Apr 09 - 70th Anniversary of Bomber Crash Landing in Gibraltar
Yesterday marked the 70th anniversary of the RAF Wellington Bomber HF 394 (X) crash landing ion the Gibraltar runway, with a crew of five from 179 Squadron RAF. Sgt Charles Bradburn was part of the crew who survived the crash landing and went on to record the incident in his Airmans Log Book.
His son Malcolm remembers his fathers’ war stories but he was unaware of the log book until Charles passed away in 1996 aged 78. Malcolm said.
‘We knew he crash landed in Gibraltar, but he never showed us his log book while he was alive; so when we found his log book all the details suddenly came to life’
‘Once I had the log book in my possession it became an important thing for me to want to commemorate and remember him, I decided I wanted to be in Gibraltar at the exact date and time on the 70th Anniversary.’
RAF Station Commander Wing Commander Greg ‘Vasco’ Smith gave Malcolm and his daughter Karen a tour of RAF Gibraltar and shared some old photos from the same time, Malcolm said, ‘I can’t thank Greg enough for allowing us to come onto the airfield today; it has been a wonderful and emotional journey.’
