AT.U - Ot'. ~ 1'1 lit f tm: .lt I~'IA 1 tA THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA -THE StiNDAYTIMES OF-MALTA- APRIL 15, ~018 I -57 1 T ' 4 1t :to ?51' C' s .,. q r•rro a'·a· LIFE& WELLBEING HISTORY

Douglas Corte during the Battle of Britain. His name can be seen engraved on the Part of the Hurricane wing still showing traces of paint. microphone. PHOTO: WWW.TRIBUTE-TO-THE-FEW.CO.UK A Hawker Hurricane stationed in Malta. PHOTO: PININTEREST.COM

W/0 Gorst (sic) (229) & P/0 Pawson (601 or 603) both crashed and dead. The former at 313350 (150 yds Torri la Mar) the latter at 3930 (Hill162)". The map reference 313350, which marks the A Battle of Britain hero area of the crash and the distance from the Red Tower (Torri la Mar), both confirm that the Hurricane in the field at Qammieh was Corfe's. But who was Douglas Corfe? Corfe was a hero in the Battle of Britain. He became well known when his photo, taken in - his Spitfire cockpit, appeared in many maga­ shot down over Malta zines, newspapers and books. Corfe fought during the Battle of Britain with JEFFREY SAMMUT The British Services took away the dead A few years later, all the wreckage was were found in the soil and in the rubble 610 Squadron, which flew Spitfires. On August pilot. The farmers petitioned the British removed from the site by government walls. An interesting find was a piece of cast 14, 1940, he wrote in his combat report: government for compensation for the dev­ officials. But not everything! Her husband iron with the letters 'RA .. .', and below, the "Attacked by three Me 109s, went into a steep astation the Hurricane had wrought in Felic said that the tail wheel and the control letters 'RR' - Rolls-Royce. It was part of the right hand turn and saw one Me 109 at same Malta, April 25, 1942. The population is their fields. A few years later, the wrecked column were still there up to a few years engine casing. level. Closed to 300 yards and fired five one­ starving. Relentless bombing attacks have remains of the aircraft were removed from ago, until they were given to someone from One of the farmers mentioned that he second bursts, closing range. the island on its knees. the area. The plough continued to unearth the town of Siggiewi. knew where the Hurricane wing was. A "Flames came from eja engine and a piece Ships bringing essential supplies have to pieces of aluminium and cast iron for many Another person who was interviewed was week later, he showed me a sizeable piece flew off his starboard wing. He rolled on his face not only the wrath of the Axis alr years. These were thrown away by the farm­ Joe Borg. Despite knowing little about the of Hurricane skin. It still had some traces back and went down in flames." forces but also U-boats and Italian sub­ ers, mostly in the rubble walls. And the crash itself, he thought he knew where part of red, blue and brown paint. The next day, Corfe reported that he had marines, E-boats, minefields and the ever­ story was slowly forgotten. Only the memo­ of the Hurricane was. All this confirmed that an aircraft had "engaged an Me 109 and fired four three-second present threat of the Italian Navy. Most of ries of those who had witnessed the crash One of the farmers in the area, Guzepp crashed there. But who was the pilot who bursts at him. Tracer appeared to hit him about the supply vessels end up at the bottom of survived. Or was there something else left? Borg, was an avid hoarder. So when this died in his Hurricane in that desolate field? the rear of his fuselage and wings.'' the Mediterranean. When the farmers asked for compensa­ 'Godsend' arrived from the skies, he dis­ A look at Anthony Rogers's book Air Battle However, he did not always have it his Hunger leads to desperate measures. tion, the British government sent one of its mantled whatever he could and carried it of Malta showed that on April 25, 1942, own way. Everything is rationed. Every piece of land employees, Anthony Bartolo, to estimate all away. Most of the material he took ended there were three British aircraft shot down. On August 22, 20 Bf 109s dove out of the sun is tilled, even small patches of shallow soil the amount of damage the aircraft had up forming part of the tools he built him­ These had been flown by Flying Officer on 610 Squadron and Corfe's Spitfire was liit. in rocky areas. Every vegetable grown helps caused. He reported that: "On April 25, self. When later he emigrated to Australia, Kenneth Pawson, Flight Sergeant Lucien However, he managed to bail out safely. stave off starvation. The farmers work from 1942, one of our aircraft crashed in Tene­ he took everything with him. But not all. Brooks and Warrant Officer Douglas Corfe, . On September 18, while with 66 Squadron, he dawn till dusk, sometimes not even taking ment 224 of the first portion of lands at Hidden behind a stone wall, he left a respectively. was hit again. His Spitfire went in an uncon­ shelter during air raids. Qammieh and caused this damage: Seventy strange metal 'tube' and it was this that Pawson, who flew a Supermarine Spitfire, trolled dive. He tried to bail out but found that On April 25, the farmers at Qammieh, in feet of stone canals totally destroyed- £2- caught Borg's attention. was hit by an enemy aircraft and crashed at the cockpit door had jammed. the north of Malta, were on edge. Usually 0-0; Five qasab [lO.SOm] of dry stone walls Burmarrad. He died later that day from his Then, at a height of a few hundred feet, he was the daily enemy raids headed south, to be rebuilt- £2-10-0." injuries. A few years ago, some remains of jerked clear of his Spitfire. On landing, he suf­ towards the airfields and ports, but that day There were quite a few people who his Spitfire were located at Tal-Qadi Temple fered a severe leg injury and was admitted to the Luftwaffe chose a different target. At recalled the crash of the Hurricane. Anni and a glycol header tank was found in a Chatham Hospital. His leg injury kept him 6.40am, German bombers flew low over Vella (nee Bonanno) was at home when "On April19, 1942, nearby field. grounded for a long time. The King's Own Malta Regiment Camp at someone knocked frantically on their door There is a mystery on how Brooks met his In 1941, Corfe was sent to North Africa from Ghadira, 500 metres away from the fields to tell her mum that an aircraft had crashed Doug las Corfe flew his end. A pilot who witnessed the incident where, on April19, 1942, he flew his Hurricane of Qammieh, and bombarded it. The same and caused some damage in their fields. mentioned in his diary that Brooks was hit 720 miles to Malta to join 229 Squadron in the happened at around noon. Her father, who was on the spot when the Hurricane 720 miles by an enemy aircraft and crashed on Bajda defence of the beleaguered island. Six days late1~ The farmers kept glancing nervously at crash occurred, was unhurt and, when he Malta Ridge. But when, years late1~ the same pilot at the age of 24, he met his fate in the field the sky, expecting another attack. Then one returned that evening, he recounted how to to join 229 published a book based on the same diary, at Qammieh. of them spotted an aircraft coming from the stone irrigation canals and the rubble Squadron in the defence he changed his version and said that Douglas Corfe was one of many heroes who left the direction of the Red Tower, heading wall were gone. Brooks's Hurricane was hit by friendly anti­ his family and his country to help stem the Axis their way, engine racing. He gave a warning When she visited the crash site, Anni of the beleaguered aircraft and crashed near the shore at St tide in the Mediterranean. Margaret Farren, shout and they all scurried for cover behind could see with her own eyes the ruin the Paul's Bay. his girlfriend, continued to mention 'Dougie' for the stone walls. The aircraft approached in plane had left. There was a large crater in island. Six days later, Corfe was shot down by a BF 109 flown by a long time, so much so that her daughter Ann a shallow dive and turned towards them. the soil, around two feet deep, while bits Hauptmann Wolf Dietrich Wilcke of JG 53. Sadler tried to find out how he met his end. They thought they were about to be and pieces of metal were everywhere. A at the age of 24, His crash site was unknown, so there was a The author tried in vain to contact her. machine-gunned. But they couldn't have large pile of debris showed where the plane high probability that the wreckage of the Hopefully, this article will help remind us of been more mistaken. had slid to a halt. he met his fate in the Hurricane discovered in the Qammieh field Corfe and thousands like him who died so we The aircraft was in trouble. Engine rac­ A woman who lived close by in a farm­ was from his aircraft. can be free today. ing, it slammed down on its belly in one of house at Ghadira was rummaging around field at Qammieh" However, nothing was certain, for in the the fields and disappeared in a cloud of in the wreckage when she came upon a 1990s, wreckage from another Hurricane, dust. The once sleek war machine slid glove. She picked it up and a ring fell out mainly the tail section, was located beneath Acknowledgements around 10 metres, leaving a deep furrow which she took. the cliff face at Qammieh. None of the in the soil, demolished some irrigation Pawlu Gauci was on site when the plane A glance at this metal object was enough remains showed any identification numbers The author wishes to thank the following, without stone canals, went through a rubble wall crashed. He was the one who rushed out to to show that this could have been a part of or serial marks, so it was impossible to tell whose assistance this article would not have been and finally came to a standstill in a neigh­ help the pilot and heard him utter his last the Hurricane. And my suspicions were which one was Corfe's. possible: Anthony Rogers, Anni Vella, Joseph Vella, bouring field. words, which his daughter Mari Fenech right. The Malta Aviation Museum con­ It was Rogers, an expert on aircraft losses Joseph Borg, Lucy Borg, Rita Borg, Felic Fenech, One of the farmers, recognising the air­ recalls as: "My wife, my poor wife." firmed that it was an intake manifold from and crash sites in Malta, who provided the Mari Fenech, Joseph Aquilina, Karmnu Borg, craft as a Hawker Hurricane, rushed out to Mari remembers that as a child, she spent a Merlin engine. Both Hurricanes and Spit­ final and most important piece of the puzzle. Carl Vella, Jimmy Muscat, Morris Bartolo, Ruben help the pilot. When he reached the cockpit, countless hours playing on the Hurricane fires had Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. He kindly provided a document from the Vella, Fr Joe Caruana, Ezechiel Busuttil, Christine the pilot was still alive but he could do little: seat, moving the control column, pretend­ A search in the fields revealed many small National Archives in Kew, England, which Sammut, the Malta Aviation Museum and the Douglas Corte's tomb at the Capuchin Naval Cemetery in Kalkara. He was buried in a common grave with he died in his arms a few minutes later. ing she was flying. pieces of aluminium and cast iron. These gave these details: "14:08 -Air Raid Warning National Archives. eight other pilots who died between April 21 and 26, 1942. PHOTO: WWW.BBM.ORG.UK