TRAGEDY IN OSTEND

The war memorial in Knighton (Trefyclawdd), a small town on the Welsh/English border, stands proudly in the Town Square. It takes the form of a cenotaph on a three-stepped base with two dedicatory plaques on the front face listing the names of those from the town who lost their lives in the two World Wars. Each plaque has a green border of laurel leaves interwoven with gilt painted ribbons. There are 32 names from World War One and 16 form World War Two.

Added later however is the name of Richard Michael Heakin a Warrant Officer 1st class in the Royal Regiment of Wales. Richard was 38 years old and married with a 9-year-old son and a daughter of seven when he met his death. He was gunned down on 12th August 1988 having stopped his car at traffic lights in the North Sea port of Ostend. The IRA later claimed responsibility. The Ministry of Defence said Heakin was going home on leave from his base at Moenchen Gladbach, West Germany, and planned to take a ferry to Dover. He was attacked an hour before the ferry’s departure. Two men approached his car, one opened fire and then both fled on foot toward a nearby park. Officials said Heakin died at the scene. He was in civilian clothes but drove a British-made Vauxhall car with British Army of the Rhine tags. After the shooting, police took witnesses to the ferry dock in an attempt to identify the assailants from among passengers on two ferries to Dover. They were not spotted however. The tragedy came during a period in which the IRA was intensifying its campaign against British security forces. This had begun on 1st August when it bombed a barracks in north London, killing one soldier and injuring nine. Richard was laid to rest in his home town of Knighton where more than 1,000 mourners attended his funeral.

A Desert Escape

The church of St Edith in Church Pulverbatch, a small village about eight miles south-west of Shrewsbury, has a Roll of Honour related to the First World War. The church must also have been greatly improved by the installation of electric lighting to the memory of five men from the village who made the “supreme sacrifice” during the Second World War. Among their names is that of Flying Officer Dennis Bebbington MM. Dennis lost his life in March 1943 when the RAF squadron in which he served was moving westwards, behind the retreating Afrika Corps, to the airfield at El Daba in Egypt. The aircraft which he captained was lost without trace on a bombing mission. He earned his Military Medal however as a result of an earlier escapade during the war. He was flying as Second Pilot in a Wellington bomber when it was caught by searchlights and intense flak over Tobruck. The loss of the starboard engine forced a crash landing 350 miles behind enemy lines. All of the crew emerged from the plane safely and set out to walk back to base. Walking by night and sheltering under sparse scrub during the day, they reached the Libyan border with Egypt within a week. Their water bottles were refilled and they were given food by friendly Arabs who had no great love for the Germans. After twelve days, by a combination of good luck and leadership by the senior crew member Pilot Officer Johnson, they arrived at a well by the side of a main road. Nearby were two Italian trucks and the decision was made to await nightfall and attempt to steal one of the trucks. During the ensuing fight, Dennis managed to get into the driver’s seat of one of the trucks although surrounded by Italian troops. Fortunately his beret had fallen off and in the darkness the Italians failed to recognise him as an RAF officer. When they formed a search party to look for the other crew members, he innocently joined in but took the first opportunity to slip away into the dark. After 24 hours on his own in the open desert, Dennis managed to catch up with the others. Finally, 26 days after they had been shot down and 350 miles from the crash site, they were intercepted by a South African armoured car unit and their ordeal was over. Consequently Bebbington and a colleague were awarded the Military Medal and Pilot Officer Johnson the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation concluded that they had “displayed resolute courage and fortitude throughout the hazardous operation” .

St Edith's church, Church Pulverbatch