Remembrance Sunday this year will be on 8 November, the nearest to Armistice Day on Wednesday 11.
We will remember with gratitude those who risked and lost their lives so that we may live in a democratic and a free society. This year I will particularly remember those very brave men who saved many lives by literally acting as decoys.
I learnt this from a marvellous article in September’s ‘The Yorkshire Dalesman’ written by Catherine Louise Turner.
There was a retired Colonel John Turner (I don’t know if he was related) who realised that enemy pilots relied on visual recognition of their targets. He devised a plan to trick them by making them believe that there was a city on top of the deserted North Yorkshire Moors. This was done by having lights suddenly being visible as though a blackout curtain had been disturbed or someone had shone a torch to light the way, or a car headlight had shone.
These bogus lights were turned on by soldiers in highly reinforced concrete bunkers who operated the lights by using long cables. But even so, even if the cable were two or three hundred metres away it was hardly enough distance to escape being caught in a bomb blast, as a direct hit on the bunker would kill them.
And the deception worked. Thousands of tons of explosives were dropped on the Moors saving cities like Middlesbrough and even further away cities like Leeds and Bradford.
Another successful deception happened here on the outskirts of Leeds. My Dad was a skilled engineer and worked at AV Roe (Avros) which built Lancaster bombers. He told me that the flat roofed factory was disguised as a hill. The walls had additional sloping bogus ones. The roof and new sloping sides were grassed over (I’m not sure whether real grass or artificial grass). A pond was created on the top and a papier mache cow was grazing there.
Buses, which brought the workers to Avros, had to park in a nearby wood because a few parked busses outside would have been a real giveaway that there was a big workplace there.
My Dad told me that he was working late one night and was leaving around midnight.
He boarded the just one bus left and it set off down the Aire Valley. Up above there was a German reconnaissance plane following the bus all the way into Leeds. He was glad when he got off the bus before then in Kirkstall.
Many of the war memorial ceremonies will be followed by parades of military veterans, many wearing medals. Those poor souls who so bravely distracted enemy planes over the North Yorkshire Moors, were not given any medals. Furthermore, they had to sign the Official Secrets Act which lasted for 30 years. They could not talk about what they were doing or had done even to their own families.
Personally, I think it a disgrace that they have not been widely recognised for not only putting their lives at risk, but also in so doing saved many of us.
This post was written by Hon Alderwoman Elizabeth Nash
Photo: The Cross of Sacrifice in Hunslet Cemetery. Credit: Jeremy Morton
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Acts of Remembrance
The following Acts of Remembrance will take place at War Memorials in South Leeds on Remembrance Sunday 8 November:
10:45am Holbeck Cemetery, Fairfax Road, LS11 8SY
A Remembrance service led by St Luke’s Church. People of all faiths and none are welcome.
12:30pm Hunslet Spire, Church Street, LS10 2QY
1pm Stourton War Memorial Wakefield Road/Pontefract Road LS10 1DY
1:30pm Hunslet Cemetery War Memorial, Middleton Road, LS10 3BN
2pm Hunslet Carr Wheel, Balm Road/Moor Road, LS10 2DH
Followed by refreshments at the nearby Woodhouse Hill Community Centre on Woodhouse Hill Road LS10 2DN
And on Remembrance Day, Wednesday 11 November:
10:45am Aspen Hill Village Care Home , Copper Hill, LS10 2AY
Remembrance Day Service for residents and staff.
10:55am St Peter’s Court, Dewsbury Road, Beeston, LS11 5NR
Act of Remembrance by War Memorial
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