Memorial to a great RAF 'character'

The tiny and ancient Church of St Andrew sits in a field just a few yards from the runway of long-abandoned RAF Little Snoring, home of 23 and 515 Mosquito Intruder Squadrons.

Bertie Rex O'Brien 'Sammy' Hoare DSO*DFC* was one of the truly great RAF 'characters' of WWII ( complete with glass eye and 6" handlebar moustache ) and is acknowledged as one of the finest Mosquito Intruder pilots.

He was lost over the Pacific in a post-war accident flying - appropriately - a Mosquito.

Tucked in a corner of the churchyard is this gravestone which is also the only memorial to 'Sammy' in the UK.

I was glad to find it.

 

Martin can you give a bit of bio on this intruder pilot ??

thanks

be back later gents

 

Yes, I would be interested to read more about this pilot too, as I'm in Singapore and just noticed that he is buried here at the Kranji War Cemetery?

 

Hello eHangar and a very warm welcome here !

I'm not sure if 'Sammy' Hoare is buried at Kranji, or just commemorated as 'missing'.

It's a real shame that no biography of this man exists. He lost an eye early in his flying career when a duck flew through his windscreen. After this, he had one brown eye, one blue - no-one seemed to know which was the glass one.... He was red-haired, with the famous handlebar moustache - he reckoned that if both ends couldn't be seen from behind, it wasn't worth the name 'handlebar'.

He was an early exponent of intruding, flying Blenheims and then Havocs over the Low Countries. In July 1942, 23 Squadron converted to Mossie NFIIs and his successses mounted quickly. When 23 went to Malta in early 1943, 'Sammy' set up a specialized Intruder training school at Cranfield before posting to 605 Squadron as CO, again on Mossies.

Then came his period as Station CO at Little Snoring, continuing to fly and score victories which are recorded on the scoreboards preserved in St Andrews Church. His briefings to crews are fondly remembered ; one well-known and typical example finished :

'Gentlemen, there will be flak ; almost certainly quite heavy flak. If you cannot go over, you will go under. If you cannot go under - you will go through !'.

There are various accounts of his demise over the Pacific post-war.

I'd like to know more about him.

 

Thank you, Martin

You seem to know quite a bit about him already. He does sound like a most colourful character, and I would love to learn more about him too. As for the moustache, I would love to also see a photo of him if available!

 

Here's some more info about 'Sammy' Hoare : -

He entered the RAF on a short-service commission in 1936, having been educated at Harrow and Wye Agricultural College. His official night-intruder tally was 9 destroyed, 4 probable, 8 damaged and 1 probable on ground - although his actual score is believed to be higher.

He remained in the RAF post-war, joining 84 Squadron. On 26th March 1947 he was reported missing whilst ferrying a Mosquito to Australia. Mystery surrounds this incident ; Christopher Shores in 'Aces High' states that the Mosquito crash-landed on a remote island, the crew perishing of thirst before they could be found - whereas other sources state that the aircraft crashed into the sea.

Here's 'Sammy' as I imagine he might like to be remembered - the centre of attention, holding the silver model of a Mosquito which had just been presented to celebrate 605 Squadron's '100th Hun' at a party at the Dorchester Hotel, London in April 1944.

No. 100 was scored - of course - by 'Sammy' Hoare.

 

Great story, Martin.
I sense an impending 'Biography by M. Bull'... ...and I'd like to pre-order mine now, please!

 

Thanks for the research Martin

What strikes me about the picture is how old they all look to be combat pilots, except for the man in the rear of the photo. I guess flying night missions puts some wear and tear on the body.

 

The fellow on the left, and the chaps in the background, are most likely combat pilots. The two officers on the right are certainly 'Top Brass' - HQ types.

RAF pilots did tend to look older in the 1940s due to the hairstyles and the moustaches. And operational strain certainly aged people.

( It doesn't usually take me this long to answer - I was searching for something else and found this old thread ! )

 

Great thread Martin.

What an amazing character.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Owen

 

Love the moustache style, definitely....

 

This is an interesting story. Thank you for telling this Martin. I must say the moustache is "so British" got to love it!

 

I'm searching for any information on my grandfather, his name was flt lt griffith Rogers and he was a navigator in RAF 23 squadron. He was killed in 1944 and is buried in Hanover. He died when my mother was just 6 years old. I would really love to find some information or pictures of him for her...and for me.

 

Thank you for joining the forum, Ms Rogers and thank you also for your request.

Finding information about an individual can be a frustrating but also rewarding experience, as it's often a 'jig-saw' of fragments from many sources.

Your Grandfather was lost in Mosquito FB.VI PZ177, 'YP-A' of 23 Squadron, 100 Group, Bomber Command. Piloted by Flying Officer K Eastwood, the Mosquito took off from Little Snoring at 20:42 hours on the night of 18th September 1944 on a 'Bomber Support' mission ( the target for Main Force on that night being Bremerhaven ).

At 23:30 hrs, their aircraft crashed on the Reich Autobahn, some 6km SW of Gutersloh. Both men were buried together in Hannover War Cemetery.

It is believed that the Mosquito fell prey to the guns of Lt Kurt Welter, flying a Bf109G-6 of 10./JG300 at a height of 8,000 metres. Welter had a reputation as one of the Luftwaffe's leading 'Mosquito hunters', claiming seven in that month alone. In October he was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.

The above information has been gleaned from 'RAF Bomber Command Losses 1944' by W R Chorley, 'The Nachtjagd War Diaries Vol II' by Boiten & Mackenzie, and 'Jagdgeschwader 300 Wilde Sau Vol. II' by Lorant & Goyat.

A book I'd highly recommend is 'Confounding The Reich' by Bowman & Cushing ( PSL 1996 ). Although not referring directly to your Grandfather, it gives a superb account of the Little Snoring Squadrons with some excellent period snapshots which give a good impression of how life was with the 'Little Snoring Intruders'. Later impressions of this title exclude most of the best photos.

 

Thank you very much for all the imformation, it is a very rewarding experience, I have found his memorial at the Hanover war cemetary and also found some film footage of 23 squadron in Italy 1944. I will defiantley read that book. Thanks again for your help.

 

Internet Archive: Details: 23 Squadron, Italy 1944

 

Without wishing to hijack thread, there were a great many Brit eccentrics with moustaches and such in ww2

Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart being one such example,of Norwegian fame and lots of other escapades.

 

Message for miss rogers-email me and i think i have a picture of griff-I met one of the pilots last year who was the best friend of ken eastwood, the story is a sad one but i can tell you what i know, and send you the picture.
Little snoring I can tell you a lot about.
I will ask my friend if he would mind being in contact, but you must hear the story first.
My father was flt lt Tom smith, shot down four months later.
you should be able to contact me by email.
best wishes for the new year.

 

that would be amazing, i would love to hear the story and see the picture. what is your email address?