Jack Howes reminiscence letter to his grandchildren

Jack Howes reminiscence letter to his grandchildren

Recalls German twin engine aircraft flying at very low level over Lincoln. He subsequently though it was a Ju-88. Adds some other wartime anecdotes. Includes b/w photograph of a JU-88.

One page printed document with text and b/w photograph

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MHowesJ19330425-180610-01

For Charlotte and Amber from Grandad

Whilst standing recently at the bottom of the south common in Lincoln a short distance from Canwick Hill road and looking up at the newly installed International Bomber Command centre monument. I was taken back some 70 years when as a schoolboy at the local St Andrews school, a friend and I were walking up to the allotments situated at the top of the common. When my attention was drawn to the sound of heavy aircraft engines approaching from our right, as it approached I realised by the sound that it was a large aircraft flying very low, literally at roof top height over what was at the time the South park school for girls, its speed soon covered the distance to where we were standing, and still flying very low, to pass a short distance in the front of us, being at that time used to large RAF aircraft we dived onto the ground shouting in fun it's a German, as the aircraft by this time was almost overhead I rolled over onto my back it was then I recognized by the markings underneath the wings that it was indeed a twin engine German aircraft at the same time seeing in detail there was a man sitting in a transparent dome situated between the huge engines and propellers plainly seeing he was holding in his hands the handles of a gun pointing forward of the aircraft he turned his head to look at us as the aircraft passed by continuing on to cross Canwick hill so low that trees growing there were bent backwards by the wash created from the two propellers with the appearance of cutting the tops of the trees the aircraft continued flying on presumably to over fly the villages of Washingborough and Bardney

It may also be of interest that in the evenings at that time the drone of hundreds of night bombers could be heard at bedtime circling the cathedral to get in formation before flying of to their destinations, this droning would stop suddenly into silence when they departed to their destinations some of whom would never return We also had to carry gas masks, and made wristbands out of the strips of anti radar silver foil called chaff scattered over the countryside by returning English aircraft, also we were told not to touché live butterfly bombs droped [sic] . By German aircraft.

My granddaughter's questions regarding this incident made me think subsequently to what happened to what was I think a Junkers JU88 aircraft. and the man with the gun who looked at us as they passed by.

[photograph]