WWII Mosquito pilot who carried out 50 bombing raids across Germany shares memories of VE Day
Colin Bell is a regular at the RAF Club in London where he pops in for a G&T and a chat with other members in the Churchill Bar.
Smartly dressed, and walking without a stick, it is a week before he turns 104 and he has a twinkle in his eye. Congratulating him on his upcoming birthday, I ask him what he puts his longevity down to.
"It's a combination of exercise, alcohol, and the love of good women; with the odd bad one thrown in!"
He has an infectious laugh.
Colin joined the RAF aged just 19, and after his flying training joined 608 Squadron (Pathfinder Group) based at Downham Market in Norfolk.
He flew a Mosquito bomber and carried out 50 bombing raids over Germany, 13 of them over Berlin.
"It was rather a hairy business," he tells me. "The Germans had perfected, to a very fine art, the ability to shoot down enemy aircraft."
He recalls one incident when a shell exploded under the aircraft, cutting power to both engines. Eventually Colin and his navigator Doug Redmond limped home.
The following day an engineer inspected the bomber, before giving Colin a memento of the raid.
Colin recalls: "He handed me two slivers of shrapnel, each about 4 or 5 inches long, and I said 'where did you find them?'. He said, 'well, they were in the parachute you were sitting on!', which made me thoughtful."
We talk about the VE Day 80th anniversary and Colin recalls being at an airbase in North Bay Canada when the news broke, early in the morning.
"I was woken by all this palaver, people shouting and firing pistols… I said to one of the guys, 'what the hell's going on?' And he said 'I think they are celebrating the end of the war, the end of the war in Europe'.
"And I said, 'well that's nice, now let's get back to sleep!'"
Inevitably conversation turns to the conflicts of today. He worries about defence spending, NATO, and hesitating to confront aggression decisively.
"Bear in mind that I've seen all this happen before, from the time that I was a teenager living, as Churchill put it, in the wilderness years and a time when appeasement was rife.
"The situation is different now, but the dangers are the same."
He has a message too for the current generation: "People talk too much about their rights and not enough about their duties," he tells me.
Opposite the RAF club in Green Park is the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, commemorating the young crews who embarked on missions during the Second World War. I ask Colin what goes through his mind as we gaze up at the impressive sculpture.
"Sadness," he simply says. "So many brave young men lost their lives fighting the war against an enemy that should never have been.
"You must understand that what we were doing at the time was a battle for survival, and that's what we were concentrating on. And it's not just a matter of the people.
"Some people feel gratitude for what we did, but really we had no option. We just had to make sure that we won the war. And thank God we did."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
D-Day: Why today's young generation will be just as brave if war comes
In 1933, the Oxford University Union overwhelmingly passed a motion 'That this House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country'. A few years later, many who voted in favour did just that Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Exactly 81 years ago today, at around 6.30 in the early morning light, the first waves of what amounted to some 156,000 Allied soldiers by the end of the day landed on the beaches of Normandy. They had been preceded the night before by roughly 23,400 comrades who landed by parachute and glider. The long-awaited liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe had begun. It was, and still is, the largest seaborne assault in history, never mind the air landings. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The cost was high. Across the five landing beaches – Omaha, Utah, Sword, Juno, and Gold – and in the air assault, the Allies suffered some 10,000 casualties, 4,414 killed in action. US soldiers approach Omaha beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. They were among the first wave of troops (Picture: Robert F Sargent, US Coast Guard/Galerie Bilderwelt) | Getty Images The beginning of the end The scale of the operation was truly breathtaking. The invasion fleet, drawn from eight different navies, comprised 6,939 vessels, including 1,213 warships and 4,126 landing craft. Most of the fleet was provided by Britain: some 892 warships and 3,261 landing craft. In the air, around 11,600 Allied aircraft of all types were involved, including 5,656 from the Royal Air Force. They achieved total air supremacy over the entire operation and few German Luftwaffe sorties were flown on the day. For the young men involved – and they were mainly young men – the experience must have been in turn exhilarating, frightening, and terrifying all at once. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And yet they did it. A combination of meticulous planning, lengthy training, and good junior leadership saw them through. Plus an element of luck of course. Nothing can prevent a random bullet or shell finding its mark if you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The invasion signalled the beginning of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Although there was almost another year of hard fighting to follow, the combination of assault by the Allies in France and the Soviet armies pressing in the east, plus the non-stop bombing campaign over Germany, meant there could ultimately be only one winner. Nazi Germany and her armies, air force, and naval assets were ground down relentlessly until their final surrender in May 1945. Members of the Royal Marines land on Juno beach, Normandy, on D-Day (Picture: Hulton Archive) | Getty Images Fooling the Germans And yet D-Day hadn't been without its hiccups. Bad weather had caused the operation to be cancelled the day before when many troops had already embarked on the landing ships, and the rough seas made it doubtful right up to the last few hours whether it could go ahead on June 6. There was also the fear that the Germans might have known what was coming. Notwithstanding the Allies' complex and masterful deception plan designed to persuade the Germans that the real invasion would take place across the Pas de Calais, the shortest route across the English Channel, nobody was quite sure that they had been fooled. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On top of this a remarkable series of codewords for the invasion, such as "Utah", "Omaha", "Overlord", and "Mulberry", appeared in the Daily Telegraph crossword in the weeks leading up to D-Day. This raised concerns within the Allied security and intelligence services, as similar coincidences with the Dieppe raid had occurred in 1942. However, further investigation concluded that the crossword compiler, Leonard Dawe, had no knowledge of the invasion and the clues and answers were merely coincidences. Despite these and other sundry issues and scares, the deception plan was remarkably successful and the Normandy landings took the Germans completely by surprise. It was so successful, in fact, that for several weeks after the troops hit the beaches, the Germans still thought what had taken place was merely a diversionary attack and the main invasion would happen elsewhere. When they were finally persuaded that D-Day was indeed the main event, it was too late. Piper Bill Millin, seen later, played 'Hielan' Laddie' and 'The Road to the Isles' as British soldiers landed on Sword beach on D-Day (Picture: Galerie Bilderwelt) | Getty Images An existential threat A military effort of such a colossal magnitude is, of course, beyond Britain's Armed Forces today. Our services have atrophied to such an extent since then that we have but a fraction of the assets nowadays, not helped by what is coyly referred to as the 'Peace Dividend' after the end of the Cold war and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. In fact, a similar military adventure is beyond the powers of the world's only true superpower, the United States, too. It would now take many years for the former Allies to build up their resources to a similar level. Thankfully, unlike in 1944, we are not facing an existential threat to our national survival and the enemies and potential enemies we face today are few and far away, in conventional military terms at least. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A question that is often asked is whether today's young men and women would be prepared to fight for the UK and put their lives on the line as did previous generations. Polling tends to be ambivalent on the subject, with some saying yes and others no. I am reminded that the Oxford University Union held a debate on the very same topic in 1933, the year Hitler rose to power in Germany. The motion was "That this House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country", and it passed with 275 votes for and 153 against. And yet a few years later, many who voted for it were in uniform. I suspect today's generation would follow the same pattern. It's easy to hold an abstract opinion on war when your only experience of it is online or on TV. But if your family home has just been flattened or your brother or uncle torpedoed and sunk at sea, then I think attitudes would rapidly change. However, thanks to those who landed on the Normandy beaches back in 1944 and fought through to the eventual defeat of the enemy, we do not face a similar dilemma today. Let's hope it stays that way.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
D-Day tribute sculpture unveiled at former RAF Harwell airbase
A memorial sculpture which commemorates servicemen who played a crucial role in the D-Day landings has been unveiled at a former RAF base. The sculpture was inspired by the wooden Horsa gliders, an aircraft which delivered troops and equipment behind enemy lines during World War Two. It was unveiled at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, the former site of RAF Harwell, where the glider unit was took off from the base on the night before D-Day as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France on 6 June 1944. The sculpture honours the 6th Airborne Division, the No. 38 Group RAF, and the Glider Pilot Regiment. The division played a crucial role in the D-Day landings, carrying servicemen including members of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry to Normandy. Those forces were involved in quickly securing Pegasus Bridge, near Caen, which protected the eastern flank of the D-Day landing zone. The central form of the sculpture was designed to echo the glider's fuselage, which could hold up to 28 servicemen. It's estimated that 3,800 Horsa gliders were built during the Second World War, constructed almost entirely from 3-ply timber, mainly in furniture 6th Airborne Division remained on the front line for 82 days. They suffered 4,457 casualties - 821 killed, 2,709 wounded, and 927 missing. Sculptor Charlotte Holmes said: "Their bravery and the inevitability faced by those involved is just breathtaking."What struck me... was that because it's a glider with no engine, there is no turning back.""It was an honour to commemorate the men who took off from Harwell 81 years ago."Major James Sibbald, from the Royal British Legion, said the sculpture was a fitting tribute to the servicemen from the glider regiment. "RAF Harwell is still here in the heart of the Harwell campus," he said. [The sculpture] is vital to show the commitment that our forces had and the memory of their actions". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Powys County Times
11 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Llandrindod club disappointed after VE Day flag vandalised
THE Royal British Legion in Llandrindod Wells has expressed disappointment after a flag commemorating VE Day was vandalised. The club reiterated its support for veterans living in and from the town after the incident, which is believed to have occurred sometime after May 8, which marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day. 'We are disappointed to see vandalism to the VE flag and ropes, that were erected in commemoration of VE Day,' read a post on the Llandrindod Wells - Royal British Legion Facebook page on May 31. 'It is such shame to have to experience this lack of regard for the veterans, both men and women, that served and defended our country so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. 'Their sacrifice and dedication deserve our gratitude and respect. 'For those that have served and are still serving in our armed forces, we appreciate and honour your dedication to serving your country, ensuring our freedom and way of life.' The news sparked anger locally, with one commenter replying: 'It's heartbreaking that every village in UK has a nucleus of this class of person now. 'Smashing and vandalising everything they see. Tragic really that parents have lost control over their kids.' One other said the vandalism 'makes my blood boil', while the behaviour of whoever was responsible was labelled 'disgraceful', 'disgusting' and 'disrespectful'. Others branded those responsible 'mindless yobs' and 'disrespectful toerags'. It leaves a sour taste following impeccable organisation of and attendance at a number of events held in Llandrindod to commemorate VE Day. VE Day in the spa town was marked throughout the week, including on Sunday, May 11, with a service being held at the town's war memorial, on Temple Street, adjacent to the Metropole Hotel, and led by Rev Andrew Tweed. 'Our mayor, Cllr Marcia Morgan, laid wreaths on behalf of the community at the war memorial and hospital,' said Llandrindod Wells Town Council in a post. 'It was lovely to see so many people in attendance and particularly the current and previous servicemen and women. 'Congratulations to Llandrindod Wells Royal British Legion for working so hard on this important commemoration.' Town Crier Jan Swindale had previously organised a VE Day 80 proclamation event on May 8, while choirs from both Ysgol Cefnllys and Ysgol Trefonnen performed. The celebrations had started on May 5 with a family tea party at the Royal British Legion premises on Tremont Road.
