston and retained links between their families and Florida families. I know I speak for them all as I say ‘Thank You’ to the wonderful people who befriended these ‘boys’ who were a long way from home, and generously made them feel so welcome in Florida. Long may the links remain. And this is why we need to build and maintain the 5BFTS digital archive at ERAU; so that these stories, and the many documents and photographs that have been collected over the years can be preserved for future generations. People are asking what their grandfathers/great-grandfathers/great-uncles, etc, did during WW2. And now, thanks to ERAU, if they were at 5BFTS, they will be able to find out a little more! And to everyone, I send Season’s Greetings using the words of Gerry Beardsmore, 5BFTS Chairman from 1998 to 2005: “From me and mine to you and yours, Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and Health and Happiness and Peace in the New Year

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 14 - September

The UK still hasn’t left the European Union – Brexit Day is now potentially October 31; whatever your political colour, a Leaver, a Remainer or somewhere in between, an EU national or a British citizen, we wait to see what will happen. The only sure thing is that there will be change for us all. Meantime, life goes on as it has for centuries. My granddaughter has just started at the school my sons attended, and my brother before them. Almost certainly in existence before 1476, the ‘modern’ school was founded in 1553 and re-founded in 1693. It’s oldest building dates from 1695. The school has grown in numbers and now includes girls, but old traditions remain. Recently, I met Jeff and Carlota Barwick in Oxford where the oldest university in the English-speaking world was established in 1096. The Magna Carta, the basis of our justice, fairness and human rights, was signed in 1215 and the English and Scottish Parliaments were established in the 13th Century. This summer, we visited Maryland, named after Queen Mary of England and founded in 1634, and its State Capitol in Annapolis, the oldest state house in America still in continuous legislative use. These are all milestones in our history and much has happened since: American Independence in 1776, the Industrial Revolution, WW1 and WW2 have all changed the UK and the USA and the way we live, but our great institutions remain to educate and legislate as they have done over the centuries. Clewiston changed in 1941 when the first RAF cadets came to the City which still proudly flies the flags of the two countries. And after 20 years, Judy Kirkpatrick has hosted her last British Memorial Day Service in Arcadia – as Judy says, “Our lives are so different now, but every year we relive that time in history”. We say ‘thank you’ to Judy on page 2. There will always be change - in our personal, national and global lives, but let us always remember those who have gone before, the lessons they have taught us and the traditions they helped to maintain which support our lives and our nations today. ‘Their efforts to preserve the freedom of the world were not in vain and will never be forgotten

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 20 - September

Recently, I visited St Mary’s Church, Fairford, Gloucestershire. Fairford, with buildings in the golden coloured Cotswold stone, has been there since the 9th century, its prosperity built on the wool trade and there is a weekly market in the Market Square which has been running since the 12th century. The current church was consecrated in 1497 and is little changed since then. The complete set of 28 medieval stained-glass windows tell the Christian story using many contemporary buildings, faces and clothes. The church and windows survived the destruction of the Reformation and Civil War – it is the most complete parish church in England. But Fairford also has a link with more modern times – and the USA! RAF Fairford is a Forward Operating Location made available to the US by the UK Government. With an exceptionally long runway (nearly 10,000 ft), it is the US Air Force’s only European Airfield for heavy bombers and was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing Site for the NASA Space Shuttle programme in the UK with NASA trained fire and medical crews stationed there. And Concorde, the first and only supersonic commercial airplane, touched down at RAF Fairford on April 9, 1969, after its 22-minute maiden flight from Filton in Bristol where it was made. This British prototype, G-BSST (002) remained at RAF Fairford for testing and development (making use of the long runway) until 1976 when it was ‘retired’ to the Fleet Air Arm Yeovilton Air Museum where it is today. This, I think, helps to put the pandemic in perspective. For some, it has been incredibly sad and for many, an increasingly inconvenient time which is not over yet – but maybe we can start look forward. The UK vaccine booster programme has started for people over 50 or vulnerable, and those living in the UK may soon be able to visit the US – and the good news is that it looks like my trip to take part in the 80th Celebration of #4BFTS in Arizona in November will now happen!! July 2021 marked 80 years since the first #5BFTS cadets on Course 1 arrived at Carlstrom in July 1941 to start their training before going over to Clewiston in September 1941. We still have a few who remember Riddle Field as they were there – and many more who are helping to keep the memories alive. The windows in St Mary’s Church in Fairford show us what life was like in medieval England; perhaps one day, people will think back 500 years to Riddle Field and our records will help them discover what happened there between 1941 and 1945. I hope those of you reading this are safe and, if you have signs and symptoms of Covid-19, are well cared for. If you have lost someone close to Covid, please accept my condolences and sympathy. With my love, prayers and best wishes. ‘Their efforts to preserve the freedom of the world were not in vain and will never be forgotten.

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 18 - Christmas

It has been a strange year! I got to spend 10 weeks in Switzerland staying with my son to help him prepare to move back to Britain. It was a real privilege to live in another country, not as a visitor but as a temporary resident in that lovely country. I shopped locally as well as in supermarkets, I bought wine from a local ‘cave’ made from grapes grown on the hills behind our house. Local people stopped and talked to me while I was tidying up the garden. My French improved! On Saturdays, we walked to a boulangerie to buy breakfast - croissants and pain au chocolate, freshly baked on the premises. And we thoroughly enjoyed the two things Switzerland does best – cheese and chocolate! And, although there were Covid restrictions, we managed to take some time out to see a few sights. And we worked very hard preparing for the move. All this made me think that the cadets must have felt something similar when they came to America for their training. All those I have spoken to told me that they felt so privileged and fortunate to be selected to be sent to Florida and they all took wonderful memories home. They also took home a liking for new foods – perhaps quite difficult in wartime Britain. My father would always have tomato ketchup on meals; he drank ‘Coke’ and never felt that British beefburgers matched up to America hamburgers. But now the vaccine is here – and in the UK, the vaccination programme starts tomorrow! Maybe we can start to be just a little bit hopeful that we are about to turn the Covid corner and that 2021 will be a better year than 2020 has been. So many people have died prematurely and so many lives have been disrupted in 2020. Families have been unable to meet, hugs are almost a thing of the past, and when out, masked people are trying not to get too close to other masked people! So, wherever you are in the World, it can only get better in 2021! And so, to everyone, I send Season’s Greetings using the words of Gerry Beardsmore, 5BFTS Chairman from 1998 to 2005:“From me and mine to you and yours, Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and Health and Happiness and Peace in the New Year

5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 5 - September

A few days ago, I had a letter from someone who was a cadet at Clewiston in 1943. He wrote, “I would not have thought that there was so much interest in such a small part of the war effort as the number of survivors of 5BFTS is diminishing.” The latter part of this sentence is sadly true; each ‘In Memoriam’ notes the death of one or more people directly connected with 5BFTS. This time, we remember our good friend, Gordon Newsham (Course 24), 5BFTS Committee Member, Archivist and organiser of Midland Reunions who passed away in May. The first part of the sentence, however, is definitely not true! Those of us who were privileged to have attended the 60th Memorial Day Service in Arcadia in May were humbled by the support and interest shown by our friends in America. The Union Jack continues to fly proudly alongside the American Stars and Strips in Clewiston and at Airglades Airfield (Riddle Field), and the City of Clewiston has remodelled their Civic Park where 5BFTS features in the new Memorial Garden. Here in the UK, the National Memorial Arboretum has placed a brand new plaque explaining about the grove of birch trees planted by 5BFTS Association and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford is developing a 5BFTS section for its American Air Museum. On a personal note, in July, I travelled to Jacksonville in Florida and re-established the links between my family and the Simpson family of Fort Myers who were so kind to my father and three of his cadet friends in 1941-1942. Marion Simpson was aged 7 in 1942. Now 81 years, she welcomed us with true American hospitality and the intervening years fell away! A wonderful experience. ‘Their efforts to preserve the freedom of the world were not in vainand will never be forgotten

Hugo Trotter: Obituary

Course 11 - Hugo Trotter DFC. Hugo was at 5BFTS, Clewiston, from September 1942 to April 1943. He died on February 27, 2024, aged 100. He was a founder member of the 5BFTS Association and served as the Honorary Solicitor. City: Winchester U