September 28, 2024

Colin Bell DFC AE  

By RANDOLPH CHURCHILL
 
September 15th marked the eighty-fourth anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Colin Bell remembers it well. Born in 1921, he joined the Royal Air Force in 1940. Today he is 103, one of the last of the last of the indomitable generation of RAF airmen. During the war, Colin flew fifty missions over Germany in his de Havilland Mosquito as one of the “Pathfinders” of No. 608 Squadron. This past summer he took to the skies again by flying to Normandy—in the cockpit.

I first met Colin at the RAF Club three years ago when he was “only” 100. Bubbling with energy, Colin had the sparkle in his eyes of one still seeking new adventures. Last year, I joined him on the first leg of a series of walks that he made starting from Churchill College, Cambridge and ending at his old air base at RAF Downham Market. This he did sans wheelchair, walker, or cane while chatting and regaling us with stories the entire way.

Shortly afterwards he abseiled (unsupported) seventeen stories down the Royal London Hospital. In doing so, he set a new world record for the oldest person ever to abseil. All this sort of thing Colin does to raise funds for his chosen charities and to honour and commemorate all those whose lives were cut short in pursuit of liberty peace and freedom during the Second World War.

For his next fundraiser, Colin wanted to do an unaided parachute jump. This time, however, those closest to him politely said Non! As a bit of fun, we arranged instead that he and I should fly together to Normandy. Rather, Colin would fly, and I would be one of his passengers. We met at the Heritage Hangar at Biggin Hill and were greeted by Peter Monk who, with his team of fellow experts, lovingly restores and maintains many Spitfires, Hurricanes, and Mustangs. Of special interest to Colin was a Harvard, an American plane Colin flew in America as an instructor to pilot cadets of the US Army Air Corps in 1943.

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Colin and I flew with his friend and “wingman” Mark Vickers. Mark is a former Territorial Army soldier serving with the Westminster Dragoons. During the war, the “WDs“ were the first British tanks ashore on Gold Beach, with their flail tanks clearing a path through the minefields on the beaches for the invasion force behind. Our pilot was a good friend of mine and an experienced aviator, Andrew Trotter.

Departing from Biggin Hill, Colin nimbly climbed onto the wing and then over it into the cockpit of the single engine Piper PA 32. We took off, once the mist had lifted, bound for the airfield at Caen. Technically, Colin served as our co-pilot, but Andrew was ready to give him as much control as possible. The freedom of the flight meant we could fly low over Sword, Juno, and Gold Beaches and even tilt our wings in salute at the Normandy Memorial. After we landed, the French Douane could not at first believe seeing a 103-year-old man make his way out of the pilot seat but then gave Colin a very warm welcome to Normandy.

After arriving at the Memorial, Colin did interviews for French television and laid a wreath. All this after getting up that morning at half past five! Importantly, we were particularly privileged to spend time with Nicholas Witchell, founding trustee and the driving force behind the Normandy Memorial Trust. Nicholas had watched us fly over the Memorial and shared with us how in 2015 the late George Batts, a D-Day Veteran, had approached him seeking help to make good the fact that Britain—alone among the principal wartime Allies—did not have its own National Memorial in Normandy recording the names of all those in British units who had lost their lives on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy. Nine years later, on D-Day this year, the British Normandy Memorial was the setting for the British National Commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in a moving ceremony in the presence of King Charles III. It is a fitting, impressive, and deeply poignant memorial to the more than 22,000 service personnel in British units who made the ultimate sacrifice in Normandy.

Also deeply moving and poignant are the “Standing with Giants” silhouette structures installed on the wildflower meadow between the new memorial and Gold Beach. The installation of the 1,475 giant silhouettes represents the number of those in British units (of many different nationalities) who died on D-Day itself. The silhouettes are the work of Dan and Janette Barton, and we were privileged to meet Dan at the Memorial to speak with him about their longstanding involvement in the project.

Also on the Memorial site is the Winston Churchill Education Centre which, as King Charles himself highlighted, carries forward for the benefit of younger generations and those yet unborn the vital message of courage and resilience of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of peace and freedom.

That message is embodied in the Centre’s two exhibition galleries with material provided by the Royal British Legion and an education room for the use of school parties. Vital to it all is the ability to catch the public’s imagination and to that end the Trust is working to raise the funding to ensure the giant silhouettes return to the memorial in the spring and summer of next year when Europe will mark the 80th anniversary of V-E Day.

After paying our respects to the fallen, we motored in heavy rain from Caen to Cherbourg to spend time with Madame Danielle Pol-Roger at her delightful property near Tocqueville. Madame Pol-Roger was such a generous warm-hearted and engaging host and we had the most exquisite time in her company. Colin was enraptured and remarked: “Madame Pol-Roger’s generosity and warm-hearted affection personifies the special bond that continues today between the communities of Normandy and the generations from the Allied nations carrying the memories of our wartime heritage. It is especially precious and I am greatly humbled by it.”

At dinner that evening, in tribute to Colin, Madame Pol-Roger served a bottle of the 1921 vintage—the year of Colin’s birth. It was remarkably fresh and elegant—just like Colin.

At his final cabinet meeting in 1955, my great-grandfather Sir Winston Churchill said, “Man is Spirit.” Undoubtedly, he would have been thrilled by Colin’s remarkable spirit and his record of service to the nation stretching back eighty-five years. Certainly, both of us are ready for our next adventure together.

If you would like to support the work of the Normandy Memorial Trust by making a donation, please CLICK HERE or contact: The Secretary, Normandy Memorial Trust, 56 Warwick Square, London SW1V 2AJ. I know that any amount you are able to give will be massively appreciated.

Randolph Churchill is President of the International Churchill Society.