Tony Foulds was only 8 years old in 1944 and, like most days he was playing football with his pals on a stretch of parkland when a badly damaged USAAF bomber, seeking somewhere to land with safety, swerved away from the field occupied by the boys and instead crashed into some trees killing all ten members of the crew - but saving the lives of the boys. Ever since, Tony Foulds has carefully tended a memorial he set up in memory of the men who perished.
Yesterday was the 75th anniversary in recognition of which, thousands of people turned out to watch a memorial flypast by British and American aircraft.
"The pensioner who broke down in tears after thousands joined him for a flypast in memory of ten Second World War heroes whose plane crashed to avoid him has gone back to his day job attending the memorial in their honour."
In many ways, it's a shitty old world but there are some golden moments.
I did not know about this event. Human goodness at its best, then and now with this good man who tends the memorial.
Posted by: Whitewall | Saturday, 23 February 2019 at 22:46
Whitewall, we British who are getting old and whose father's fought in that war do not forget the USA sacrifice.
Posted by: Glesga | Monday, 25 February 2019 at 01:40