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Home Guard - Crashed Heinkel Bomber Hales Lane Smethwick

C

Clowe

Brummie babby
Hi everyone, I am making a YouTube documentary about the shot down Heinkel He111 bomber on 10th April 1941 that crashed into two houses in Hales Lane Smethwick.

Two German airmen parachuted out, one landing in Barston Road and the other in The Oval.

I am looking for information regarding the landing in The Oval as the newspaper articles report the airman was dealt with by Home Guard officers Chadney & Davies. I believe Davies could be Gilbert Davies which is my wife's great grandfather as the family reported 'Grandad' telling them of the time he helped a German airmen and gave him cigarettes and tea.

The family have no records of Gilbert Davies but pretty sure he would've been in the 12th Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion

Any other information regarding the whole story is also appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 
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Thank you, I have copies of the master photographs of the scene, the detail is amazing as you can see all the individual parts scattered on the front gardens and can identify them.
 
Any chance of your sharing them with Forum members, please, Clowe?

Do you know if Gilbert Davies had any other initials?

I have quite a bit of information online about the 12th Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion which includes a number of images and the story of the Danilo Platoon's involvement in this incident. If you haven't already stumbled across it, this is the best starting point: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences130Warley.htm
It's safe to click on.

Chris
 
ChrisM said:
Any chance of your sharing them with Forum members, please, Clowe?

Do you know if Gilbert Davies had any other initials?

I have quite a bit of information online about the 12th Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion which includes a number of images and the story of the Danilo Platoon's involvement in this incident. If you haven't already stumbled across it, this is the best starting point: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/DotherReminiscences130Warley.htm[/URL].
It's safe to click on.

Chris
Click to expand...
Hi Chris, yes I have searched the Staffshomeguard.co.uk but there is no reference to Gilbert. I will be seeing the family the weekend to look at photos so hopefully I might see a uniform badge or better some paperwork.

Unfortunately I cannot share or post the pictures as they are licensed to Reach Plc and I have had to buy a copyright license to use them on the YouTube video. I am only licensed to show them in the video as other types of media require additional licenses. They are £150 per image for YouTube and more expensive for print and websites, but they are amazing pictures approx 5k in size and have so much detail. I know it sounds like a plug but you will be able to see them in the video. Sorry I can't share them.
 
Thanks, Clowe.

The reason that I ask about initials is that there are no less than about a dozen "G. Davieses" listed in the 1941 HG Officer's List for Western Command of the Home Guard (covering most of the Western counties of the U.K.) and none sounds an obvious contender. The list regrettably doesn't cover senior NCOs.

Chris
 
Clowe
Two sources of information
One - An excellent article easily traced - see following link.
inthenightoftheday.anotherplacelikehome.com

In the Night of the Day

In the Night of the Day
inthenightoftheday.anotherplacelikehome.com
Two - More of a challenge. I am of a generation that assembled Airfix kits including a Paul Boulton Defiant. About five years ago I passed a charity shop and saw an Aircraft magazine with a sub-heading referring to a Defiant over Birmingham. I purchased it and, on reading the article, realised that this Defiant it was responsible for downing the Hales Lane plane, a story that I had heard from friends and workmates that lived and worked in the area.
The article told of the patrolling Defiant being directed to the action that commenced south of Birmingham and goes on to describe the action and why he landed without a gunner. I read the article and then passed it on to those friends that lived close to Hales Lane. Unfortunately the magazine is now lost among those people, probably scrapped.
I was looking for a replacement copy of the magazine when I came across your article, date unknown, already old enough to appear in a charity shop five years ago. The reason? I believe parts of this aircraft may be responsible for a local myth referring to a Heinkel that crashed in the Romsley area, an area south of Birmingham. Whilst the myth suggests a complete aircraft children, (even older than me), only that remember playing on smaller pieces of wreckage and no parts have been found by aircraft archeologists.
 
Clowe said:
Hi everyone, I am making a YouTube documentary about the shot down Heinkel He111 bomber on 10th April 1941 that crashed into two houses in Hales Lane Smethwick.

Two German airmen parachuted out, one landing in Barston Road and the other in The Oval.

I am looking for information regarding the landing in The Oval as the newspaper articles report the airman was dealt with by Home Guard officers Chadney & Davies. I believe Davies could be Gilbert Davies which is my wife's great grandfather as the family reported 'Grandad' telling them of the time he helped a German airmen and gave him cigarettes and tea.

The family have no records of Gilbert Davies but pretty sure he would've been in the 12th Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion

Any other information regarding the whole story is also appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
My mother witnessed the Heinkel coming down in flames over Bernard Road. She mentioned she saw two bail out. My grandfather, her father, was ARP and probably with 12th Worcestershire (Warley) Battalion
 
Some information from Luftwaffe records.
10 April, 1941, Heinkel 111P shot down by a Defiant of No.151 Sq, piloted by Flt Sgt Harry Bodien. The He 111 collided with a balloon cable and crashed into houses at Hales Lane, Smethwick, Staffordshire.
Pilot: Rudolf Müller (bailed out successfully)
Other Crew:
Werner Strecke (bailed out but wounded)
Egon Grolig (killed in action, buried at Cannock Chase)
Helmut Häcke (killed in action, buried at Cannock Chase)
 
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