VC's smile made men brave
Title
VC's smile made men brave
Description
A newspaper cutting about Captain Edwin Swales DFC. His aircraft was badly damaged but he ordered his crew to leave and he went down with his aircraft.
Language
Type
Format
One newspaper cutting
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.
Contributor
Identifier
NColeFIG170709-04
Transcription
V.C.'s smile made men brave
CAPTAIN . . . EDWIN SWALES, master bomber, "had only to smile at his crew and they were with him all the way." They were with him all the way when he won the D.F.C., announced on [missing letters]bruary 22; the following [missing letters]y they were with him all [missing letters]e way – until he ordered [missing letters]em to bale out – when he [missing letter]on the V.C., announced [missing letters]st night.
The colleague who spoke of [missing letters]ptain Swales's smile added: "He was worshipped by his [missing letters]ew."
It was his sacrifice for his crew that won the captain his V.C. "He [missing letter]id his duty to the last, giving his [missing letter]ife that his comrades might live," [missing letter]ays the London Gazette citation.
Captain Swales was 29, belonged [missing letter]o the South African Air Force, was a bank clerk in Durban before [missing letter]he war.
Engines crippled
On the night of February 23 he had the task of locating a target area at Pforzheim, near Stuttgart.
With two engines crippled and his plane almost defenceless he stayed over his target issuing instructions which made possible one of the most successful Bomber Command raids of the war.
When he was satisfied the attack had achieved its purpose he struggled in vain to bring his aircraft home.
When all his crew on his orders had jumped to safety his crippled plane plunged to earth and he was found dead at the controls.
This is the 137th V.C. to be awarded in this war and the second to go to a member of the South African military forces.
Swales was a prominent Rug[missing letters] footballer and played for South African Services in Bri[missing letters]
He was the only member [missing words] S.A.A.F. to fly with the Pat[missing letters] Force of Bomber Comma[missing letters]
CAPTAIN . . . EDWIN SWALES, master bomber, "had only to smile at his crew and they were with him all the way." They were with him all the way when he won the D.F.C., announced on [missing letters]bruary 22; the following [missing letters]y they were with him all [missing letters]e way – until he ordered [missing letters]em to bale out – when he [missing letter]on the V.C., announced [missing letters]st night.
The colleague who spoke of [missing letters]ptain Swales's smile added: "He was worshipped by his [missing letters]ew."
It was his sacrifice for his crew that won the captain his V.C. "He [missing letter]id his duty to the last, giving his [missing letter]ife that his comrades might live," [missing letter]ays the London Gazette citation.
Captain Swales was 29, belonged [missing letter]o the South African Air Force, was a bank clerk in Durban before [missing letter]he war.
Engines crippled
On the night of February 23 he had the task of locating a target area at Pforzheim, near Stuttgart.
With two engines crippled and his plane almost defenceless he stayed over his target issuing instructions which made possible one of the most successful Bomber Command raids of the war.
When he was satisfied the attack had achieved its purpose he struggled in vain to bring his aircraft home.
When all his crew on his orders had jumped to safety his crippled plane plunged to earth and he was found dead at the controls.
This is the 137th V.C. to be awarded in this war and the second to go to a member of the South African military forces.
Swales was a prominent Rug[missing letters] footballer and played for South African Services in Bri[missing letters]
He was the only member [missing words] S.A.A.F. to fly with the Pat[missing letters] Force of Bomber Comma[missing letters]
Collection
Citation
“VC's smile made men brave,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/35153.
Item Relations
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