Battle of Britain Print
"The Flower that fell
on Godshill"
E: in the series "Echoes
of the Home Front by John Howard Worsley
August 12th 1940: The
highest ranking German to crash on the Isle of Wight.
After attacking Ventnor radar station, Dr. Fisser,
the Kommodore of KG 51 dies in the inferno of
his Junkers Ju88 just behind Godshill church.
Extract from the Story-Sheet:
At mid-day on the 12 Aug. 1940, Fred Jones was cutting Barley
on his noisy Fordson tractor at Bagwich Farm, Godshill. Fred had
no idea that there had been an air-raid warning and that German
planes were bombing the radar station at Ventnor. He became aware
that his mother and father were waving frantically from the farmhouse
but it didn't dawn on him why. Suddenly a burning bomber zoomed
overhead.
"I could have poked it with a pole, it was so
low! ... and it was being chased by one of our fighters. It flew
on over the withy bed and turned left across the road towards
the 'sidelin' ground at Willsy's, .. that's Bridgecourt Farm."
Nearby at Bridge Farm, Frank Ringer was about to hitch
his horses to his own reaper-binder but they were skittish and
nervous. They must have sensed that something was amiss, He put
them under a hedge just seconds before the plane passed over.......
........ It was the day before the Luftwaffe's "Adler
Tag" - Eagle Day on which they planned to commence their
assault on the Royal Air Force stations. This raid, in preparation
for that day, was to put out the eyes of the enemy. Hence the
attack on Ventnor RDF station on St. Boniface Down.
Having approached the Solent from the west, Dr. Fisser
ordered his 63 strong armada of Junkers Ju88s to hold its course
in a ruse intended to deceive the British into thinking it was
going to repeat the raid on Portland which it had carried out
the previous day. However, abreast of Portsmouth, the command
was given to turn to starboard. The whole Geshwader wheeled into
line-astern and headed for a break in the balloon barrage which
defended Portsmouth Harbour. The resulting defensive fire was
terrific as moored ships and shore batteries opened up. However,
the attack on Portsmouth was not to be the only one. In fact,
this also was a feint action as, with fourteen of his crack aircraft
and crews, Oberst Dr. Fisser continued the turn splitting away
from the harbour attack. The doctor's destination was Ventnor.
The raiders crossed Forelands, Bembridge, in a shallow
dive. Three hundred m.p.h. from five thousand feet. They were
upon their target in minutes and in a succession of shallow dives,
they each dropped a ton of high explosive bombs. Huge clods of
earth and chalk were thrown high into the sky. The flying debris
and dust cloud could be seen for miles.
Later in the story-sheet, Ron
Cooke and his dad rush to the scene of the crash just as a very
angry, shotgun-toting Bert Wills is about to square things up
for his wrecked reaper..
Available as hand mounted prints
10" x 8" , 14" x 11" & 20" x 16".
Also available to order as Canvas Repro'