Impression of 'Flying Blind from the Hun' by Jamie
When the Flanders fight was at its
height,
The use of aircraft played an
importance
In reconnaissance of the ground
enemy.
In undertaking orders two flyers
took
To the air - the pilot in rank of
sergeant
Was to fly the craft, along with a
lieutenant
To act as the observer, for their mission.
The order was to locate an enemy
battery -
A cleverly hidden German gun whose
fire
Had been proving a nuisance to
allies.
Within a few short miles they flew
above
German lines - their presence
attracted
A perfect storm - as shellfire shook
The air, the pilot banked higher
towards
Their target village - the observer
gave
Exclamation of spotting 'the devils'
-
In advising their mission was
completed,
The Lieutenant gave the sergeant
orders
To turn about - under a sergeant's
hands
The craft manoeuvred - turned again
into
A rain of gunfire, pummelling all
about
Them. Within 500 air yards the blast
Of smoke smothered their course.
In the density that cut down his
visibility
He gripped the control to take them
Above the popping - one accurate hit
Burst above their heads with a
deadly
Crash - the sergeant said how he
felt
Like his head had burst, to envelope
Him in sickness, as a of fog shut
out
All of the light - against the pain
He used his sense to maintain a
height
To dodge the shells that were less and
Less - but still the fog hung all
about.
The sergeant called to the
Lieutenant
Asking if he was okay - yet no reply
Came - calling again, as he may not
Have heard, the sergeant clenched
And opened his eyes on instant
night.
At 6000 feet above ground, he felt
Alone and fear closed on him - below
Sounds of the guns popped and spat -
And in prayer he offered up his soul
Then his mission - to return and tell
Those on the ground, of what they
Had found - in darkness he directed
What he felt to be the right
direction.
Despite a lack of light, his
determination
Kept a steady course for two minutes
In silence - when the Lieutenant's
Voice called out to him in urgency -
'Pull up pull up! In quick
reaction
The Sergeant acted, grazing what
Was a church steeple to break off
A weather vane in close destruction.
Their shouted conversation revealed
Their conditions the lieutenant said
How he was severely wounded the
Pilot confessed he was quite
blinded.
With one set of hands and one set
Of eyes, the dying Lieutenant told
Him the direction to fly, back to
their
Lines - to the left and straight
ahead.
The craft in a blind man's hands
Dipped back over the enemy lines,
Bullets prompting them to turn -
The observer, sinking in his seat,
Confirmed the place below them,
Where their men were waiting
The weakening eyes informed the
Hands to 'shut off the spark' - now
'Volplane gently down' - after which
Silence, as the sergeant directed
Them down in a blackened spiral.
Finally the wheels grated onto
Ground - the craft at rest, those
On the ground came over to look
At the 'handsome strong pilot,'
Who could not see the slumped
Body of the man who had breathed
His last - the pale sergeant turned
To them and by gesture of
resignation
He told them 'I can not do it again.'
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. War in the Air - Blinded Pilot and Dying Lieutenant. The Daily
Telegraph, [online] 8 Mar. P.10.
Col.5. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11447736/Daily-Telegraph-March-8-1915.html [Accessed: 8 March 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 8 March 2015).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11447736/Daily-Telegraph-March-8-1915.html
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
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