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Heroes Of Our Time

It was a dreary mundane Sunday when out of the blue an email appeared within my inbox.   It was an email that would brighten our day and would lead us into a new journey of discovery unravelling further secrets of the history of the airborne operations carried out during World War Two.

 

The email was from a gentleman called Stephen Hutton, from far across the waters in the United States.  An email full of admiration and praise of my late father’s quest to ensure the heroes of our time were not forgotten, and of the website my partner and I had set up in order to continue his work.

 

In some respects, our stories became parallel in the fact that we had both been inspired by the work of our fathers, and in Stephen’s case this was quite a compelling story.   In a sheer twist of fate, it was remarkable that Stephen was even alive to tell his own father’s journey.

 

Back in May 1944, Iredell Hutton boarded the Queen Elizabeth ship from the port of New York.  From stepping off a familiar shore, he was about to traverse the seas heading to a land unknown.  Accompanied by his brother who happened to be travelling on the same ship as part of a different section of the military, Iredell would eventually arrive in a once sleepy Norfolk village, to be initially based at RAF Oulton.  This would be the start of a new adventure, stepping into the very secretive world of radio countermeasures, and which would form everlasting memories and many mixed emotions.

 

He would join a very elite group, a US squadron operating from England like none other at the time, the 36th Bomb Squadron ‘The Gremlins’.

 

After his squadron fully formed and moved to Cheddington, an incident would occur that would always live with Iredell, and would eventually take his son on a journey of discovery many years later.  In fact, so compelled and intrigued by the stories he heard from his father, he dedicated many years of his life in order to document and create a full account of the 36th Bomb Squadron’s history.  The outcome being a fantastic book called ‘Squadron of Deception’ a must read for all.

 

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Iredell Hutton with his son Stephen and the book he wrote - 'Squadrons of Deception'

 

 

The Story of the ‘Jigs Up’

 

The 'Jigs Up' was one of many B24-Liberators that flew Counter Measures Operations, Iredell Hutton was a rear gunner for the crew.

 

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Iredell standing far right.

 

It is very hard to imagine how it must have felt being confined for hours at a time in the freezing cold, with uncertainty all around, it seems to be a very isolated position.  However, he had ensured he had a sense of home always by his side by having his wife’s name Caroline, painted on the rear of his turret.

 

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On the 19th December 1944 whilst based at Cheddington a number of the squadron Liberators were involved in a VHF screen mission in support of the 8th Air Force.  Weather conditions at the time prevented the aircraft returning to their home base and they were subsequently diverted to RAF Manston in Kent.        

 

On the 22nd December a serious of events would occur that ultimately ended in tragedy, and would leave memories firmly etched in the mind, for some; for the rest of their lives.  

 

After being given the all clear to return to Cheddington the crews and their Liberators left Manston finally hoping to find their way back to their home base.  The weather at the time was terrible, ever changing and causing untold problems, ultimately it would mean they could not land causing another diversion to Atcham.  Despite some aircraft just managing to land three of the Liberators were diverted yet again this time to Valley Airfield, Anglesey, Wales.

 

For the ‘Jigs Up’ and Lt. Harold Boehm’s crew this would be a fateful journey, experiencing problems with their navigational GEE equipment, running low on fuel, and suffering from loss of engines the decision was made to bail out.  Sadly, unknown to the pilot, eight crew members bailed out prematurely over the unforgiving Irish sea with no protection against the elements, and with no trace of them ever to be found again.  Only two crew members survived, the pilot and co-pilot who had remarkably managed to land on shore, before the plane crashed into Holyhead Mountain where later wreckage and debris scattered the rocks.

 

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Lt. Harold Boehm, 2nd Lt. Donald W.Burch

 

 

By some sheer twist of fate Iredell was not aboard his normal aircraft on that terrible day, and instead Lt. Harold Boehm and his crew who normally flew the ‘Beast of Bourbon’ took charge of the ‘Jigs Up’ aircraft.  It would however be something that Iredell could never forget.

 

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Through Stephen’s quest to discover more about the circumstances centred around the fateful crash of the ‘Jigs Up’ divers were eventually able to locate and recover propeller blades from the wreckage.  This would eventually form a fitting tribute to those that lost their lives.  One propeller blade would also rightfully find its way back home to the States - the 'Jigs Up' propeller is at the North Carolina Military History Museum at Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

 

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In April 1993 a special service was held unveiling a memorial at Holyhead Breakwater Country Park in honour of those that had lost their lives in this tragic crash.  Iredell carried out the most respectful duty in unveiling the memorial.  A poignant moment to remember the loss of both his comrades and dear friends, the lost souls he had never forgotten for all those years.

 

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With the memorial now in place those names will never be lost in time and many generations to come will hopefully remember those gone before and their quest, their courage and ultimately their lives they gave to give us the freedom we have today.

 

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1st Lt. Harold T. Boehm (Pilot) - parachuted to safety - landed at Trearddur Bay, Wales

2nd Lt. Donald W. Burch (Co-Pilot) - parachuted to safety - landed at Holyhead, Wales

 

The following crewmen are listed as ‘Missing in Action’

 

2nd Lt. William H. Lehner (Navigator)
S/Sgt. Arthur E. Clemens (Engineer)
S/Sgt. Harvey N. Nystrom (Radio Operator)
S/Sgt. Francis J. Lynch (Radio Operator)
S/Sgt. Andrew Zapotocky (Gunner)
Sgt. Roger F. Gagne (Gunner)
S/Sgt. Jaime Fonseca (Gunner)
Sgt. Charles H. Dautel (Gunner)

 

  

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