'DOG FIGHT' 19 September 1940

The distinctive sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine still triggers memories of an Autumn day in 1940, the 19th September. It was just after noon, I was in my first year at Culford School, near Bury St. Edmunds. A group of us were walking back to the Junior School, when our chatter was interrupted by the angry snarl of aircraft weaving and circling overhead. The staccato rat-atat-tat-tat of machine gun fire sent us diving into the nearest slit-trench. Crouching in the mud, we looked up and saw a German aircraft with two British Hurricanes in pursuit. Suddenly, the enemy 'plane started to spiral downwards, flames streaming from its engine. It disappeared from our sight, there was a tremendous explosion and a column of dense black smoke billowed up behind the main school. Clambering from the trench, we cheered and waved as one of the victorious Hurricanes swooped down so low that we could clearly see the pilot. We were convinced it was to us that he waved before doing a Victory Roll and zooming away.
The German aircraft was a Junkers 88A-1, serial no. 215, based at Neufchatel in northern France, one of a formation of thirty Ju88A's which had set off to raid London. Intercepted by the RAF, it had dumped its bombs and was being pursued by two Hurricanes of the 302 (Polish) Squadron, one flown by Flying Officer J. Kowalski, DFC, and the other by Flight Lt. W. Riley.(1) Later that day, the school was forbidden to go anywhere near the sight of the crash, but, naturally, several of us did go to view the wreckage and collect souvenirs. Optimistically, we had hoped to salvage the entire rudder, complete with the Nazi Swastika, having no idea how large it would prove to be! Before being chased away by military guards, some of us managed to grab at least a few fragments from the scattered wreckage.
Subsequently, we learned that one young German had been seriously wounded and three were dead - their funeral took place in the church in Culford Park, they were buried in the churchyard. The injured airman was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Bury St. Edmund's. It is said that, each night, he crawled from his bed to open the black-out in the hope that German bombers would be drawn to target the town's iron foundry and brewery! His patriotism was only surpassed when, later in the war, another critically injured German airman was brought to the hospital for a life-saving operation. On being told that he would require a blood transfusion, he refused surgery unless he could be assured that he would not receive British blood. He died from his wounds.
I have long since disposed of my war souvenirs - including relics of the Junkers 88A. However, it has been reported that one of the original souvenir-hunters attended a recent School Open Day and produced a scrap of twisted aluminium, a piece of leatherette seating and a manufacturer's name-plate, all taken from the wreck of that Junkers 88A.(2) No doubt those momentos still retain the pungent smell of burned oil that pervaded the shed in which, for many years, I kept my wartime souvenirs.

Notes: Lt. W. Riley was killed later in the war. Lt. J. Kowalski became a naturalised Briton. The injured German flyer was Unteroffizier Etzold. Those killed were Unteroffizier Paul Dorawa, Obergefreiter Erich Schultz and Gefreiter Heinz Scholz. On 4th December, 1962, they were reinterred in Block 1, in Cannock Chase German Military Cemetry, Staffordshire. (3)

Sources: (1) F.E. Watson, "A History of Culford School, The First Hundred Years, 1881-1981", (The Governors, 1980), 124-125, information provided by the Archivist, the Essex Historical Aircraft Society.
(2) "Focus - Foundation Magazine of Culford School", Ed.4, Summer 2005, article by Lesley Robinson, School Archivist, 6.
(3) Ibid, F.E. Watson, 125.

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