SON OF BOMBER COMMAND
It had been raining very heavily in Swansea South Wales on the
19th October 1943 as I made my way home from Terrace Road Junior School Swansea. I was 6 years old at the time.
As I waded through the flood water at the bottom of the hill, I saw my Grandfather Captain Bill Woodman waiting for me at the end of the road. He had come to tell me that my father Flight Sergeant Haydn Davies VR 207 Squadron Lancaster Bombers had been shot down over Hannover Germany.
At the time I thought, I am sure he will have bailed out and was alright. As the time went by, I realised that he was never coming home. He was 26 years old at the time and he was destined to be one of the 55,000 Heroes of Bomber Command in World War 2. The spitfire pilots were to be known as The Few - my father was one of The Many.
For the past 75 years, I have missed having a father. I have never forgotten the few precious memories I have of him.. He used to bring home tins of orange juice and chocolates - he went without himself on the long flights to Germany from his Lincolnshire airfield for me to enjoy the delicacy.
Many years later, I flew with Baroness Lady Sue Rider whose husband was Group Captain Sir Leonard Cheshire, Commander of Group 5 Bomber Command in WW2 - my father's Chief, to Lourdes in France. I was a Business Adviser and I had given my services free to help Lady Ryder decide if she should create a Sue Ryder Home for the Disabled in Lourdes - one of her life's ambitions.
She was very proud of Bomber Command and had shown me her private museum dedicated to her husband at her Headquarters in Suffolk.
I advised her to go ahead and realise her dream. I prayed with her at St Bernadette's Grotto at Lourdes. Today, there is a Sue Ryder presence in Lourdes. What an amazing connection with Bomber Command.
I,too am proud of Bomber Command. We must never let future generations forget the significance of the role of The Many in defeating evil. It must inspire the RAF of today to continue to defeat evil.
In memory of people like my father and Veterans living today, I ask you to support the work of Bomber Command.
Raymond Williams
Son of Flight Sergeant Arthur Haydn Davies VR 207 Squadron RAF Lancaster Bombers
Killed in action 18 October 1943 Hannover Germany
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