Battle of Britain Print

"Tickling the Daisies"

I: in the series "Echoes of the Home Front by John Howard Worsley

August 24th 1940: Low-level action and the "Emil" that crashed into a long forgotten well at
St. Martin's Down, Shanklin. Was the pilot murdered? A black rumour is allayed by slumbering evidence.

Extract from the Story-Sheet:

............ The report continued: "The Messerschmitt came screaming down from a tremendous height. It crashed into a thickly wooded copse within 500yds of where I was stood. Members of the Home Guard and Military rushed up. All of us were mystified at the uncanny silence which reined immediately after the plane crashed through the tree tops. A column of smoke guided us to the spot and a fantastic scene provided the explanation to the mystery."

"A few fragments of tail and wings were all that remained above the ground. The fuselage and most of the wings and tail had plunged headlong into a disused well."

"The force of the impact with the well rim must have crushed the wings in against the body, as there was no sign of any of the main structure of the plane beyond the part of the tail which bore the swastika."

"Flames and black smoke vomited from the well and twice the ground shook beneath our feet as explosions rumbled far below. Meanwhile in that lovely woodland glade, the birds twittered and flew amongst the trees. The reality of what I saw, moved a Home Guard to mutter, "I suppose it was a plane we saw."

"An officer arrived and to him a policeman handed over the grotesque crumpled fragment carrying the swastika. This will be forwarded to the RAF authorities as indisputable evidence that this particular Nazi plane was "Definitely destroyed."

The site was excavated in the 1980s and although a mystery remains, an interesting artifact was recovered. See the story-sheet.

Available as hand mounted prints 10" x 8" , 14" x 11" & 20" x 16".

Also available to order as Canvas Repro'