Matzos
15-08-06, 12:58
A painting of the highest decorated person ever to serve on IX (B) Squadron, Flight Sergeant George Thompson VC, was commissioned to hang in the Officer's Mess Dining Room at RAF Marham.
For many years there had been a gap on the main wall of the Officers' Mess Dining Room, and in 2004 Squadron Leader Dicky James, of IX (B) Squadron and Secretary of the IX Squadron Association, approached the Mess Committee with an idea to procure a painting to complement the other two paintings on the wall.
His idea was approved and he commissioned a painting of the highest decorated person ever to serve on IX (B) Squadron, Flight Sergeant George Thompson VC, to match the painting at the other end of the wall which depicts a II (AC) Squadron Victoria Cross holder.
The artist approached to produce the painting of Flight Sergeant Thompson VC was Margaret Palmer, the internationally famous portrait painter and former WWII Met Observer for RAF Waddington.
http://www.militaryimages.net/imagehost/images/Matzos/fsthompsonvc.jpg
Why the Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded
In two attacks on Munich "Tallboys" were used - numbers IX and 617 Squadrons were the only ones to use this outstanding weapon. On the very first sortie, poor weather was encountered and crews flew in icy conditions for much of the way. A successful attack was achieved and all undamaged parts of the city were attacked and destroyed on the second visit in December 1944, in which twenty-two crews participated – the largest number for a single raid ever despatched by the Squadron.
Although the Dortmund-Ems canal had been drained three times, such was its importance to the Germans that they repaired it at once, and a fourth attack was ordered for 1 January 1945. This was notified after a night of great celebrations and when no operations had been expected. Ten crews were briefed but two crashed on take-off. Flying Officer H Denton's aircraft had just bombed its target when a direct hit from flak filled the aircraft with smoke. A second shell shattered the nose perspex and the ensuing rush of air cleared the smoke and revealed the mid-upper turret to be ablaze.
Flight Sergeant Thompson, the wireless operator, saw this and immediately went aft; amid exploding ammunition, he dragged the unconscious gunner from his turret past a great hole in the floor and then beat out the burning clothing. Although badly burned himself and also suffering from exposure by now, he went aft again and with great difficulty extracted the unconscious rear gunner from his blazing position. Flight Sergeant Thompson then crawled forward almost exhausted to report to the captain, who hardly recognised the badly burnt and frost-bitten figure by his side.
Flying Officer Denton decided to stay with the aircraft and crash-land at the nearest point in allied hands. En-route many German fighters were seen flying in the opposite direction but none fired since they had just "shot up" allied airfields. Flying Officer Denton made a successful crash landing and the crew were taken to hospital, but after a three-week struggle for life, Flight Sergeant Thompson died; one gunner also died, but the other owes his life to Flight Sergeant Thompson, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Flying Officer Denton received the DFC.
med; sal;
Source - MoD & RAF Marham net
For many years there had been a gap on the main wall of the Officers' Mess Dining Room, and in 2004 Squadron Leader Dicky James, of IX (B) Squadron and Secretary of the IX Squadron Association, approached the Mess Committee with an idea to procure a painting to complement the other two paintings on the wall.
His idea was approved and he commissioned a painting of the highest decorated person ever to serve on IX (B) Squadron, Flight Sergeant George Thompson VC, to match the painting at the other end of the wall which depicts a II (AC) Squadron Victoria Cross holder.
The artist approached to produce the painting of Flight Sergeant Thompson VC was Margaret Palmer, the internationally famous portrait painter and former WWII Met Observer for RAF Waddington.
http://www.militaryimages.net/imagehost/images/Matzos/fsthompsonvc.jpg
Why the Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded
In two attacks on Munich "Tallboys" were used - numbers IX and 617 Squadrons were the only ones to use this outstanding weapon. On the very first sortie, poor weather was encountered and crews flew in icy conditions for much of the way. A successful attack was achieved and all undamaged parts of the city were attacked and destroyed on the second visit in December 1944, in which twenty-two crews participated – the largest number for a single raid ever despatched by the Squadron.
Although the Dortmund-Ems canal had been drained three times, such was its importance to the Germans that they repaired it at once, and a fourth attack was ordered for 1 January 1945. This was notified after a night of great celebrations and when no operations had been expected. Ten crews were briefed but two crashed on take-off. Flying Officer H Denton's aircraft had just bombed its target when a direct hit from flak filled the aircraft with smoke. A second shell shattered the nose perspex and the ensuing rush of air cleared the smoke and revealed the mid-upper turret to be ablaze.
Flight Sergeant Thompson, the wireless operator, saw this and immediately went aft; amid exploding ammunition, he dragged the unconscious gunner from his turret past a great hole in the floor and then beat out the burning clothing. Although badly burned himself and also suffering from exposure by now, he went aft again and with great difficulty extracted the unconscious rear gunner from his blazing position. Flight Sergeant Thompson then crawled forward almost exhausted to report to the captain, who hardly recognised the badly burnt and frost-bitten figure by his side.
Flying Officer Denton decided to stay with the aircraft and crash-land at the nearest point in allied hands. En-route many German fighters were seen flying in the opposite direction but none fired since they had just "shot up" allied airfields. Flying Officer Denton made a successful crash landing and the crew were taken to hospital, but after a three-week struggle for life, Flight Sergeant Thompson died; one gunner also died, but the other owes his life to Flight Sergeant Thompson, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Flying Officer Denton received the DFC.
med; sal;
Source - MoD & RAF Marham net