By Cheryl Wood

WHEN VETERAN bomber pilot Jack Harrild DFC remembers his fallen comrades each Armistice Day, there is one who stands out to him.

During a time of great need former squadron leader Jack, from Strathkinness, received an unexpected helping hand from a complete stranger, Flight Lieutenant Lindsay Cann.

Mr Harrild, who flew a Lancaster with the Pathfinder Force 635 Squadron based at Downham Market, was involved in a bombing raid on an oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen, Germany on September 13, 1944.

Having dropped his bombs on the target his aircraft was hit by flak, destroying the outer starboard engine and making it vulnerable to further attack.

All but one of the other bombers had disappeared, heading for home, leaving Mr Harrild facing a long and dangerous journey alone and under threat.

The other bomber that remained was from a different squadron but the pilot, Lindsay, then unknown to Jack, tucked his aircraft under the badly damaged engine and wing and escorted Jack’s crippled Lancaster safely back to the airfield at Downham Market before returning to his own base.

Touched by the bravery and comradeship he had shown, Mr Harrild wrote a letter to the pilot on behalf of himself and his crew thanking him for his unselfish act and protection.

Lindsay replied, stating it was no more than his duty.

In the letter, which Mr Harrild treasures to this day, he wrote, “We are always on the look-out to help and as soon as I saw you were in danger I was determined to see you home safely.

“If anything ‘evil’ had happened to you I could not have lived in peace of mind.

“Let’s hope our goodwill spreads and we never let anyone down through our own selfishness.”

On hearing Jack’s story his friend Gordon Ball, from St Andrews, set out to find out more about Lindsay, who never made it home.

The young flying officer from 156 Squadron had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a medal collected by his minister father and mother, from Essex.

Just three weeks after his brave escort, Lindsay had come close to death when he came under fire during a raid on an oil refinery at Sterkrade.

A shell exploded near his aircraft, fragments smashing through the windscreen striking him on the arm and shoulder.

Although bleeding profusely he did not seek help until the target had been bombed.

While his flight engineer and second navigator abandoned the craft by parachute, his first navigator took over the controls, only handing them back to Lindsay, who was weak from blood loss, to execute a perfect landing on the airfield.

Nineteen days later, he was back at the controls of his Lancaster.

On December 17 that year, at the age of 23, he failed to return from a raid on Ulm.