Former Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell, who was recently wished happy birthday in Parliament by PM Boris Johnson, retold tales of his bombing missions over Germany to over 70 members and guests from Tunbridge Wells u3a, an activity and interest group for those no longer in full-time employment.
The 101-year-old war veteran had flown a wooden-framed Mosquito, a fast and agile bomber that was used to attack cities including Berlin.
He told the u3a audience how the cities in Germany he attacked were defended by enemy fighter planes as well as a ring of anti-aircraft guns which could fire up to 5-7 miles high with great accuracy, thanks to radar guidance and searchlights.
U3a chairman Eryll Fabian said: “He brought home the appalling statistics. The bomber pilots had only a 25 per cent chance of survival and over 55,000 died on duty and many more in training.”
In one ‘hair-raising’ example of the dangers, Flight Lt. Bell and his Canadian navigator were nearly hit but, ‘unknown to them, they had flown over a women’s anti-aircraft training group which was only allowed one live shot each night,’ said Mrs Fabian.
“As he said, survival was 50 per cent luck. The rest was up to you,” she added.
But he also had a timely analysis of war for his guests.
“Colin also spoke about the justification for the bombing of Dresden and went on to emphasise the importance of being prepared for war in order to maintain peace,” said Mrs Fabian.
Following the war, Mr Bell qualified as a chartered surveyor and served for many years as a government district valuer, eventually setting up his own firm.
A long-term resident of Tunbridge Wells, Mr Bell is a widower, with two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He is still involved in charity fundraising, and ticket donations from his talk raised £300 for Hospice in the Weald.
