It is very much the human story behind the battle which resulted in the loss of fifty seven RAF airmen, half their bombers and two Luftwaffe pilots during the first named RAF Battle of WW2. The battle, just eight days before Christmas, in broad daylight, lasted around thirty-three minutes.The 85th Anniversary will be marked by a Memorial Service at the International Bomber Command Centre (IBBC) which will include the unveiling of a Memorial Stone on the Ribbon of Remembrance.

 

I have been working closely with Jack Waterfall (Heligoland39 Project Leader) as we’ve travelled to various institutions and locations to connect with people involved with the project.

 

Over the last four months my knowledge has deepened and I have given more thought to how challenging subject matter can be explored with children and young people. I was delighted to present two copies of Daylight to Darkness to Dr Derwin Gregory at Bishop Grosseteste University. Dr Gregory, who leads the BA (Hons) Military History course, confirmed that a reference copy will be linked to two modules on the degree course, the first year module on ‘Ethics of War’ and the third year module on 'The Air War.’ He said, 'It is important for those studying military history to understand it is more than learning about weapons and battles but there are people behind what is being studied and statistics have a face.’ A second copy is available for loan.

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My passion is championing education and I am thrilled  to be working with St Peter at Gowts Church of England Primary School to explore how the human story can be used to enrich the primary curriculum through local stories.

 

Emily Mayer, Headteacher at St Peter at Gowts Church of England Primary School, Lincoln, embraced joining the project saying,

‘At St Peter at Gowts we are extremely passionate about enhancing our curriculum offer through local heritage. After discussions regarding the Heligoland39 Project, we knew this would be a fabulous opportunity for our children to gain first hand local knowledge. The passion and enthusiasm of Trish and her colleagues has been infectious, and we have consequently built this project, along with the concept of remembrance, recognition, and reconciliation, into our Y6 curriculum. We are very excited for the future events linked to this project and highly value the learning that our children will gain through understanding the past.’

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The research undertaken by Doug Aylward, Caroline Kesseler and Jack Waterfall is an incredible achievement and example of how the human story behind a significant event can be told and as such makes Daylight to Darkness a comprehensive record of the human story behind the battle.There are a number of crews whose homeward journey was aborted through an emergency landing or ditching in North Lincs. and Lincolnshire, and each has a story to discover.

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If you are interested in finding out more about The Heligoland39 Project or where copies of Daylight to Darkness are lodged for access in our region, please get in touch or visit our website.

 

Patricia Ruff Education Champion (volunteer) patriciaruff@icloud.com 

See website: heligoland39.org and Facebook page: Heligoland39 Project to follow the news blog.

For the digital archive email ibccarchive@lincoln.ac.uk

 

The H39 design below is our representation of reconciliation: a three petal poppy, with two Forget-Me-Nots to represent the two German fighter pilots who perished on 18 December 1939. The Forget-Me-Not is the German symbol of remembrance.