as a lover of History I've always imagined that every field across the British landscape could tell a story like this one for example nothing really remarkable about it is located a mile south of the English Village of Marden in Kent wichit Hill is over there part of the beautiful Vista in which I was raised not a mile from where I'm standing now but something happened in this field 80 years ago today which gave rise to what I believed to be one of the most extraordinary stories of the second world war they even made a film about it it's the story of a little boy France born in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I in ly a small peaceful town in the Swiss Alps France's family falls into hardship after his father Baron Leo Von Vera is made bankrupt and loses his fortune and the Family Estate cast onto hard times the Von Vera decide that their youngest infant boy France Xavier and his sister Emma Charlotte will be sold to a childless couple the voners agreed to provide for their upbringing and education in Germany France and Emma are not told of their true Origins and grow up believing the Von habas to be their true parents as time passes however the the haber's marriage comes under strain with financial difficulties which force the family to sell their ancestral home and move into the city of [Music] Cologne France grows up between the wars boisterous bold Restless one day his stepfather seeks him out and decides since France has almost come of age to inform the boy of his true Swiss lineage and family name he is France Von Vera of ly Switzerland by this time Hitler and his National socialists are now in charge of the Fatherland France is much taken with all the Nazi pageantry and when his parents divorce a short while later France leaves home and joins Hitler's sa to prepare him for a military career and and for the first time France dreams of flying he joins the Lu fer in 1936 and as his exceptional abilities and courage become evident during his training France earns his shot at every new German Pilot's dream his first solo flight in the Lu waffa's latest Frontline weapon [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] now [Music] [Music] [Music] G schester for [Music] France Von Vera is commissioned a liutenant in 1938 and he lives the lifestyle of the new German aristocracy of the fighter pilot he gains a reputation among his peers as a bit of a bragged a boisterous self-promoter German morale is Sky High as the other nations shrink before Hitler's mobilization of the Nazis huge War Machine since the Treaty of Versa was signed in 1919 there have been only a few really momentous days in the history of Europe melini marching on Rome Stalin launching his first 5year plan Hitler breaking the bonds of Versa one by one today comes another such Mighty moment as Hitler's Bond bursting finally carries Nazi expansion across the borders of Germany into the land of his birth at the outbreak of World War II two France is made agitant of number two group fighterwing jg3 the Nazi press soon latches onto France during a visit to his unit one day for a photo shoot France ensures that he takes maximum advantage of this opportunity he poses with his mesmi and is pet lion Simba the unit's mascot soon pictures of France and Simba are appearing in contemporary magazines all across the r and two heroes are born Hitler's attack on Western Europe begins on May the 10th 1940 the Luft faffer proves Unstoppable during the invasion of the low countries which crumble before the Relentless assault of Blitz Creek the British Fighters based in France among them the Hawker Hurrican often find themselves outnumbered by 109s equipped with those lethal 20 mm [Music] cannons France frequently flies as wingman to halman Eric vonel the commanding officer of the unit France notches Up full victories during the Battle of France one hurricane two brigades and a Moran France is scornful of the enemy he faces [Music] deushi Hitler's attention turns to Britain at the beginning of July and now the LT faffer commences its Air Assault on the Royal Air Force and its airfields German morale is high but it is only now that the luffer fight of Pilots come face to face with the supermarine Spitfire in significant numbers for the very first time the Battle of Britain is fought ferociously on both sides the RAF have the advantage of fighting over home territory so if a British pilot is shot down and parachutes safely to Earth he can be back in the air in a replacement fighter in a matter of hours a German pilot only has 15 minutes flight time over England before having to return to France for refueling if a luffa pilot is shot down and survives the parachute drop to Earth he finds himself on English soil and out of the war for the duration the opposing Pilots are so aggressive and the air battle so intense that Fighters and bombers sometimes Collide in midair during the confusion debris Rains Down on the English Countryside all around M the fields and woods become littered with the broken aircraft to both sides [Music] [Music] France now promoted to obber liutenant he's right in the thick of it jg3 are flying operations almost daily but in spite of his early successes in May France becomes frustrated that his battle tally fails to advance over the next 3 months worse still the Royal Air Force is proving far harder to kill than the L muffer Pilots have been led to believe as the more Spitfires and hurricanes the Germans shoot down the more seem to be waiting for them the following in day and many no longer flown by beginners Thursday September the 5th sees one of the battle of Britain's most intense fighting days Eric vonella and France lead jg3 three on escort Duty for a swarm of bombers on a mission to level Cen on the return leg back over Kent the German bombers are set upon by a horde of RAF fighters in the melee France's engine is hit and His Radio knocked out yet more Spitfires join The Fray desperate to get away France Dives down to Treetop level [Music] War Z [Music] [Music] from another cherry now for yours mine right you too stand guard over the plane France crash lands in this field at L's Farm south of mden Miriam hones whose family owned the farm was an eyewitness to the drama I heard the stupendous Roar of a very close aerplane and to my horror the black crosses and swastika a measure SMI flashed very low by the top West window the meeses SMI was so low that the Lewis gun at the search light 250 yards along the road shot at [Music] [Applause] [Music] it [Music] round and round the house flew the German with the Spitfire firing volleys of bullets and determined not to lose his [Music] Quarry just by our own gate the soldiers just setting out for the crashed hurricane all fired their rifles then I heard M call he's down and I dashed into my room to behold the message Mitch just settled in the middle of the 30 Acres it was most exciting watching the soldiers run across the field carrying their [Music] rifles [Music] let's see what this slot looks like on a map France is flying out of WEA here 9 Mi southeast of Bin he's on a bombing mission to Cen and he gets jumped by Fighters including Gerald stapon and Pat Hughes and crashes at Love's Farm on a direct bearing from Cen back to his base in France so that checks out if we zoom into there's Marden we zoom into the crash site south of Marden on the 30 Acres a couple of points here there's a little bridge that France is Led off where his plane crashed right there there's the bridge there which leads into what used to be an orchard that's interesting ing in a minute France is led up to the road along that path onto the gurst road just up a little way into Miriam's drive and then he gets put here in a shack near the search light unit now here's the 1940 map of the area and you see that he walks over that little Bridge into an orchard there's a story that France plucks an apple from one of the trees and munches it disdainfully as he's been led into captivity he's taken up to this corrugated Shack there's nothing there now but we did get a picture of it which was provided there it is and this is where France has given cocoa and sandwiches by the soldiers while they await the arrival of the police here's what France's plane would have looked like in the air and here is the famous shot of the crash site the plane's in good condition let's enhance the picture and a couple of things firstly 13 kills on the tail more about that later in the tree line behind the lads you see houses so given the location of buildings in the area this can only be the gurst road which is the Brown Road to the left of the red arrow which would indicate that Francis plane crash landed South North the 30 Acres marks a major Waypoint in France's life hither to he's been part of an invincible Reich now he's been shot down by the very British who he's been mocking for the past few months France finds himself alone he's angry shocked at how quickly his fortunes have changed in Francis mind there's no question that he must immediately Escape get back to Germany and rejoin the war and the story about how he does just that is told in the 1957 film The One That Got Away starring Hardy Krueger incredibly France Von Vera Remains the only enemy Battle of Britain combatant to escape from Canada and return to Germany wait Canada the police arrive at L's Farm France is driven away to County Police Headquarters at Ren cross m Stone here he apparently befriends a little boy the son of the chief superintendent and gives him some memorabilia from his tunic then onto the barracks of the Queen's own Royal West Kent regiment here France unsuccessfully attempts to overwhelm his guard with a pickaxe which only earns him more restrictions after that France is transferred to Trent Park in hartfordshire and it is during his 18-day interrogation here that he tells British intelligence how during one Battle of Britain sauty on the 28th of August he destroyed nine British Fighters four in the air and five on the ground Upon returning to the Airfield the luffer Intelligence Officers widen their eyes at France's story there's no battle damage on his plane and no Witnesses since France lagged behind on the return leg but since France is agitant of jg3 the compromise is agreed France has given the four aerial victories but not the five on the ground which does not stop France from immediately ordering his ground crew to paint all nine Victory bars on the tail of his 109 which raises his tally to 13 which makes France an ace The luffer Overlook the impudence it's good for morale and the Nazi press will make much of this propaganda to its subscribe subcribers on both sides of the English Channel 3 weeks later at Trent Park the British Intelligence Officers quickly check France's battle claim which turns out to be fraudulent tell me supposing your comrades were to hear the truth about this notable exploit of yours their achievements are genuine what kind of a life do you think you'll lead among them in a prison camp when they know that your glory is is largely fictitious answering the German broadcast so recently boasting of on Vera's successes the BBC publicly ridicules France's claims which is interpreted by number two group jg3 as yet further evidence that France's victories did indeed take place and that the British are just lying to maintain National morale in the face of almost certain defeat after which France is nominated for the Iron Cross first class which is awarded in his absence on the 14th of December 1940 after Trent Park France is shunted all the way up North to prisoner of war camp number one at gdale Hall in the Lake District here he escapes while out on a daytime prisoner's walk he's recaptured he escapes again he's recaptured he's then sent to p camp number 13 at swanic darbishire France tunnels out of this one with comrades all of whom are recaptured except for France dressed in his flying suit who makes his way to ARF huckel here he blacks his way into one of the hangers posing as a Dutch pilot who's been cleared to take a hurricane for a test flight [Music] get out I think he was probably extremely audacious probably more cheeky than than Hardy Krueger portrayed him in the film he I I believe from what I've heard that he was a very um confident person extremely confident um and he just uh wanted to escape and get back to Germany that's all was in his mind right from the time he was captured after that France is put on board a ship with other German prisoners and he sailed across the North Atlantic to Canada but even before he gets to his prisoner of war camp located on the North shore of Lake Superior France jumps out of the train with seven prisoners all of whom are recaptured apart from France [Music] blacking [Music] [Music] on [Music] [Music] la France is charged with entering America illegally but the German Consul bails him out France's incredible adventure comes to the attention of the American Press true to form France does not hold back from recounting a highly embellished account of his exploits to an astonished American public he's famous [Music] [Applause] [Music] again while in the Big Apple France buys a postcard jots down some words and sends it on its way it's not addressed to his sister Emma nor to Elfie a lovely AUST girl who awaits him back in Germany Weeks Later seated in his office at ARF huckel Squadron leader bonface reviews the morning's post from New York Dear Sir friendliest greetings and remembrances of an unusual and pleasant Saturday morning December the 22nd 1940 in your office office this is a fine town and I give you two guesses of how I got here but the first guest will probably be the right one see you soon and best of luck for you Cheerio France Von Vera formerly Captain van lot while the Canadian and American authorities argue over Baron von Vera's fate the German console helps France slip across the border into Mexico from there he heads South to Panama Peru Bolivia Rio to Janeiro France continues to live extraordinary Adventures which are changing him from the patient civil treatment he received in England despite the provocations to the genuine admiration the Americans had for his Courage the daily Journeys down through Central and South America merge into one another life's languid Pace the shimmering heat Dreamscape scenery the jungles the vast Open Spaces all these experiences widen Francis perspective far beyond the Nazis and the war while the search is on for France thousands of miles to the north anuscript German by the name of Bernard narus boards a scheduled Italian flight from RE to Europe in this fashion over liutenant Baron France Von Vera returns to Berlin to a hero's welcome on April the 18th 1941 7 months after he was shot down in this [Music] [Applause] [Music] field [Applause] [Music] oh Adolf Hitler Awards France the knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and he's promoted to halman Captain France writes a book for the Nation about his exploits entitled Min have FL as England my escape from England France returns to active duty during the summer of 1941 he's posted to the Russian front as group Commander for fighting to Wing JG 53 he scores a further 13 victories which raises his overall confirmed total to [Music] 21 August 1941 France and jg53 returned to Germany on leave France and Alie marry at the beautiful Monastery Church at Boon beside the danu it's a no expenses spared Military wedding with a guard of Honor ATT attended by officers in dress uniform France at the Pinnacle of his aristocratic aspirations a national war hero decorated by the furer [Music] himself shortly after France takes his leave of Elfie when jg53 is redeployed to catfight on the coast of occupied Holland here his Fighter Wing is upgraded to the latest and most formidable version of the lwaa Frontline fighter these are the Last Words Emma ever hears from her brother 2 weeks later on the 25th of October France takes off on a training flight with another pilot France's plane plunges into the North Sea north of fingan there's speculation that the engine failed even that it was no accident as several other Aces died in unusual circumstances around the same time nothing more is known France is presumed killed as his body is never recovered land Emma and Alie were heartbroken but in time the war ended Alie remarried and the world moved on the world always moves on Battle of Britain Pilots are all gone now but the fields will always hold their secrets as does the sea Pilots still in their cockpits dreaming the dream of all they had been [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you ask what is our aim I can answer in one word victory victory at all costs victory in spite of all Terror Victory however long and hard the road may be but without victory there is no [Music] [Applause] survive Blitz Creek sweeps across the low countries they seem Unstoppable Churchill saw them coming Germany rearming but in Britain the preparations for the inevitable Invasion many secretly believe are too little too late the younger Generations take a different view bolstered with Fighters coming in from the Empire territories Britain's new soldiers and especially her Pilots now have very different weapons to fight with than their fathers did in the first War some new recruits are no more than 18 young men like William Pierce Horton rafter known to his friends and family as [Music] Robin pilot officer rafter has a forever connection with Marden Village here in this field known as duel house Robin did not lose his life here but he did unwittingly play a part in one of the second world wars more exotic [Music] dramas Robin rafter is born at elmley lodge harborn Birmingham to Sir Charles and Lady Katherine rafter on the 17th of July 19 21 Robin is the youngest of three with eldest Elizabeth and elder brother Charles Robin is raised in privilege along with his siblings by a Stern elderly father Sir Charles is birmingham's tough Northern Irish Chief Constable who for over 30 years has been charged with sorting out the peaky blinders gangs and has been knighted for his efforts Sir Charles Brooks no Mischief expects results Robin is provided an education at the exclusive private establishments schury school and cheltonham college where he enthusiastically excels at boxing Cricket rugby and other sporting activities so Charles dies in 1935 when Robin is 14 and still at rosbury when he later leaves cheltonham in June 1939 9 the threat of imminent War inspires Robin to take a short Service Commission in the RAF and commence his flight training Robin doesn't exactly impress the RAF enthusiasm can take you only so far to survive as a fighter pilot against Germany's top Killers you must have skill and a lot of luck upon passing his final exam with a mediocre 64% Robin's tutors submit their assessment ground subjects are poor average navigation and airmanship weak a safe pilot but lacks polish a keen average officer at just 18 years of age Robin is posted to his first operational unit number 225 Squadron RAF 3 days before Hitler launches his Blitz Creek upon Western Europe over the following 2 months Robin flies Convoy Patrols in Lys Sanders along England's South [Music] Coast when the Battle of Britain commences in July 2 week however fighter commands casualties start to mount by August pilot losses have become so critical operational training units Nationwide are unable to meet the demands for Replacements air Chief Marshall Hugh dowy puts out a call for volunteers like father like son pilot officer rafter is not slack in answering the call of his country Robin puts his name forward for single engine Fighters and on August the 22nd in the midst of the Battle of Britain he commences Spitfire training at number seven operational training unit at Raf Harden in North Wales most of Robin's fellow trainees are several years older and have far more flying hours logged Spitfires are an entire highly new experience to the now 19-year-old Robin to make matters worse the operational training units have been pressured to cut their training programs from 4 weeks to just 14 days so great is the demand to supply replacement Pilots to the Frontline squadrons Robin's log book does not survive but he almost certainly only received between 10 to 20 hours on Spitfires before being qualified on type it's unlikely at this point in the battle given the shortage of time and ammunition that Robin would have even received instruction on air-to-air firing or any tactical combat training World War II historian dilip Saka highlights a particular floor in the system he Compares Robin's training schedule to that of flying officer Ian halam who decided I wonder which Pilots went to which squadrons what Criterion if any was used other than on paper all were qualified to fly the Spitfire operationally on 31st of August flying officer ham who was a pilot of several years experience was posted to 610 County of Chester squadron at atlington in 13 group based in the north of England 610 Squadron was absorbing replacement pilots and providing further training so halam was was able to record a further 21 Spitfire flying hours before being posted South to 222 Nal Squadron the inexperienced pilot officer Robin rafter however was posted straight from Harden into the front line joining a heavily engaged Squadron in a thick of battle whose pen I wonder made that stroke and would it not have made better sense to send flying officer hen South and pilot officer rafton North on paper though both were qualified pilots and that appears to be the only consideration when postings were chosen enthusiastic but completely starved of experience Robin is hurled right into The Crucible of combat he is posted to number 603 City of Edinburgh squadron at ARF horn church one of 11 groups Frontline sector stations in South Bess 603 is Led from the front by the canny Scots Squadron leader George lavel denh known to his men as Uncle George on account of his immense age 31 denol at least sees to it that his Squadron gains the best advantage of altitude before engaging a vastly numerically Superior enemy some of the Warriors Robin will be up against will be the cream of the lft faffer already well seasoned in b battled with fearsome reputations amongst the most accomplished fighter pilots on Earth Robins horn church is a FY bonded out canvas of Chaos in the first week of September L Marshall Herman ging's explicit orders that the RAF must be wiped off the map prior to the invasion being taken seriously by the determined bomac Cru of the third R pilot officer rafter flies his first operational saly on Thursday September the 5th he takes off with 603 squadron from horn church just after 9:30 a.m. Robin is about to receive some further splitfire tuition the hard His Kind actual combat be confirmed hostile 23 [Music] 238 two huge enemy formations have been plotted coming in over dungeoness comprising daor near bomit and an escort of up to 70 messes Schmid 109 Fighters [Music] other RAF squadrons are closing in with 603 over Kent they engage the enemy AR mass at a great height one can only imagine Robin's bewilderment at his first experience of the chaos of massed aerial [Music] combat [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] Robin later wrote a letter to his mother lady Catherine describing the extraordinary circumstances of his first encounter with the Enemy well I was over Kent at a little over 25,000 ft on the lovely morning of September the 5th when I cited a huge formation of Jerry's I very nearly shot a Spitfire down by mistake but then saw on the starboard side underneath me an me 109 I got all fixed and started my dive onto the 109 and was nearing it when I saw in my mirror a couple of 109s on my tail well I took whatever evasive action I could but found too a bit of a problem I started to get away from them when my tail must have been damaged as all movement on the control column was to no avail thus putting my machine out of control so far as I was concerned the machine's nose dropped violently thus having the effect of throwing me forward the force so great that I went through the canopy thus unknowingly injuring my head you can't imagine my surprise I was then at 15,000 ft and and floating about the air rather like a cork I pulled the cord the parachute opened up and I breathed once more I floated down right through the aerial battle that was taking place I came through it without a scratch but then I noticed an me 109 coming towards me and you've no idea what a damned fool you feel suspended in midair with an enemy fighter buzzing around you well he never fired at me as a spit fire came along and drove him off whether he would have done so or not cannot be said next worry was where I was going to land as there were a lot of trees near I avoided them and landed in a nice field my Spitfire which was new crashed in a plowed field some way away the local defense volunteers accosted me with a shotgun as I was wearing my RAF battle dress which must have confused them a bit I was treated by a local first aid post then taken to hospital Robin Spitfire plunges into this field Jewel house right where I'm standing half a mile outside the village of Marden very quickly some villagers gather over there to stare at the Blazing fighter someone else is very curious my father Edward who is 14 at the time I was at home for the summer holidays in 1940 with a school friend when the Battle of Britain was in full Spate over midkent my school friend and I would go up to the flat roof at spits Brook with an Ordinance survey map and binoculars lying on our backs we would watch the battle overhead plot the crashes and then go down to our bikes and pedal furiously to get to a wreck before the police and army arrived to keep the crowds at Bay we built up an extensive accumulation of treasures including parachutes helmets belts of ammunition Berry flares you name it in one instance we saw a Spitfire go down just the other side of mar Village I could take you to the exact spot which is only a few hundred yards from where I live now although several villagers were there when we arrived no one was taking any interest in one of the Spitfires eight machine guns that was lying apart from the wreckage which was still burning fiercely the gun weighed a ton and clearly we couldn't make off with it at the time so we hid it carefully in the Hedge a week or two later when the wreckage had been removed and the guards withdrawn we returned wrapped it in a raincoat and lashed it to the carrier of my bike the following ride back through the village drew a lot of comments because I was wobbling as though drunk we finally got it home and I subsequently donated this and all my other spoils after the war to the Battle of Britain air Warfare museum at lash and de pilot officer Robin rafter isn't the only pilot whose fighter plane crashed in M that day at almost the same instant that Robin's boots hit the dirt and the parachute settles around him another Jerry a mmid 109 crash lands on a farm just over a mile away the Martin fire brigade report reads as follows September the 5th 9:45 a.m. aircraft seemed to fall in M Beach area reported HQ and left found first PL to be British crash in Beach Lane pilot landed by Parachute plane burning in middle of open field second plane was German Emy 109 landed intact at Love's F pilot attempted a fire machine was prevented 11:45 a.m. returned to state and reported present R grave Weaver and [Music] Johnson the German pilot who crash lands at Love's Farm is none other than the soon toe famous oant Baron France Von Vera records now reveal that Von Vera was brought down by South African pilot officer basil Gerald Stapleton of Robin raf's very own 603 Squadron part of stapleton's combat report for that engagement reads as follows I was diving to attack when I was engaged by two me 109s when I fired at the first one I noticed glycol coming from his radiator I did a number two attack as I fired I was hit by bullets from another me 109 I broke off downwards and continued my dive at 6,000 ft I saw a single engine machine diving vertically with no tail unit I looked up and I saw a parachutist coming down circled by an M 109 I attacked the 109 from the low quarter he died vertically towards the ground and flattened out at ground level I then did a series of beam attacks from both sides and the enemy aircraft turned into my attacks he finally Force landed he tried to set His Radio On Fire by taking off his jacket setting fire to it and putting it in the cockpit he was prevented by the local defense volunteers yours mine years later Stapleton recalled the incident in a conversation with historian dilip Saka Who provided stapon with a copy of his original combat report uncovered at the National Archives at Q incredibly Stapleton had no idea until that moment that he was the pilot who brought down Von Vera the Swiss Baron would later become immortalized in the 1959 film The One That Got Away starring Hardy Krueger which describes Von Vera's matchless Escape attempts to return to Germany and get back into the war curiously Gerald Stapleton had no trouble recalling the treetop chase behind Von Vera it was right on the deck I recall having to shoot carefully so as to avoid hitting people working in the fields the bullet holes from stapleton's brownings still pepper the brick work of Love's Farmhouse what has now emerged is that oo and France Von Vera was the 109 pilot circling Robin as he descended on his parachute and 603 squadrons pilot officer Gerald Stapleton was the Spitfire pilot who stepped in and drove the baron off bringing him down at Love's Farm in the field known as the 30 Acres Miriam Honus who lived at Love's farm at the time wrote a diary describing all the action she observed during the Battle of Britain from the vantage point of her Farmhouse just outside Marden Miriam had a ringside seat not only to watch the final moments of Von Vera's 109 which came down in her father's field but also of Robin's predicament descending on his parachute a mile away as his brand new Spitfire plunged into Jewel House [Music] Field Miriam misidentifies Robin's aerplane as a hurricane but describes the incident as follows by September the 5th we no longer took shelter but always went to look from the top Windows to see as much as we possibly could that morning about 12:30 we could hear bursts of machine gun fire and there were a great many zooms as our Fighters dive to attack I first saw one of our hurricanes with engine roaring crash around the plane about a mile away was very relieved some minutes later to see the pilot drifting to the ground in his parachute next I heard the stupendous Roar of a very close airplane and to my horror the black crosses and sper of a mesy spit flashed very low by the top West window the mement was so low that the Lewis gun and the search light 250 yards along the road shot at it round and around the house flew the German with the Spitfire firing volleys of bullets and determined not to to lose his Quarry just by our own gate the soldiers just setting out for the crashed hurricane all fired their rifles then I heard mother call he's down and I dashed into my room to behold the mees SMI just settled in the middle of the 30 Acres it was most exciting watching the soldiers run across the fields carrying their rifles meanwhile the Spitfire and one other circled the spot in less time than it t next to right Army Vans police and ambulance and a crowd of people converged on the scene from all directions we had a perfect view of it from my top window over 30 years later in the 1970s Trevor Simmons of Marden with the help of Trevor Matthews decide to excavate the crash site of Robin Spitfire at juel house I just knew it was going to be one of them days it was a Sunday in the mid 1970s and it couldn't make up its mind whether to rain or not the seaweed says yes and as sure as little apples turn into Big Apples it obliged but not in Torrance over the next few hours the two trevors succeed in raising Robin's Spitfire engine and other debris to the surface a strong smell of petrol is reported today the recovered engine of pilot officer Rafters brand new Spitfire can be viewed at lashenden air Warfare museum at headcorn [Music] aerodrone 50 years later with the permission of farmer Peter Hall Spitfire restorer and Battle of Britain historian Steven vizard carries out a further survey of the jewel housee site we got anything very little there don't think is [Music] it can you smell it but the smell of petrol can still be detected 83 years after Spitfire X 4264 plunged into the M Countryside the doctors at maidstone's West Kent Hospital perform an operation to stitch up the back of Robin's head they turn to the cut in his cheek and remove some shrapnel from his right leg the enthusiastic young pilot is Keen to get back into the fry in a letter to his mother lady Catherine Robin writes I've been up and about for the last 3 days I'm coming out by the end of this week and will soon return to get my own back on the Jerry is there is a saying that you are not a fighter pilot until you have been shot down once well nothing more to fret about and you've heard everything there was and see how simple it all was and how well I was cared for I'm still as good as you with no facial disfigurement might even get a few days leave to see you you must remember that I got off lightly and many more have received worse than me Robin spends a few weeks convalescing at Maidstone before being transferred to the officer's Hospital down at T in the west country and it is here on October the 11th that Robin receives the shocking news of the death of his elder brother Charles serving as a pilot with number 214 Squadron pilot officer Charles rafter has been undergoing training on Wellington bombers earlier that day Wellington L 7840 was taking off when it swerved to starboard crashed out of control into the corner of number one hanger and burst into flames Charles and the three other crew members were killed and two others on the ground seriously injured Robin returns home for his brother's funeral Charles is laid to rest next to his father at St Peter's Church just a few years yards from the family home in harborne Birmingham Charles is just 22 by the time Robin rejoins 603 at horn Church on November the 7th the Battle of Britain is over but the fighting is not guring is no longer willing to tolerate daytime bomber losses at the hands of arf pilots who mysteriously keep multiplying so the luffer still flies Fighter incursions by day over England's Southeast at night however the bombers can raid with impunity and by the time Robin rejoins 603 as a recovering non-combatant London has been systematically bombed for 56 at 57 consecutive nights tens of thousands of civilians are killed and injured by the time the blitz raids cease in May 1941 pilot officer Robin rafter is finally pronounced fit and cleared for flight operations at horn Church on Friday November the 29th Robin takes off with 603 in what is his second ever operational Spitfire sauty LED from the front as usual by Squadron leader denh alone m schmid1 is intercepted of off the coast of Ramsgate and used as target practice by all nine Spitfires before disappearing into the channel upon the return flight to Horn Church however the pilots of 603 watch horrified as Robin Spitfire drops out of formation peels away downward and destroys itself in a meadow just outside the county town of Maidstone Robin's life ends here in this beautiful meow on the outskirts of Kingswood Village his plane had not been damaged in combat and oxygen supply failure the curse of a number of pilot casualties was ruled out since the Squadron was returning to Horn church at 2,500 ft Robin's sister Elizabeth believes her 19-year-old brother blacked out as a result of the head injury he had sustained bailing out of that first Spitfire on September the 5th over maren Village he was still not 100% in my opinion but was so Keen to get back to his Squadron and into the air again I will always be absolutely convinced that this was the [Music] case Maggie Woods's family has eared owned this field for Generations her aunt was in the woods nearby when Robin came down but obviously came from that direction and she was there and she heard it and she ran through the wood Barefoot because she thought something was going to happen but the time it crashed It Was An Almighty crash and it had crashed before she got to it obviously it was smoke and Deb and there was a lot of ammunition on on it and she said the bullets were just exploding and then they came and I think the men who came well it must have been from the air Ministry and they came and she said they brought black boxes and she remembers the black boxes and she said it took three days to get him out all of him out [Music] [Music] oh Robin knew he wasn't the raf's best fighter pilot yet but he was willing to learn he knew he would be up against the legends of the lift ruffer outnumbered with a life expectancy of maybe just a few weeks to me The Testament of Robin's Valor is that knowing these things he went out and faced the enemy anyway Robin lived long enough to learn about Hitler's cancellation of sea lion the planned invasion of Great Britain Robin Julie appears here on the Battle of Britain Memorial just outside folston and the Battle of Britain Monument on London's embankment by the houses of Parliament there are 2,938 British and Allied air crew names on these walls average age perhaps 20 22 each has a story and a past and all have a future too as Heroes until the end of time [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]
