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It was New Year's Day, 1945, 09.15 and I was
a wireless operator with 85 Group HQ Signals in Ghent, Belgium following a stay on a Normandy farm.

I had left my billet, a house in Rue de la Pacification and had turned into the Chaussée de Courtrai on my way into town to do some shopping, having just encountered a colleague.

I heard a crackling sound and asked my colleague what the noise was but before he could reply an aircraft swept low overhead and it had a black cross on it fuselage. I recognised it as a Focke-Wulf 190 although it was the first I had seen. We took cover behind a low garden wall, which was all that was available, but then moved away to see what was happening.

The Fw.190s were, in fact, strafing the local airfield at St. Denijs and I could see smoke rising from it. A number of local children joined us and I was concerned for their safety, urging them to shelter with us behind the wall. One of them was the first to shout; "Spitfire!" a few minutes later, and I strained my eyes, unbelieving for a brief second, for we had had heavy snowfall and I feared that our aircraft would be grounded, whilst we had heard that the Luftwaffe bases were clear. However, they were right, and I was about to witness my closest contact with the enemy, as a Focke-Wulf and Spitfire swept towards us firing at each other and a dogfight took place almost overhead

The fight did not last long as the enemy did not want to mix it with the Polish pilots, although the latter were returning from a fighter-bomber sortie and were almost out of ammunition, in fact one had just landed at St. Denijs.

The Poles claimed four shot down, and I later saw one of the wrecks, it having crashed on a shop near St. Pieter's Railway Station. The shop no longer existed, but I was relieved that we had no casualties to report, although 12 airmen were killed at St. Denijs I was given to understand and 8 light observation and communications aircraft had been destroyed on the ground I was informed. In a series of raids the enemy lost 20 aircraft confirmed.

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