Peter Twinn Obituary
Title
Peter Twinn Obituary
Description
A brief obituary of Peter. During the war he was awarded a DFC for bravery. He was proud of his wartime record and for a time was president of his local British Legion.
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
Three printed sheets
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
MGilbertAC186764-161013-09
Transcription
THEYDON BOIS: Dresden bomber dies
[Photograph]
[Page break]
[Photograph]
Peter Twinn was an active and popular member of the Epping and District branch of the Royal British Legion.
[Photograph]
AN RAF gunner who became known the world over for his part in the bombings of Dresden, Nuremberg and Berlin during the Second World War has died aged 88.
Peter Twinn, of Dukes Avenue in Theydon Bois, appeared in countless TV documentaries, articles and books as one of the few participating survivors prepared to recount his experiences of the controversial raids.
Mr Twinn, who was awarded a DFC medal for bravery, spent the war providing covering fire cooped up in a bubble at the rear of a Lancaster Bomber.
His role as a ‘Tail-end Charlie’ was notoriously risky – only one in three survived the war.
While his crew were hailed as heroes at the time, revisionist historians subsequently criticised the bombing of Dresden as unjustified.
But Mr Twinn, who later became president of the Epping and District Royal British Legion, remained unfazed, and happily spoke out to give his views on the controversy.
[Page break]
“He said the point is when they were actually bombing the place they didn’t think of those that were being killed. You went out, did your job and tried to get home if you could,” said his widow Marjorie, 80.
“His attitude was why should we apologise when the Germans raised Coventry and London to the ground?”
However, Mr Twinn’s war was about far more than Dresden.
“He got into a few scrapes,” said Marjorie. “There was one occasion when his heating suit packed up. The panel on his bit of the plane had been removed to give him a better view but he was left freezing.
“He was so cold by the end of it they had to lift him out of the plane.”
Mr Twinn also kept meticulous records, and would collect newspaper coverage of his missions – correcting inaccuracies and propaganda in the margins.
The priceless collection is now being handed over to the Imperial War Museum.
Mr Twinn, who died after a battle with cancer, is survived by his wife Marjorie, two daughters from a previous marriage, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at St Mary’s Church in Theydon Bois at 1.30pm on Friday February 5.
Comments (4)
THEYDON BOIS: Dresden bomber dies
4.35pm Tue 26 Jan 10 Touchwood says…
Peace to one of this country’s heroes.
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5.54pm Tue 26 Jan 10 inéze says…
He was a true hero and it was an absolute privilege to know him. My condolences and sympathy go out to his lovely wife, Marjorie and to his family.
Score: 0 Quote Report this post
6.29pm Tue 26 Jan 10 w-evr says…
Another hero fallen, the country owes its very existence to men like these. To have had to endure the liberal historians dare to even criticise his and fellow heroes actions is a stark and shocking reminder of just how ridiculous and politically correct this nation has become. I for one thank the men like this for their efforts and bravery and will make sure that my children and their children will be aware of the sacrifices made by his generation. History is written by the winners and the winners appear to be the white liberal do gooders that have the audacity to dare contemplate the actions of these men. We have brave men and women in battle right at this moment fighting a war that is not quite so “clear cut” in its intentions. Are the spineless PC history makers going to apologise for Iraq or Afghanistan the moment (and in gods name its soon) that our troops are brought safely home? No they will just put some more spin on the situation to cover it up! There should be a local memorial to this man and his regiment erected so their efforts can be remembered by future generations. RIP another fallen hero!
Score: 0
[Photograph]
[Page break]
[Photograph]
Peter Twinn was an active and popular member of the Epping and District branch of the Royal British Legion.
[Photograph]
AN RAF gunner who became known the world over for his part in the bombings of Dresden, Nuremberg and Berlin during the Second World War has died aged 88.
Peter Twinn, of Dukes Avenue in Theydon Bois, appeared in countless TV documentaries, articles and books as one of the few participating survivors prepared to recount his experiences of the controversial raids.
Mr Twinn, who was awarded a DFC medal for bravery, spent the war providing covering fire cooped up in a bubble at the rear of a Lancaster Bomber.
His role as a ‘Tail-end Charlie’ was notoriously risky – only one in three survived the war.
While his crew were hailed as heroes at the time, revisionist historians subsequently criticised the bombing of Dresden as unjustified.
But Mr Twinn, who later became president of the Epping and District Royal British Legion, remained unfazed, and happily spoke out to give his views on the controversy.
[Page break]
“He said the point is when they were actually bombing the place they didn’t think of those that were being killed. You went out, did your job and tried to get home if you could,” said his widow Marjorie, 80.
“His attitude was why should we apologise when the Germans raised Coventry and London to the ground?”
However, Mr Twinn’s war was about far more than Dresden.
“He got into a few scrapes,” said Marjorie. “There was one occasion when his heating suit packed up. The panel on his bit of the plane had been removed to give him a better view but he was left freezing.
“He was so cold by the end of it they had to lift him out of the plane.”
Mr Twinn also kept meticulous records, and would collect newspaper coverage of his missions – correcting inaccuracies and propaganda in the margins.
The priceless collection is now being handed over to the Imperial War Museum.
Mr Twinn, who died after a battle with cancer, is survived by his wife Marjorie, two daughters from a previous marriage, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at St Mary’s Church in Theydon Bois at 1.30pm on Friday February 5.
Comments (4)
THEYDON BOIS: Dresden bomber dies
4.35pm Tue 26 Jan 10 Touchwood says…
Peace to one of this country’s heroes.
Score: 0 Quote Report this post
5.54pm Tue 26 Jan 10 inéze says…
He was a true hero and it was an absolute privilege to know him. My condolences and sympathy go out to his lovely wife, Marjorie and to his family.
Score: 0 Quote Report this post
6.29pm Tue 26 Jan 10 w-evr says…
Another hero fallen, the country owes its very existence to men like these. To have had to endure the liberal historians dare to even criticise his and fellow heroes actions is a stark and shocking reminder of just how ridiculous and politically correct this nation has become. I for one thank the men like this for their efforts and bravery and will make sure that my children and their children will be aware of the sacrifices made by his generation. History is written by the winners and the winners appear to be the white liberal do gooders that have the audacity to dare contemplate the actions of these men. We have brave men and women in battle right at this moment fighting a war that is not quite so “clear cut” in its intentions. Are the spineless PC history makers going to apologise for Iraq or Afghanistan the moment (and in gods name its soon) that our troops are brought safely home? No they will just put some more spin on the situation to cover it up! There should be a local memorial to this man and his regiment erected so their efforts can be remembered by future generations. RIP another fallen hero!
Score: 0
Collection
Citation
“Peter Twinn Obituary,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed November 5, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/28400.
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