Look what I found .... God Bless him ! At the back you will see an elderly West Indian gentleman - this is Ulric Cross one of over 250 Trinidadians who served in the RAF during WWII of whom 52 were killed in action. Ulric Cross flew 80 ops as a navigator and rose to the rank of Squadron Leader. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. He subsequently became a high court judge in Trinidad and the nation’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Pathfinder.jpg (image) I'm including this post that went along with the above .... good stuff don't you think ?? The Poor Mouth: A pathfinder and an idiot
That's a great picrure of the Pathfinder's gathering. Sadly it seems to be much smaller than the year before. RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow - News and Weather
Garth Lyder Garth Lyder from Trinidad flew bombers in WW2 and later he was a Captain with BWIA. His brother once told me that Garth's bomber was badly shot up at night over Germany. Realising he would not make it home he ordered his crew to bail out but one gunner had a damaged parachute. With the rest of the crew out he landed the aeroplane in the dark French countryside and both survived. He was caught and turned over to the Gestapo who, doubting his story treated him very badly. Can anyone provide further details on this.
I have found him on the POW list (no pow number which implies that he may have been injured and in hospital). I have also found that he got the DFC: Distinguished Flying Cross 26 JANUARY, 1945 Flying Officer Ernest Garth Fidler LYDER (138123), R.A.F.V.R., 180 Sqn. 180 Squadron was part of the 2nd TAF, rather than Bomber command, and they flew Mitchells before switching to Mosquitos. But from your description, it sounds like he was in a Mitchell. Will have a look in the books, but may have to ask the guys over on rafcommands
He appears to have been quite an enthusiast for flying as he is listed as having gained his private polit's licence in 1939. And this from Flight magazine 1939
I found the same as Kyt but in a different place !! http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1939/1939-1- - 0214.html And also these snippets ... that has nothing to do with your question I'm afraid ! 30 Aug 47 Flown in the Folkestone Trophy Race by Wing Commander M.J. Earle, race number 3 being carried on the tail. Photo at this time - British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 Vol. 2 (014668) p. 384; Air Britain Archive Summer 2003 p.75. Advertised for sale that year at £2,500 and bought by Mr. Ernest Garth Fidler Lyder of Bexley, Kent, being re-registered to him on 20th February 1948. Based at Redhill/Broxbourne http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/...aircraft_histories/X002-6559 Miles Mohawk.pdf Squadron Leader - Pilot - 180 Sqn TAF - B25 - POW Educated QRC, Volunteer UK 1939, training in UK, Canada then bahamas. OTU for B25’s; posted Flight Instructor then 180 Sqn. On the raid, the formation leader turned the wrong way and led the squadron over a flak position. The leader was immediately shot down. Lyder then took over the lead position but his a/c was hit almost immediately and disabled. One parachute was blown out of the a/c; so Lyder elected to crash land his aircraft. Was POW for rest of the war. [source: CMHA] Caribbean aircrew in the RAF during WW2 » Blog Archive » Garth Lyder Edit ..... I just noticed Kyt beat me to posting this site .... !!
Re Garth Lyder Thank you all for filling in the details. I remember back in 1968 when I was getting my PPL Garth Lyder owned a Percival Proctor that had sat in the hanger of the Light Aeroplane Club at Piarco Airport unused for many years. It was eventualy bought and shipped to the USA. I last saw him after his retirement when he had flown a Cherokee north from Trinidad to St Vincent. That was about 20 years ago years. Interestingly years later he saw his interrogator officiating at a wedding in Barbados. Garth did not introduce himself.
William Bruce Archibald born in Tobago, pre war enlistment Archie - A Pilot in RAF Bomber Command - Main Page
I am trying to find out the location of these Units as per the attached pic. 15 SFTS (3 Sep 41); No 4 Air O. Sch (? what is this); No. 3 S. of GR ( ? School of General/Ground Reconnaisaince?) ; 2(O) OTU The pic is the ? postings card for Flt Lt D G Rochford, killed on 2/5/1945
Service Flight Training School (British Commonwealth Air Training Plan) RAF Brize Norton History 1935 to 1942 AOS - Air Observer School RAF Chipping Norton airfield S of GR = School of General Reconnaissance
Reading Six O'Clock Diamond by Gus Officer. During his time towing targets and assisting with conversion courses (first with the air firing school at Bilbeis and then as part of No.1 MIddle East Training School at El Ballah right on the canal), some 92 Sqn pilots arrived for a conversion to Kittyhawks. Among them was 'Minnie Rosten from Trinidad ... of the RCAF.' Anyone with anymore?
I have searched the local papers from Jan to Aug 41 and have not yet found a reference to Rosten. The only 92 Sqn Trinidad pilots during that period (June 42) was Louis R Graham Gordon-Smith, no mention of qualifying on Kittyhawks. There was another Trinidadian flying spits, shot down in July 42 and again in Apr 43 (this time taken pow) - Keith L Rostant (pronounced ross - sta ). Gordon-Smith sent this letter home re the Apr 43 shoot down: FS K Rostant, attached to 8th Army in Tunisia, Spitfire, reported missing April 16th. Three days ago, received details of how he was shot down into the sea off Tunisia by FS Louis Gordon Smith, serving in same Squadron, son of D Gordon Smith of SMC. FS Smith wrote in part : "Yesterday afternoon our chaps escorted 4 Squadrons of Kittyhawks on a patrol waiting for transport aircraft. They ran into a "terrific gazzle". About 40 transport crash-landed on the beach to avoid being shot down. And then this morning early, some more Kittys ran into 15 transport aircraft and their escorts and they shot down all the 15 transport aircraft. I should not like to be in their shoes now. I am afraid to say that in the course of these big "dices" Keith Rostant was shot down; but the chaps in his Squadron say that they saw him bail out and that he landed in the sea not far from shore. So he is either a POW or he may have swam ashore and hidden somewhere." FS Rostant's letter to his parents from the POW Camp: " Here I am in a German POW camp, somewhere in Germany, safe and sound not having sustained the least bit of injury when I was shot down. I had to bail out over the sea and spent some hours in my dinghy before being picked up by an enemy warship." FS Rostant then mentions that he was in a temporary camp only and would probably be moved to a permanent one. After further training he was assigned to a fighter squadron which formed a component part of the 8th Army. About 10 months ago, he was wounded when his plane was shot down over Libya but rejoined his squadron on recovery. Mr & Mrs Rostant have 2 other sons in the services and a 3rd leaving shortly to enlist in the RAF in Canada. Could it be Rosten is Rostant? Will continue searching the Archives.
