FROM THE ARCHIVES
We have had a year of steady tidying and cataloguing , interspersed with some fascinating queries to the Archives . One gentleman , not an OP , popped into the school on spec on the last day of the Christmas term , on the off chance that we might have some information on his late father who was here in the early 1920s . It was a pleasure to be able to provide a great deal of material , including photos , and to fill in some big gaps in his understanding of his father ’ s early life .
Our kind volunteers , Steve Elliott and Ann Hawksley continue to help out , and Ann has almost finished scanning the Commemoration booklets , so they can now be searched electronically . funded the digitisation of our earliest magazines ( 1886- 1925 ), as we have been able to research quickly and efficiently . This has been especially useful for the 1914- 18 period which is currently relevant with the centenary retrospectives . It also means we do not have to continually handle the materials , which can be quite delicate .
Material trickles in , and we are very grateful to those of you who donate materials relevant to the life of the school whilst you were here , and also books written by you clever people . We are now building up a nice collection .
Angie Edwards , Archivist and Librarian edwardsa @ pocklingtonschool . com
I continue to be grateful to the OPs who so generously
BOMBER CREW MEMORIAL VISIT
A specially commissioned memorial stone paying tribute to OP Douglas Lindsay ( 26-32 ) and his crew who all lost their lives in a tragic World War II air crash has been unveiled near the crash site in Jever , Germany .
Flying Officer Douglas Lindsay and his crew were tragically killed on 7 July 1940 when his Wellington , R3236 of 37 Squadron based at RAF Feltwell , failed to return from a bombing mission to Bremen in atrocious weather conditions . The fate of the Wellington was sealed when it flew into the military defences at Jever airfield ( in Lower Saxony , not far from Wilhemshaven ) which was on high alert and on stand-by for imminent attack . Flying very low and losing height , the aircraft crashed in flames into the ancient Upjever oak forest at high speed near to some isolated cottages . The massive crash-fire was attended by local German air force firemen but all five men on board perished .
The crew members were accorded a funeral with full military honours by the German forces in Jever
Cemetery on 9 July 1940 . In July 1947 their bodies were re-interred in the Sage War Cemetery at Oldenburg , where they now lie . The crew members were :
• Pilot : F / O Douglas Weatherall Lindsay ( aged 24 , from Edinburgh ).
• Navigator : P / O Ralph Alan Anthony Ball ( aged 21 , from Holborn ).
• Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sgt John Henry Waterfall DFM ( aged 22 , from Methwold )
• Air Observer : Sgt Alexander Aitken ( aged 29 , from Balornock ).
• Air Gunner : Sgt Alexander Glenn ( aged 23 , from Montrose ).
On Sunday 22 May 2016 an Act of Remembrance was held in the chapel of the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh with relatives of all five crew attending the service and meeting up together for the first time . The service was conducted by the Reverend Angus Smith and , at the conclusion , the piper , Rhys Clark , played a lament “ Mist covers the mountains ”. In a further act of remembrance and unity , a wreath was laid jointly by Wing Commander Doug Aylward , a relative of Douglas Lindsay , and the German Consul Herr Heinrich Schnetterger .
The family relatives also commissioned a splendid new memorial stone engraved with the names of the Wellington R3236 crew . Made in granite , the design of the stone picks up the morse code theme of the aircraft ’ s last transmission SW of Borkum to interesting effect .
The stone was officially unveiled near the crash site at Jever airbase on 24 June 2016 with relatives , friends , local dignitaries and military personnel from the base in attendance . Before going to Germany , the stone was dedicated in Ely Cathedral and then toured to several locations connected with the members of the crew . The tour included the Remembrance service in Edinburgh mentioned above and also a visit to Pocklington School on 26 May 2016 .
Crew relatives Doug Aylward , Jack Waterfall and Dawn Pillans accompanied the visit during which they gave a presentation to Year 6 students from Pocklington Prep School as part of a history project the children had been working on . As well as the memorial stone , the children were able to see pieces of wreckage from the plane that had been recovered from the crash site . There was also a question and answer session which gave the children
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