www.bbm.org.uk/ images/holmes-1b.jpg
The only pic I could find.
Posted on 06/28/2005 12:31:35 PM PDT by scotslad
A Second World War fighter pilot who saved Buckingham Palace from a direct hit has died at the age of 90, it was announced today.
Sergeant Ray Holmes saved the palace when a German Dornier bomber lined up to attack it on September 15, 1940.
Mr Holmes, from Wirral, Merseyside, spotted the Dornier making its approach but had run out of ammunition.
So the pilot from 504 Squadron used his Hurricane to slice through the tail of the intruder.
He then parachuted to safety, while his plane crashed into Buckingham Palace Road and the German bomber plunged into part of Victoria station.
Last year, archaeologists unearthed parts of Sgt Holmes’s fighter plane for a TV documentary about his exploits.
During the live channel five TV show, Fighter Plane Dig, the plane’s engine was recovered and later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum.
Mr Holmes died yesterday morning at Hoylake Cottage Hospital in Wirral following a two-year battle with cancer.
His wife, Anne, 61, described her husband as “awe-inspiring” and said he would be sadly missed.
Following his death, tributes poured in for the Battle of Britain hero, including one from the Queen.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “The Queen was very sad to hear of the death of Ray Holmes, given his role in the valiant defence of London during World War II.”
Flags were flying at half-mast in his honour in Wirral, where he lived for most of his life.
Steve Maddox, chief executive of Wirral Borough Council, said: “Last year the council had the honour of bestowing the Freedom of the Borough on this very special person.
“It is the greatest honour which a local authority can bestow on one of its residents.
“I can think of no-one upon whom this honour could have been more fittingly bestowed.”
Mr Holmes, whose nickname was Arty, continued to fly throughout the war, becoming an instructor teaching Russians how to fly Hurricanes.
He later moved into photo-reconnaissance, taking pictures from 30,000ft over Germany of locations such as Berlin and Hitler’s hideout at Berchtesgaden.
He ended the war flying as the King’ Messenger, delivering mail for Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
After he saw the end of active service, he returned to his native Wirral where he worked as a journalist.
We're losing heros every day. At least he got a good news-obit in the Scotsman.
he worked as a journalist
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Sir Winston Churchill
Wow! God bless him!
He later moved into photo-reconnaissance, taking pictures from 30,000ft over Germany of locations such as Berlin and Hitler’s hideout at Berchtesgaden.
----
An Original Eye in the Sky :)
RIP Arly
"His wife, Anne, 61"
Wow....
RIP Arty
His wife, Anne, 61,
A cradle robber, he was. :^)
RIP, Hero.
I notice that, too. Fighter pilots....
God bless such a heroic and valiant defender!
The difference between Christian warriors and muslim ones is we get our digs in and this world so that we can live a pure life afterwards. They bugger each other down here, and pray that some day that might have sex with a woman after they die.
www.bbm.org.uk/ images/holmes-1b.jpg
The only pic I could find.
This is still my favorite WWII cartoon.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/queen.mum/stories/feature.war/
The late "Queen Mum" on the subject:
"While surveying the damage she famously said: 'I'm glad we have been bombed; I feel I can look the East End in the face.'
"She had resisted calls for herself and her two teen-age daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, to flee London for the safety of North America.
"'The children will not leave unless I do,' various sources have reported her as saying. 'I shall not leave unless their father does, and the king will not leave the country in any circumstances whatever.'"
I saw that special recently and he was a remarkable man. Thank God that we had him and his kind.
Doubt she'll be going to the same place as this hero.
My exact same thought when I read the story about her. I thought it was funny that the two stories were posted one right after the other.
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