In searching for information on FO James Thomson I found that someone had already done the job, and done it as well as or better than I could. Here is the story on a very informative site. It also contains photos of the remains of the Wellington bomber in which James and his crew died and details of their last flight.
There is, however, something to add to James' story, from the Official History of 75 (NZ) Squadron, RAF. This is the account of the Second Pilot of the Wellington in which James won his DFC. Sergeant Allen, seeing the flames from a night-fighter attack, went back through the fuselage to help:
"Suddenly I found myself half out of the aircraft. I had slipped through the mid under-hatch, for the cover had been blown out by blast. I hadn’t got on my parachute, and for a few moments, which seemed like years, I clung on, half in and half out the aircraft, which was in a screaming dive to escape from the fighter. Frankly, I don’t remember how I got back. I just clawed at everything and finally got inside again."
James completed 31 missions with 75 Squadron and was posted as an instructer to No. 20 OTU (Operational Training Unit) in Scotland in July, 1941. He was almost at the end of his stint as instructor when he crashed. He is buried in Dyce Old Churchyard, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
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| Oamaru Old Cemetery. |
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