WAR GRAVE
THOMAS HOLLAS HARDISTY (grave 11)
SERGEANT
49 SQUADRON
ABOUT MY LIFE
Born: 1920
Died: 8th December 1941
I was the son of Fred and Lillie Hardisty from Handsworth in Sheffield, but little else is known about my life.
MY AIRCRAFT
On the day of the accident, I was flying a Handley Page Hampden AE227 of 49 Squadron. 49 Squadron had been the first RAF unit to receive the Hampden.
The Hampden was a medium bomber with a crew of 4. Pilot, Navigator, Wireless Operator/gunner and a further gunner. Although it was a vast improvement on the biplanes 49 Squadron had been flying just before the war opened, in reality it was already obsolete. Early daylight raids had been a disaster, the bomber was too slow to evade German fighters and its guns were no match for the Germans either. The distinctive fuselage, designed to give the aircraft a sleek, aerodynamic profile, led to the Hampden earning its nickname of “The Flying suitcase”.
Crew: 4
Span: 21.09 m
Length: 16.32 m
Height: 4.37 m
Wing area: 63.90 m²
Empty weight: 5,344 kg
Loaded weight: 8,508 kg
Engine: 2 x Bristol Pegasus XVIII 9-cylinder radial engines
Engine power: 980hp each
Maximum speed: 410 km/h
Rate of climb: 5.00 m/s
Range normal: 1,095 km
4 or 6 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine guns (1 flexible, 1 nose, 1 or 2 dorsal, 1 or 2 ventral)
1,814kg of bombs/mines or 1 x 18in torpedo
Hampden Cockpit.
MY ROLE
I was the Wireless Operator and Gunner.
Bombing up a Hampden of 49 Sqn at RAF Scampton.
MY SQUADRON
Motto: Cave Canem
Beware of the Dog
49 Squadron was formed at Dover on 15 April 1916 under the command of Major A S Barratt MC and spent its first 18 months as an aircrew training unit equipped with BE2Cs and RE7s. Other documents record that the squadron also trained using Martinsydes. In November 1917 the squadron was re equipped with DH4s and moved to La Bellevue aerodrome in France. Here the squadron was employed in the day bomber role as part of
the 3rd (Army) Wing. Its first raid was made on 26 November 1917. Following the end of hostilities, the squadron was disbanded on 18 July 1919. According to its records 49 Squadron destroyed 56 enemy aircraft drove down another 63 out of control, dropped a total of 120 tons of bombs and operated from 10 airfields in France during the 1914-18 War.
On 10 February 1936, 49 Squadron re-formed at Bircham Newton from a nucleus provided by ‘C’ Flight of No 18 Squadron. It was equipped with Hawker Hind light bombers and initially commanded by Flt Lt J C Cunningham. It moved to Worthy Down in August 1936 where its official badge, depicting a racing greyhound surmounting the motto ‘Cave Canem’ (Beware of the Dog), was presented on 14 June 1937. At first the badge seems inappropriate for a bomber squadron but it is in fact indicative of the performance of the Hawker Hind when compared with its contemporaries. A move to Scampton in March 1938 was followed by conversion to the Handley Page Hampden, the first unit to be equipped with the type.
During the opening months of World War 2 the squadron was employed mainly on reconnaissance, mine laying and leaflet dropping. On 11 May 1940 bombing attacks on Germany began, the oil refineries at Munchen Gladbach being attacked. On 12 August a most successful low level attack on the Dortmund Ems canal was pressed home by Hampdens of 49 Squadron despite fierce opposition. Flt Lt R A B Learoyd received the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the attack, the first awarded in Bomber Command.
The squadron began to re equip with Manchester aircraft in April 1942; however, these aircraft were not in use for long and by July 1942 were replaced by Lancasters which, with their greater range and striking power, extended the scope of the squadron’s operations.
The Squadron stood down from 1-15 January 1943 during which time a move was made to Fiskerton. Operations resumed on 16 January when the squadron attacked Berlin the first of many such visits. For the remainder of the war the squadron continued as a front line bomber squadron and took part in most major operations by Bomber Command including, in August 1943, the vital attack on the rocket research establishment at Peenemunde when the squadron lost four of the twelve Lancasters despatched.
After moving to Fulbeck on 16 October 1944, then Syerston on 22 April 1945, the squadron made its last attack on 25 April when Berchtesgaden was the target. In May the squadron took part in Operation ‘EXODUS’ ferrying ex -prisoners of war back to the UK.
Honours and awards gained by members of 49 Squadron during the Second World War include 1 Victoria Cross, 1 Empire Gallantry Medal (later the George Cross), 7 Distinguished Service Orders, 131 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Conspicuous Gallantry Medals and 105 Distinguished Flying Medals.
Following World War Two, the squadron flew Avro Lincolns and later the Vickers Valliant, the first of the V-bombers. It was in this aircraft that they would take part in the tests of Britain’s first nuclear weapons. From November 1959 the squadron reverted to the normal medium bomber role. It moved to Marham on 26 June 1961. On 5 June 1964 Her Royal Highness Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, presented 49 Squadron with its standard, which was awarded in April.
49 Squadron was disbanded at RAF Marham on 1 May 1965, when all Valiant aircraft were withdrawn from service.
THE ACCIDENT
This was the day that American President Roosevelt declared war on Japan. The day before, the Imperial Japanese Navy had launched their infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite these historic events, it was just a day of routine training for me.
My pilot, Pilot Officer Andrews, was practicing formation flying and whilst changing formation, he had to turn suddenly to avoid another aircraft. In doing so, the aircraft entered a condition known as stabilised yaw. This was a well-known flaw in the Hampden’s design and caused the aircraft to stall and lose height rapidly. Although the pilot subsequently stated that he never feared for the safety of the aircraft, he was only able to recover it to normal flight at 100 feet.
It is possible that during this manoeuvre, I feared that the aircraft was about to crash and I attempted to bail out. The aircraft was far too low for my parachute to work and my body was found in Sudbrooke by Welton Police.
ON THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR TWO – 8TH DECEMBER 1941
Following the Japanese attack the Americans at Pearl Harbor America declares war on Japan.
Hitler admits to his generals that the Eastern Blitzkrieg has failed.