The Last Crew of Lancaster ED 549 100 Squadron - Canoe

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The Last Crew of Lancaster ED 549 100 Squadron Tribute from John Avey After all these years Written by John Avey July 2012 On my birthday each July 22 nd , I give thanks for each passing year. He can’t. He never made it to his 22 nd birthday. As I groan into middle age with my aches and pains, I increasingly feel my mortality. He will never grow old. In my lifetime, I have been accorded some measure of praise for my achievements. It has taken him 69 years to receive his. Recently, Queen Elizabeth unveiled the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London. A fitting but sadly long overdue commemoration to the courageous young men of Bomber Command; 125,000 of them (including 50,000 Canadians) who, at an average age of 22, took to the skies night alter endless, night in their Wimpeys, Blenheims, Mosquitoes, Halifaxes, and Lancasters; some of our brightest and best meeting head on a relentless, desperate foe over the deadly skies of Germany and occupied Europe. The carnage was horrible; the futility and waste of war brutally on display. Nearly half of these airmen (55,573) failed to return; 10,000 of them were Canadian and he was one of them. He lies at rest with his comrades in St. Swithun Churchyard at Long Bennington, Lincolnshire. Many Canadian and Commonwealth families hold these young men dear with pride and reverence. He, too, is cherished. Nearly seven decades after his death; his family keeps alive his memory with photos and stories of fond remembrance. They have often wondered about his fate. His bomber crashed returning from a mission off the coast of France. It was his first as pilot and commander. He and five of his six crew members were killed. A somewhat sterile report from the Department of National Defense is all they have of the crash and his final hours. The rest is mere conjecture. They have longed to know more. Now a Mr. Dennis Kirk might be able to help. As a young man, he was on Air Raid Precaution duty when he saw a distressed and labouring aircraft passing overhead to crash shortly afterwards a quarter of a mile from Plungar, Leicestershire and mere meters from the runway of nearby RAF Langar airfield. It was him; his crippled Lancaster plunging to earth so heartbreakingly close to safety, home and life. Page 6 © Tim Chamberlin and Michael Hardwick – August 2012
The Last Crew of Lancaster ED 549 100 Squadron Dennis Kirk is an old man now. He has long harboured a hope to meet the descendants and relatives of this fated aircrew and share his memories and impressions of that fateful night. It, too, is his fervent wish these young men be honoured and memorialized in some way for their sacrifice. Mr. Kirk is about to get his wish. Parts of the aircraft have been discovered and unearthed and a monument to be placed and dedicated this autumn at the scene of the crash. The last surviving sibling of the pilot’s family, a 94-year-old brother was invited to the dedication but for health reasons has sadly declined. So his son and two daughters will proudly participate alongside six cousins from his family. They will visit his grave at Long Bennington, journey to the crash site and meet and reminiscence with Dennis Kirk; a memorable and poignant pilgrimage for all concluding with a memorial service in St. Helen Anglican Church, Plungar and a fly-past by one of only two Lancasters still flying in the world; an appropriate closure and stirring finale to the proceedings. I’m a small-town boy from Norwich, Ontario who followed his dream in becoming an opera singer and was fortunate enough to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He, too, was a small- town boy from Norwich, Ontario. He, also, had a dream. He wanted to fly and he followed it to the end. From the halls of Valhalla, Flight Sergeant Gerald Russell Avey, 100 th Squadron, RAF Bomber Command killed March 5 th , 1943 can rest easy. He and his fellow denizens of the air are now, at long last and for time immemorial, rightfully recognized for their courage, achievements and sacrifice; these monuments in London and Leicestershire, apt and honourable tributes for future generations to see, marvel and ponder. Oh, my name? John Avey. And I will proudly be attending the dedication. After all, he is my uncle and that 94 year-old man---well, he’s my father. John Avey was born in Norwich, Ontario Canada and now lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. © Tim Chamberlin and Michael Hardwick – August 2012 Page 7
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The Last Crew of Lancaster ED 549 100 Squadron - Canoe

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