RONALD NORRIS (grave 22)

I was the Son of George Roanson Norris and Edna May Norris, of Woodsmoor, Stockport in Cheshire. The Epitaph they left on my gravestone was: Till the broken chain is whole again.

The Hampden was a medium bomber with a crew of 4. Pilot, Navigator, Wireless Operator/gunner and a further gunner. Although it was a vast improvement on the biplanes 83 Squadron had been flying just before the war opened, in reality it was already obsolete. Early daylight raids had been a disaster, the bomber was too slow to evade German fighters and its guns were no match for the Germans either. The distinctive fuselage, designed to give the aircraft a sleek, aerodynamic profile, led to the Hampden earning its nickname of “The Flying suitcase”.

Crew: 4
Span: 21.09 m
Length: 16.32 m
Height: 4.37 m
Wing area: 63.90 m²
Empty weight: 5,344 kg
Loaded weight: 8,508 kg
Engine: 2 x Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engines
Engine power: 980hp each
Maximum speed: 410 km/h
Rate of climb: 5.00 m/s
Range normal: 1,095 km
4 or 6 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine guns (1 flexible, 1 nose, 1 or 2 dorsal, 1 or 2 ventral)
1,814kg of bombs/mines or 1 x 18in torpedo

I was the wireless operator on this aircraft. My job was to stay in communication with base, receive updates on things like the changing weather and to send distress messages if needed. When not on the radio, I operated the upper dorsal machine gun to defend against German fighters.

83 Squadron was formed at Montrose on 7th January 1917 as a night bomber squadron. Moving to France in March 1918, the squadron saw action on the western Front and took part in operations to counter the German’s Spring Offensive. Following the end of the war, the Squadron was disbanded on 31 December 1919.

With the threat of war once again looming over Europe, 83 squadron was reformed at RAF Turnhouse on 4th August 1936, flying the Hawker Hind biplane. In March 1938, the squadron re-equipped with Handley Page Hampdens at RAF Scampton.

In the summer of 1940, the Squadron received one of Scampton’s three Victoria Crosses due to the heroic actions of Flight Sergeant John Hannah in putting out the fire on a battle damaged Hampden.

I took off from Scampton In Hampden L4093 to attack the dockyards in Kiel, Germany. Our aircraft was hit by Flak (anti-aircraft guns) and we brought our crippled aircraft back towards base. Sadly we very nearly made it, but we had to ditch the aircraft in the sea, just off Spurn Point. At this time of year, the sea is so cold that unless you get into your dinghy within a couple of minutes, there is no chance of survival. All the crew of four were lost.

Just two months earlier, my pilot, Flying Officer Connor had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on the same mission that Sergeant John Hannah won his Victoria Cross. Their aircraft had been hit by Flak and the aircraft’s fuel had caught fire, causing a ferocious blaze which John Hannah put out with his bare hands. All the while, Connor kept flying his severely damaged aircraft, getting it safely back to base.

DFC Citation (London Gazette 8 October 1940).

Pilot Officer Clare Arthur Hovendon CONNOR (40892). Pilot Officer Connor was captain of an aircraft detailed to attack enemy barge concentrations at Antwerp one night in September, 1940. His first run over the target was inaccurate and no bombs were dropped. In the second approach, at 2,000 feet, the aircraft was subjected to intense fire from the ground, but the attack was pressed home successfully. During this attack the bomb compartment in the aircraft was shattered and a fire started which quickly spread to the wireless operator’s and rear gunner’s cockpit. The port mid-wing and the tail boom were damaged. Shell fire pierced the port rear petrol tank causing grave risk of the fire spreading, and the starboard tank was also pierced. The navigator and rear gunner abandoned the aircraft, but the wireless operator air gunner remained and succeeded in controlling, and eventually extinguishing the flames. In spite of the condition of his aircraft and knowing that he had neither a navigator, rear gunner nor normal wireless facilities, Pilot Officer Connor succeeded in flying back to his base and landing without further damage. He displayed the most outstanding coolness, courage and devotion to duty.