Don Taylor, No. 485 (NZ) Squadron Spitfire pilot, remembered
May 31, 2018 15:26:34 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 31, 2018 15:26:34 GMT 12
Netherlands town honours Cambridge pilot Donald Taylor 63 years after fatal crash
MIKE BAIN
Last updated 13:01, May 31 2018
This plaque to honour Flying Officer Donald Taylor is on the wall of the address of the house where he crashed in Europe, in 1945.
A piece of a glass from the cockpit of Donald Taylor's Spitfire is all that's left of the crash which took his life, and three others, during World War II.
People living in The Netherlands town of Haren, where RNZAF Flying Officer Donald Graeme Lane Taylor died, would not have met the Cambridge man all those years ago.
But some of the town's older citizens still remembered the night his plane crashed and recently they honoured Taylor's memory, joining a Kiwi relative of the pilot to unveil a plaque there.
A photo taken during World War II showing the rail yards which were the focus of Donald Taylor's squadron attack and the water tower which his Spitfire clipped.
Taylor grew up in Cambridge around Vogel Street and attended Cambridge Primary School and Cambridge District High School.
He enlisted for service in 1942.
Rae and Colin Holmes stand behind the headstone of Colin's uncle, Donald Taylor.
He was a popular and well-known man about town before he set off for war. He was keen on rugby, tennis, swimming and shooting.
At the official farewell from Cambridge, at the Patriotic Committee Dance, Taylor made a farewell speech on behalf of 26 men who were leaving for active service.
It was in February, 1945, that 21-year-old Taylor was flying a reconnaissance night-time mission over Groningen-Zwolle, in the Netherlands.
Donald Lane, a cul-de-sac off Vogel Street in Cambridge was named in memory of Donald Taylor.
At Onnen, 6km southeast of Groningen, the squadron strafed a small marshalling yard which had a locomotive repair workshop adjacent.
The Spitfires attacked a departing train, pulled up, turned and came in for another pass.
It was during this manouevre Taylor took his plane low, one of its wings clipped a water tower as it passed, causing it to crash.
RNZAF Flying Officer Donald Taylor left Cambridge as a 21 year old and never returned.
In May, a plaque was unveiled by Taylor's nephew Colin Holmes, as a memorial to the Kiwi pilot.
The journey from Taylor's death, to the unveiling of the plaque, had taken 63 years.
Dutch researcher Dirk Munk worked on updating the details of Taylor's death, which prompted him to search for relatives of the pilot.
His journey led him to the Cambridge Museum where he found a family photo of Taylor among its records.
Munk then contacted a now 69-year-old Colin Holmes living at Mount Maunganui.
Holmes said he was surprised as since childhood wondered what happened to his mother's brother, who didn't return from the war.
"Once contacted I had to find out more and we started a year-long chain of correspondence," Holmes said.
Holmes indicated he would like to visit the grave of his uncle.
He had an opportunity when he was in Europe and made arrangements.
"It was very emotional for me. I unveiled a plaque in remembrance of my uncle on the wall of the address where he had crashed.
"I spent some time speaking with four men who were in their teens in 1945, who watched the plane clip the water tower, eventually smashing through a row of trees and crashing into a house killing three railway workers.
"I heard how locals tried to save my uncle from the burning wreck, but it was too late, they said."
One of them, Peter Vos, recovered some plexiglass from the cockpit.
"At the remembrance, Peter came up to me and gave me a piece of the glass he still had for a memento," Holmes said.
"It was special to be able to speak to people who were there on that day and see with my own eyes.
"It is unbelievable how many memories people still have of that day.
"The fact people from all over the world were prepared to rise to the challenge the war presented and give their lives for people they had never met, will always be remembered."
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/national/103723978/netherlands-town-honours-cambridge-pilot-donald-taylor-63-years-after-fatal-crash
MIKE BAIN
Last updated 13:01, May 31 2018
This plaque to honour Flying Officer Donald Taylor is on the wall of the address of the house where he crashed in Europe, in 1945.
A piece of a glass from the cockpit of Donald Taylor's Spitfire is all that's left of the crash which took his life, and three others, during World War II.
People living in The Netherlands town of Haren, where RNZAF Flying Officer Donald Graeme Lane Taylor died, would not have met the Cambridge man all those years ago.
But some of the town's older citizens still remembered the night his plane crashed and recently they honoured Taylor's memory, joining a Kiwi relative of the pilot to unveil a plaque there.
A photo taken during World War II showing the rail yards which were the focus of Donald Taylor's squadron attack and the water tower which his Spitfire clipped.
Taylor grew up in Cambridge around Vogel Street and attended Cambridge Primary School and Cambridge District High School.
He enlisted for service in 1942.
Rae and Colin Holmes stand behind the headstone of Colin's uncle, Donald Taylor.
He was a popular and well-known man about town before he set off for war. He was keen on rugby, tennis, swimming and shooting.
At the official farewell from Cambridge, at the Patriotic Committee Dance, Taylor made a farewell speech on behalf of 26 men who were leaving for active service.
It was in February, 1945, that 21-year-old Taylor was flying a reconnaissance night-time mission over Groningen-Zwolle, in the Netherlands.
Donald Lane, a cul-de-sac off Vogel Street in Cambridge was named in memory of Donald Taylor.
At Onnen, 6km southeast of Groningen, the squadron strafed a small marshalling yard which had a locomotive repair workshop adjacent.
The Spitfires attacked a departing train, pulled up, turned and came in for another pass.
It was during this manouevre Taylor took his plane low, one of its wings clipped a water tower as it passed, causing it to crash.
RNZAF Flying Officer Donald Taylor left Cambridge as a 21 year old and never returned.
In May, a plaque was unveiled by Taylor's nephew Colin Holmes, as a memorial to the Kiwi pilot.
The journey from Taylor's death, to the unveiling of the plaque, had taken 63 years.
Dutch researcher Dirk Munk worked on updating the details of Taylor's death, which prompted him to search for relatives of the pilot.
His journey led him to the Cambridge Museum where he found a family photo of Taylor among its records.
Munk then contacted a now 69-year-old Colin Holmes living at Mount Maunganui.
Holmes said he was surprised as since childhood wondered what happened to his mother's brother, who didn't return from the war.
"Once contacted I had to find out more and we started a year-long chain of correspondence," Holmes said.
Holmes indicated he would like to visit the grave of his uncle.
He had an opportunity when he was in Europe and made arrangements.
"It was very emotional for me. I unveiled a plaque in remembrance of my uncle on the wall of the address where he had crashed.
"I spent some time speaking with four men who were in their teens in 1945, who watched the plane clip the water tower, eventually smashing through a row of trees and crashing into a house killing three railway workers.
"I heard how locals tried to save my uncle from the burning wreck, but it was too late, they said."
One of them, Peter Vos, recovered some plexiglass from the cockpit.
"At the remembrance, Peter came up to me and gave me a piece of the glass he still had for a memento," Holmes said.
"It was special to be able to speak to people who were there on that day and see with my own eyes.
"It is unbelievable how many memories people still have of that day.
"The fact people from all over the world were prepared to rise to the challenge the war presented and give their lives for people they had never met, will always be remembered."
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/national/103723978/netherlands-town-honours-cambridge-pilot-donald-taylor-63-years-after-fatal-crash
