Worksop RAF veteran and former headteacher, age 104, will mark Bomber Command anniversary
A World War ll RAF veteran from Worksop with his own remarkable war story will attend the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln later this month to commemorate the sixth International Bomber Command Day.
Eddie Humes, who is 104, will make the journey to the celebration, along with other veterans, senior RAF commanders and hundreds of guests.
The July 23 celebration is particularly significant this year as it will also mark 90 years since Bomber Command was created in 1936.
During the service of remembrance, 51 wreaths will be laid to pay tribute to the extraordinary achievements of thousands of young men and women who served in the division during the 32 years it was in operation, around the world.
Edward, or Eddie Humes, as he prefers to be known, shared his incredible war story with the Worksop Guardian when he turned 100, telling how, after struggling to get accepted for air crew training with the RAF, he eventually became a navigator, then senior airman.
In April, 1944, he and his crew were returning from a mission to Aachen when fire broke out on their Lancaster Bomber and they had to abandon the aircraft.
Eddie landed safely but broke his femur. He was taken to a hospital run by the German Navy, but when that was bombed, was moved on to Brussels, breaking his leg again along the way.
In September 1944 as the allies approached, the SS Gestapo forced Eddie to walk with crutches to a coach. His journey saw them come under fire from German RAF fighters outside Brussels, then later he hid in a convent in Holland, before being taken to a camp in Dusseldorf.
He underwent scrutiny at an interrogation centre, where, he said: "If you didn’t give them the information they wanted, there was a pistol shot outside."
Eddie was transferred to Kraysburg camp in Poland, but as the Russians approached Germany, was forced to start walking across all terrain including frozen lakes.
His journey included some days in Stalag Luft III. At an old school in Kirchberg Austria, he was told one morning that the war was over. Picked up by an American lorry, he got to Reims, where he boarded a Lancaster and flew home to be deloused, debriefed and sent on.
After leaving the RAF, Eddie taught and became headteacher at St Mary's Primary School, Park Street, Worksop, from 1948 to 1960.
Sir Mike Graydon, IBCC Chairman, explained: “In a relatively few years, the International Bomber Command Centre has become a multi-awarded national treasure recognised not just in the United Kingdom but in many countries around the world.
“International Bomber Command Day enables the IBCC in Lincoln to celebrate its achievements and the Command’s 90th anniversary with Command
veterans, and remember the sacrifice made by so many of them to ensure our freedom today.”
On the day there will be Dakota and Typhoon flypasts, poems, readings and music from Bomber County Pipes and Drums, an RAF trumpeter and the Mansfield and District Male Voice Choir.
Air and police cadets will line the avenue as the band leads the standards parade from the IBCC to the spire, where the service will take place.
Eddie Humes and fellow centenarian Bert Hammond, 101, will join station commanders from RAF Waddington, Coningsby, Digby and Wittering and representatives from all the 13 squadrons from Bomber Command that still exist.
Representatives from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission will also bring their Torch of Peace as part of their For Evermore Tour which commemorates the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.
In the evening invited guests will attend a reception, which will include a Spitfire flypast, sunset ceremony and an evening meal sponsored by DEA Ltd.
Nicky Van Der Drift, chief executive of the IBCC, said: “Every day the IBCC commemorates those who served or supported Bomber Command and
remembers the consequences and shared suffering of total war.
“This annual event marks that in a very public way and enables current international military personnel, veterans and families to come together to mark that service and sacrifice.”
Friends and family members as well as IBCC supporters are invited to attend the service of remembrance at 1pm on July 23.
Anyone who would like to lay a wreath should email [email protected] or call 01522 514755.
To find out more about International Bomber Command Day and other upcoming IBCC events, please visit internationalbcc.co.uk/visit/events