Ray Holmes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raymond Towers Holmes
|
|
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Ray", "Arty" |
| Born | 20 August 1914 Wallasey, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 27 June 2005 (aged 90) Hoylake, Merseyside, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1945 |
| Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 504 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Spouse(s) |
Anne Holmes
(m. 1966) |
| Other work | King's Messenger, journalist |
Raymond Towers Holmes (born August 20, 1914 – died June 27, 2005) was a brave British Royal Air Force pilot during World War II. He is famous for his part in the Battle of Britain. People remember him for a special act where he seemed to save Buckingham Palace from German bombs. He used his Hawker Hurricane plane to stop a Dornier Do 17 bomber over London. He became a war hero in the news. After the war, Holmes became a King's Messenger. He passed away in 2005 at 90 years old.
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Early Life and Joining the RAF
Raymond Towers Holmes was born on August 20, 1914, in Wallasey, Cheshire, England. He went to Wallasey and Calday Grange Grammar Schools. Before joining the air force, he worked as a crime journalist. In 1936, he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was the 55th person to volunteer for this group.
World War II Service
Fighting in the Battle of Britain
In June 1940, Raymond Holmes joined No. 504 Squadron RAF. His friends in the squadron called him "Arty." This nickname came from his initials, R.T.
On September 15, 1940, a day known as Battle of Britain Day, Sergeant Holmes was flying his Hawker Hurricane fighter plane. He saw three Dornier Do 17 bombers flying towards central London. They were planning to drop bombs. Holmes attacked one of the bombers. The bomber fired a flamethrower at him, covering his plane's windshield with oil.
The flamethrower was meant for use on the ground. It did not work well at 16,000 feet high. It only made a short flame. The oil did not catch fire. Instead, it just covered Holmes' view. As the wind cleared the oil, Holmes saw he was very close to the Dornier. He quickly moved his plane to pass safely under it.
He then attacked the second Dornier. This caused one of the German crew members to parachute out.
Holmes then saw the third Dornier. It seemed to be flying straight for Buckingham Palace. Holmes quickly flew ahead of it. He wanted to avoid its machine-gun fire. Then he turned to attack it head-on. But he had run out of bullets. So, Holmes decided to hit the bomber with his plane. This is called aerial ramming.
Holmes' plane then started to dive to the left. It was no longer responding to his controls. As the Hurricane went into a fast dive, he parachuted out. As he climbed out, the strong wind pushed him onto the roof of his own plane. Then, he was thrown backward, hitting his shoulder on his plane's tail fin. When he finally pulled his parachute cord, the sudden stop pulled off his flying boots. He found himself swinging wildly. He watched the Dornier crash near Victoria tube station. Holmes landed in a small garden. He ended up hanging inside an empty trash can.
The German pilot, Feldwebel Robert Zehbe, parachuted out. He later died from injuries. The observer and gunner were killed. The radio operator and flight engineer survived.
The newspapers celebrated Holmes as a war hero. They said he saved Buckingham Palace. The RAF did not teach pilots to ram other planes. So, this was seen as a brave, unplanned act. This event became a famous moment of the Battle of Britain. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands even sent a message to the RAF. She had seen the event happen. The bomber's engine was later shown at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Later Wartime Actions
After he recovered, Holmes joined No. 81 Squadron. He was sent to the Northern Front near Murmansk in Soviet Russia. His job was to help train the Russian air force to fly the Hawker Hurricane planes. While there, he shot down another enemy plane, a Bf 109 F. He married Elizabeth Killip in April 1941. He was promoted several times. He became a Pilot Officer in June 1941, a Flying Officer in June 1942, and a Flight Lieutenant in June 1943.
After returning from Russia, Holmes worked as an instructor. He taught at RAF Montrose from 1942 to 1944. In February 1945, he flew PR Spitfires with 541 Squadron.
Life After the War
Personal and Later Life
After the war, Raymond Holmes became a King's Messenger. This meant he personally delivered important mail for Winston Churchill. He left the RAF in late 1945. Then, he went back to working as a journalist. He joined his father's news agency. They reported on news from the Liverpool Crown Court for local and national newspapers.
He had two daughters with his first wife, Elizabeth. She passed away in 1964. He later married Anne Holmes in 1966. They had two children together, a son and a daughter.
Holmes shared his memories of the Battle of Britain. He was featured in the "Alone" episode of The World at War TV series. In 1989, he wrote his own book. It was called Sky Spy: From Six Miles High to Hitler's Bunker.
Sixty-five years later, parts of Holmes' Hurricane plane were found. They were dug up from the streets of London. This discovery was shown on the National Geographic Channel documentary. It was called "The Search for the Lost Fighter Plane". Holmes was also mentioned in an episode of Battlefield Britain.
He was given the Freedom of the Borough of Wirral in January 2005. Raymond Holmes died on June 27, 2005. He was 90 years old. He passed away at Hoylake Cottage Hospital after battling cancer. He was buried in Rake Lane Cemetery in Wallasey.
Understanding the Attack: Facts and Myths
Over the years, some stories about Holmes' attack changed. People started to believe that Holmes purposely crashed into the Dornier. They also thought the German plane was trying to bomb the palace. However, experts like Alfred Price and Stephen Bungay have looked closely at this. They found some errors in the common story.
New information shows that the Dornier might have been empty when Holmes hit it. The German pilot, Zehbe, had engine trouble. His plane fell behind the other bombers. Other fighter planes attacked his Dornier. Two crew members had already been killed. Zehbe and the remaining crew members parachuted out. Zehbe set the plane on autopilot as he left. So, his Dornier flew on empty until Holmes hit it.
As the Dornier spun and fell, its bombs were released. They hit or landed near Buckingham Palace, causing damage. Also, Holmes' own report from that day does not say he meant to crash into the Dornier. He wrote that he attacked the Dornier four times. He saw one crew member parachute out on his third attack. During his last pass, he felt a "jar." This caused his plane to spin out of control. He first thought the Dornier exploded below him. Then, while on his parachute, he saw it crash. Over time, this accidental "jar" seems to have become an intentional crash in the story.
Also, it was believed that Zehbe died from injuries during the attack. But some accounts suggest that after he landed near The Oval, he was badly hurt by civilians. The army rescued him. But he died from his injuries the next day. Zehbe was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery.
See also
