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# Just A Forgotten Hero

Home of the Forgotten Hero Books

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Posts](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/posts/) - by Rob Posted On December 21, 2021 Towards the end of 2019 I helped a Belgian chap living in Holland to track down the families and stories of the three British Soldiers buried in their local cemetery. They all died in the Battle of the Scheldt. This was an important campaign, but is not well remembered these
- [When Britain Stood Alone](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/when-britain-stood-alone/) - Much has been made over the years about how Bulldog Britain stood alone in the defence of freedom in the early part of WW2 following the fall of France and the retreat from Dunkirk. But the truth is that we did not. We still had many allies. Some had sizeable official armed forces stationed here,
- [Normandy](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/normandy/) - Today's hero is my father. In truth I know little of what he did in Normandy as he would never talk about it. I had hoped that he would open up a bit later on when it was maybe just a little less raw and upsetting, but he died too young for that. He always
- [Remembering Gustave Delaide](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/remembering-gustave-delaide/) - A True Resistance Hero Gustave was born in 1904 in Waterloo. In 1942 he was a farmer in the village of Le Roussart just to the east of Waterloo. He was an active member of the Belgian Resistance and served with Waterloo Zone IV, South Sector, Belgian Legion, Secret Army. This section was using the
- [The R101 Tragedy, a Personal Tale.](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/the-r101-tradegy/) - A brief history of Thomas Arthur Auckland Key who died in the crash of the R101.
- [Remembering a True Hero](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/remembering-a-true-hero/) - Today I want to remember Waclaw Czekalski. He was born on the 8th of July 1918 in Wolkowsk Poland which is now in Belarus. He managed to get to England when France fell in 1940 and continued to serve in the Polish Air Force, which became part of the RAF at the time. On the
- [A Door Slams Shut](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/a-door-slams-shut/) - For various reasons I am now thinking about removing or rewriting a whole lot of material from 'Just Another Forgotten Hero'. Chapter 12 may well end up in the bin, which is a pity because it shows some of the less obvious difficulties a genealogical researcher has to contend with. So I think it deserves
- [Not Just An Ordinary Dinner Lady](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/the-dinner-lady/) - I started writing this, or rather trying to, on the 56th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. But for a Welshman and grandson of a miner, it was all just too raw. On occasions through the year I have tried to finish this post but the whole topic is just too big for one post. So
- [WIlliam Loveday.](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/william-loveday/) - Today's forgotten hero is William Dunmore Loveday. A man from very humble beginnings who saved thousands of lives. He was born in the small Northamptonshire town of Irthlingborough in 1864, and was a 3rd cousin 3 times removed to the lady I married there a lot later on. His father, William, was a shoemaker and
- [Discharged from Hospital](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/discharged-from-hospital/) - This is another short extract from 'Just A Forgotten Hero' and recounts the story of Florentino's last trip. Once more it highlights not only his strength and resolve, but also the bravery and cunning of his colleagues in thwarting the might of the German security services. In July 26 1944 Florentino made his last trip
- [A Brief Encounter in the Night](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/an-brief-encounter-in-the-night/) - This is just one tale of a small party of Allied airmen escaping of the Pyrenees into neutral Spain. It is taken directly from my book 'Just A Forgotten Hero' which will be published soon. There were, of course, many encounters with the local border guards. On the 19th of July 1942, which was the
- [From Singapore To The Burma Railway.](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/di/) - Some time ago I discovered that my 6th cousin, Phyllis Eileen Brown, who was born in Kettering in 1911, married a Walter Edward Goode in late 1935. Walter was as a clicker cutting the uppers for making boots, he was born in 1911 too. By 1940 Walter was a Gunner in No. 3 Heavy Anti-aircraft
- [Snatched from the Jaws of Death](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/snatched-from-the-jaws-of-death/) - This is an extract from an appendix to Just A Forgotten Hero that has a brief biography of all the brave patriots, Belgian, French, Basque and some English people who all helped William Richard Griffiths to escape back to Britain in 1942. This is just one of those stories. Carl Servais He was born in
- [A Long Road Home From Dunkirk](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/the-long-road-home-from-dunkirk/) - This is the tale, taken from my new book 'Just A Forgotten Hero', of William MacFarlane and James (Jimmie) Goldie. A remarkable pair of pals who arrived back from France two years after the Dunkirk evacuation. These two were privates from the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders which was part of the 51st (Highland)
- [A Quiet Walk in the Hills](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/a-quiet-walk-in-the-hills/) - Another extract from Just A Forgotten Hero. This comes from the same chapter as the earlier extract 'A Brief Encounter in the Night'. I am afraid I often think of the experiences of the people who appear in the book when I hear folk complaining these days. I agree it's not fair that we were
- [A Spot of Gardening in the North Sea](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/a-spot-of-gardening-in-the-north-sea/) - The Avro Manchester twin engine bomber was the lesser known forerunner of the famous Lancaster four engine aircraft, which came to be rightly regarded as the backbone of the Bomber Command fleet throughout WW2. The Manchester was not so good, just the opposite in fact. The Rolls Royce Vulture engines should have been both powerful
- [Lance Sergeant Ronald Snelling MM](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/lance-sergeant-donald-snelling-mm/) - An exceptionally brave soldier who gave his life for the liberation of Europe on the 26th of October 1944 Towards the end of 2019 I helped a Belgian chap living in Holland to track down the families and stories of the three British Soldiers buried in their local cemetery. They all died in the Battle
- [A Busy Night's Gardening](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/more-gardening-stories/) - Marine mine laying was codenamed ‘Gardening’ by the RAF, and the mines referred to as ‘Vegetables’. While not as dangerous an undertaking as flying long distances over hostile territory it still carried risks. Flying low, usually 300 – 500 feet above a dark sea on a dark night with no visible horizon called for constant
- [Remembrance Sunday](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/remembrance-sunday/) - I will not be going to the Remembrance Service at our local War Memorial today. I rarely do. Not because I don't respect our fallen heroes, for I most certainly do. What keeps me away is that every time I do go I come closer and closer to interrupting and asking the chap leading proceedings
- [Finding the Lost Heroes](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/finding-the-lost-heroes/) - Today I am remembering Arthur Herbert Furnell. He was a 2nd cousin twice removed to my wife. When I researched him a few years ago for the Family Tree I discovered that although he was commemorated on the Wellingborough War Memorial he was not known to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and did not
- [Pearl Harbor](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/pearl-harbor/) - I wrote a post about this on the same date last year. You can find it here and it mentions the danger to Ukraine of a Russian invasion. Sadly that forecast was all too acurate. This is really a follow up to that post. I think that it is probably valid to draw some parallels
- [Not Your Usual Hero](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/not-your-usual-hero/) - I am writing about a different kind of hero today. Norman Arthur Falkner. He was born in Saskatoon, Canada in 1894. When he was just 14 years old his father died, this cut short his schooling as he had to get a job to help support his family. One effect of this was that he
- [Victory Day](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/victory-day/) - The Parade in Red Square May 9th 2022 Mr Putin's fine speech today at the May 9th Victory day parade seems to have left out a few details. Perhaps his memory is not all it could be, so I thought someone should remind him. After Hitler invaded Russia in June 1941 Britain and America started
- [Against the Odds](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/against-the-odds/) - This tale, one not often told, is the story of one aircrew's adventures on the first 1000 bomber raid to Cologne on the night of 30-31st May 1942. They were very lucky. Although the aeroplane they were flying in had a nasty habit of not performing well they managed to return home against all of
- [The Somme 1916](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/the-somme-1916/) - Today, the 1st of July, marks the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. These men, who all died during that long, brutal and costly campaigne, are all related to my family. I remember them here. Private 40143 Fred Ablett of the 11th Batn Royal Scots, from March Cambridgeshire aged 34
- [December 7th 1941 a date that will live in infamy](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/23-2/) - The Futility of War The USS Shaw takes a direct hit at Pearl Harbor I know this is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and millions of folk all around the world will be thinking about it. But I also want to ask a few questions and put the events into a
- [Evolution and the Pacifist](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/evolution-and-the-pacifist/) - I see that Chancellor Olaf Scholz is being criticized in Germany for not going far enough in supporting Ukraine with arms and by others for providing any help at all. What I find interesting about the large number of German pacifists proposing no assistance for Ukraine at all is that they have proposed no alternative
- [The March of Time](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/the-march-of-time/) - These three photographs show how William went from a fresh faced young boy eager to experience life to a care worn man who had been through too much in just three long years. Here he is just 20 years old, newly qualified as an Air Gunner and ready, in his own mind at least, to
- [Absent Friends.](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/absent-friends/) - Remembering the Fallen on the opening of Another Year I often hear how Britain stood alone in the early part of WW2, but the fact is we did not. The top rank of Battle of Britain pilots included Poles, Slovaks, an Indian and a South African and many other non UK citizens. Many nations, and
- [Off to Join the Forces](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/off-to-join-the-forces/) - Over the weekend I received an e-mail from Greg. He had obtained a copy of William's RAF service record. All the information that could be described as personal had been blanked out because Gregory was not a close relative, and of course that covered everything we were most interested in finding out. But there was
- [Sergeant Benjamin F Goldsmith](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/sergeant-benjamin-f-goldsmith/) - This is a most interesting tale for several reasons. Firstly it shows the really extraordinary courage of the man to get back into his rear turret to fly dangerous missions over occupied Europe. He no longer had the false comfort of 'it could never happen to me', that bubble was well and truly burst. He
- [David Lorimer](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/david-lorimer/) - I would like to let you all know what I have found out about this brave chap from Broughty Ferry. He joined the RAF before the start of WW2 and served as a Wireless Operator and Airgunner. He was awarded his Distinguished Flying Medal in 1940 aged just 18 when the Hampden bomber he was

## Pages

- [About Forgotten Hero](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/) - This is to introduce my book ‘Just Another Forgotten Hero’. I have spent nearly a year as one of a small group of strangers researching the fascinating story of one ordinary man’s extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings in rural North Wales to his wartime adventures in the RAF and his eventual death as a
- [Reviews](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/reviews/) - Recent reviews of Just A Forgotten Hero Desmond Clifford for Nation Cymru . . . the book has heart and purpose. The author is dedicated to recording the story of a man whose contribution to the war should not be forgotten, along with the astonishing bravery of the civilians in Belgium and France who helped
- [Privacy and Cookie Policy](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/privacy-policy/) - Just A Forgotten Hero
- [Extracts](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/sample-extract-1/) - These extracts from the book 'Just Another Forgotten Hero' listed below each require their own password. Some were prepared so that relatives of people mentioned in the work could get an early preview. Others so that researchers into the RAF, the various aircraft mentioned. the Escape Lines in WW2 etc could seesome of the relevant
- [Contact Us](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/contact-us/) - Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form. Name * First Last Email * Purpose Message Comment Password Request Enter your message here:- * SubmitSpam, attempts to sell services, and scams will simply be binned. So save yourselves the time and effort, go elsewhere. Repeat offenders will be liable to a £50 admin

## Categories

- [General](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/category/general/)
- [The Futility of War](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/category/the-futility-of-war/)
- [Cofiowych Aberfan](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/category/cofiowych-aberfan/)
- [WW2](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/category/ww2/)

## Tags

- [Carl Servais](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/carl-servais/)
- [WW2](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/ww2/)
- [RAF](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/raf/)
- [Belgian Resistance](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/belgian-resistance/)
- [Escape line](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/escape-line/)
- [Comet](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/comet/)
- [Prisoner of War](https://forgottenhero.co.uk/tag/prisoner-of-war/)