Tolson's War

On 21st August 1939 Mr Tolson White (my grandfather) was working in Farm Service when he heard a strange noise overhead. He looked up and saw an aircraft in difficulty. He ran after it and it crashed in a nearby field. He ran over to it and got the pilot clear. It was only then that he realised that he was dead.
The RAF soon arrived and told him that the plane was still on the secret list. Even so, they allowed him to take a picture of it and gave him a small piece of wreckage as a momento. It was only later that he found out the the plane was a Supermarine Spitfire mk 1A from RAF Leaming in North Yorkshire. He spent the war in farm service and forgot all about it. In 1980 a local aviation archaeologist uncovered some remaining small pieces which jogged his memory. It was only then that he had the photograph developed for the first time. He loved working with the horses and even enjoyed the long hours and hard work. He always talked with pride about his farming days right up until his death in 1991. The plane with the nect registration number to the crashed one still survives intact at the RAF museum. This story may not actually be a war story as such, but it covers people who worked hard behind the scenes for the war effort. He also worked as a sinker down the mines and was an AWP warden. Maybe it wasn't glamorous like a fighter pilot or an army officer but it all helped to keep this country free and we should all be extremely grateful to him and people like him. Unfortunately specific stories have been lost due to the ignorance of youth. Hopefully a lesson has been learned though.

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