Terry Who? You might ask.
I read an obituary in The Times this morning that I found so inspiring that I had to share it with the congregation.
In an age of false heroes who can kick a ball into a net, bungling bankers who can't do basic arithmetic but get multi-quazillion pound bonusses, and pseudo 'celebrities' who sit around on Big Brother calling people poppadum and get a million for it, there's a real hero in The Times obituaries today;
Terry Spencer DFC
A few choice excerpts;
‘Spencer downed a record of eight V1s and developed a technique of nudging the bombs with his wingtip, toppling the V1 gyro and causing it to crash. As the first man to topple a doodlebug, he earned the name “Tip it in Terry” in the British press.’
‘In February 1945 he was shot down while attacking ground targets near Munster. He baled out and landed in a field beside some French slave workers but was soon surrounded by German soldiers. He was taken to a German interrogation centre, but escaped soon afterwards during an Allied bombing raid. Spencer and a New Zealander commandeered a motor bicycle, stole some petrol and reached the American lines. He rejoined his unit, by then in Holland, to be greeted by his CO and fighter ace Group Captain Johnny Johnson, who exclaimed: “Terry, where the bloody hell have you been the last five weeks?”
‘Sent to Nigeria to do a story on the Sultan of Kano, Spencer received a cable asking whether he could photograph the Sultan in his harem. He replied: “ONLY WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER CAN ENTER HAREM OR POSSIBLY EUNUCH STOP NOT EVEN FOR LIFE MAGAZINE AM EYE PREPARED MAKE SACRIFICE NECESSARY FOR LATTER”.’
This man is a true hero, and, to boot, the personification of 'cool'.
If any of us can achieve one iota of what he's done in his life we can be bloody proud of ourselves.
I read an obituary in The Times this morning that I found so inspiring that I had to share it with the congregation.
In an age of false heroes who can kick a ball into a net, bungling bankers who can't do basic arithmetic but get multi-quazillion pound bonusses, and pseudo 'celebrities' who sit around on Big Brother calling people poppadum and get a million for it, there's a real hero in The Times obituaries today;
Terry Spencer DFC
A few choice excerpts;
‘Spencer downed a record of eight V1s and developed a technique of nudging the bombs with his wingtip, toppling the V1 gyro and causing it to crash. As the first man to topple a doodlebug, he earned the name “Tip it in Terry” in the British press.’
‘In February 1945 he was shot down while attacking ground targets near Munster. He baled out and landed in a field beside some French slave workers but was soon surrounded by German soldiers. He was taken to a German interrogation centre, but escaped soon afterwards during an Allied bombing raid. Spencer and a New Zealander commandeered a motor bicycle, stole some petrol and reached the American lines. He rejoined his unit, by then in Holland, to be greeted by his CO and fighter ace Group Captain Johnny Johnson, who exclaimed: “Terry, where the bloody hell have you been the last five weeks?”
‘Sent to Nigeria to do a story on the Sultan of Kano, Spencer received a cable asking whether he could photograph the Sultan in his harem. He replied: “ONLY WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER CAN ENTER HAREM OR POSSIBLY EUNUCH STOP NOT EVEN FOR LIFE MAGAZINE AM EYE PREPARED MAKE SACRIFICE NECESSARY FOR LATTER”.’
This man is a true hero, and, to boot, the personification of 'cool'.
If any of us can achieve one iota of what he's done in his life we can be bloody proud of ourselves.
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