The Saint's Last Mission Poem by Christopher Tye

The Saint's Last Mission

Rating: 5.0


It was a cold March morning in 1945,
The wind cut across the exposed airfield,
Ludford Magna was once again living up to its nickname,
As the crews trudged across the mud to their Lancs,
Mudford Magna was a well deserved nickname,
The squadron's Lancaster's lifted of just before dawn,
Bremen was their target on this daylight mission.

It was the Saint's 119th mission that day,
The old girl was one of the squadrons veteran's,
Only the Saint and Harry managed more than a hundred mission's,
Which was all the more remarkable for they were,
Both fitted with 101 Squadron's unique ABC radios.

Luck was not on the Saint's side this time,
A Messerschmitt ME262 stopped you coming home,
Perhaps it was fate that you were the last Lancaster lost by 101 Squadron.

The Saint's Last Mission
Friday, March 20, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: world war ii
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
DV245 The Saint flew with 101 Squadron from late 1943 until it failed to return on 23rd March 1945 with the loss of seven crew members onboard. DV302 Harry survived the war with at least 121 operational sorties.

101 Squadron suffered the highest losses of all the Bomber Command Squadron's, partly due to some of the Lancaster's being fitted with ABC Radio's which could be homed in on by German night fighters.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
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Christopher Tye

Christopher Tye

Lincolnshire, England
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