BOBHSOC | Mungo-Park

"We do not want to be remembered as heroes, we only ask to be remembered for what we done....that's all"

"I regard it as a privilege to fight for all those things that make life worth living - freedom, honour and fair play"

AIRMEN'S STORIES - P/O V. C. Simmonds

Elizabeth Tucker with family friend and
Battle of Britain hero Vernon Churchill Simmonds

We regretfully had to record the loss of another Battle of Britain veteran, Vernon Churchill Simmonds who sadly passed away on 23 February 2005.
Vernon was posted to 238 Squadron at Middle Wallop on 29 July 1940 and was immediately in action in Hurricanes. He shot down a Me110 on 13 August, Heinkel 111's on 15 September and 25 September and another Me110 on the 26th.
He survived a crash-landing on 28 September and then had to bale out after a collision on the 30th.
Simmonds served in the RAF throughout the war, retiring in 1946 as a Squadron Leader.
His wife Shirley survives him at their home in Hampshire.
After Vernon passed away his wife Shirley received a card from the staff that had nursed him at Poole Hospital. Inside they had written;
"In an age of shallow celebrity, true heroism shines like a beacon. It was a privilege to know you Vernon, and to play a part in the final chapter of your extraordinary life. From all the staff at Ward E3, Poole Hospital"
Vernon made the news in 2000 when a local girl, Elizabeth Tucker, was inspired to write a poem after meeting him at a school event:

A POEM by ELIZABETH TUCKER
Age 14 years

The sun slowly sets over the stones,
As it gives them a golden hue,
So many stones marking the bones
Of the veterans from World War Two.

Stones engraved with years too short
Yes, the years, by far, too few
Because the men who lie in these graves
Were willing to give them for you.

Has our generation forgotten
What those brave souls were willing to do ?
They fought and they died in most horrible ways,
To secure this freedom for you.

Could our nation muster the spirit
To raise the red, white and blue
And offer the last full measure of life
Like those boys in World war Two ?

Or would we run to lands far away
As, you know, others did do,
Unwilling to fight, to do what is right
Like those heroes of World war Two.

They came in blue and khaki and white
To do what they had to do.
To fight without flight, to stand up for right
Those soldiers of World War Two.

Have you ever stopped one to thank him
For the freedom he purchased for you?
Have you ever considered, where you’d be today
If he hadn’t followed through.

So slowly their numbers dwindle,
Till now there are just a few,
So take the time while you still have the chance
To thank a veteran of World War Two.