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I was born in 1936 and grew up in Berkhampstead , Hertfordshire. One day during the 40’s I was walking home from infant’s school (so it must have been after 1941 although I’d had a lot of time off school with double pneumonia, so it was probably1943 onwards,) and was just crossing the road below my home, when a huge shadow blocked the sun. I looked up and saw an aeroplane glide silently, apart from a whooshing of wind, over the row of houses. Seconds later I heard the crash as it landed on the railway lines in the cutting close to Gravel Path bridge. We were told that the pilot had stayed in his ‘plane to steer it clear of the built up area, and had given his life, rather than bale-out. I do not know the name of this hero, but think of him every year at Remembrance time, as I’m sure that if it hadn’t been for his courage and devotion to others, my mother, friends and neighbours and possibly myself would not have survived. I wonder if it is possible to find out who he was at this late date?

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