The Blog Pages of Kitty Brightwell

FLY AWAY VALIANT SOUL ON YOUR SILVER WINGS

UP-UP AND AWAY FROM THIS DAMAGED WORLD

I PRAY THAT YOU HAVE CROSSED THE EDGE OF SPACE

AND FOUND THE PEACE WHICH PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING

SAFE IN THE ARMS OF YOUR GOD.

To a Spitfire Pilot.
By Kitty Brightwell

Time stands still for no man
and the dust quickly descends
upon the relics of the past
which live on with no ends
And out of the blue descends an angel
that once wore a cloak of blue
with silver wings upon her breast
shining as if were new
she comes to relive her past
to the place she had been before
and each and every step she takes
brings her closer to history's door
for history tends to repeat itself
and this time it seems anew
with each passing ebb of time
her brightness will shine through

A poem by John Elliot

June 6th 1944. This is the day we have all been waiting for, .The day Gen; Eisenhower has been waiting for.The invasion of Europe, the second front , to free the people of Europe from the grip of the tyrant.
We had guessed this was about to happen , but it could not until the Commander -in Chief gave the word to go and he would not give the word until the weather was right so that the invasion would have the best possible chance of success.
We had suspected several weeks before because suddenly the small town Of Uxbridge began to fill up with convoys of soldiers and all the things which make up a task force
Every street and byway were lined with tanks armoured cars and lorries, Everything which went to the making of a great army.
Here I would like to pay a tribute to the people of Uxbridge of those far off days
Their small country town had been turned into an army camp. Soldiers camped in their front gardens, soldiers cooking their meals on field kitchens by the side of the road. And this situation was multiplied many times over in the South East of England, and when this great army got the word to go I am told it was the greatest Armada the world has ever seen, And through all this the people of Uxbridge went about their daily tasks patiently and with great good humour which I well remember.

D Day landing at Normandy

Well this day has dawned fair with just a light haze over the sea and Gen; Eisenhower was reputed to have said . (OK lets go ) and off they went,
I had gone on duty at 7 am with the rest of 2 Watch and had an extremely busy shift as you can imagine. When we came up out of the “HOLE” which was our name for the ops room as It was and still is 60 ft underground we went down into the town to see what was going on and were amazed to find that the soldiers and all the trappings
Of war had vanished as though they had been spirited away swiftly and silently as if by magic.
By the end of the day many of those brave men will have made the ultimate sacrifice
And many civilians who lived in the Coastal towns of Europe were killed as the battle raged.
As also were the brave fighters of the underground who fought so valiantly while their country was occupied by such cruel masters,
Hero’s and Heroine’s all of them.
Just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
It 63 years since that day of destiny and it is as clear in my memory as though it happened yesterday and I will never forget those wonderful courageous souls who made the success of D-DAY possible.
TO THEM BE THE GLORY

CATHERINE BRIGHTWELL
EX WAAF LACW CATHERINE TRAINER
R.A.F PLOTTER 11 GROUP OPS ROOM
UXBRIDGE. MIDDLESEX WW11.
Friday 27th July 2007

Sunday November 11th 2007
It is 8-15am and I am standing in Whitehall London facing the Cenotaph the symbol of rememberance. I am not marching this year as I am entitled to. Rather I wish to see the Queen and the other dignitaries so I have found the nearest place. Just to the left of the door to the Foreign Office. I am surprised to find this so easy as there are only two people here.
As the service does not start until 11-00am we have quite a while to wait, but we have our memories.
Gradually the crowd starts building up. We stand silently watching the council workers sweeping up the leaves as thay fall in the stiff breeze. The surface of the road is wet after the heavy overnight rain.
Then the soldiers start arriving in groups each group representing there own regiments.Marching so proudly to the music being played by the band of the Royal Marines.
Just before 11oclock the dignitaries emerge from the Foreign Office.I don't know the foreign visitors but some of our own politicians are in attendance. Gordon Brown, Jack Straw, David Cameron the leader of the opposition as is Ian Paisley, and of course Lady Thatcher helped along by John Major.
When everyone is in place the Queen and Prince Phillip followed by the Royal Family take their places. I am delighted to see Prince William taking his place representing the younger generation.
At 11oclock the guns sound the start of the two minutes silence. It is as though the whole world has stopped. The only sound I can hear is the jingle of the horses reins as they move their heads up and down.Then the guns sounded the end of the silence, which was followed by a short service led by members of religious groups.
After the service the Queen and Prince Phillip led the dignitaries back into the Foreign Office
After this it was the turn of the veterans to pay their tributes which they do every year. marching so proudly to make sure their comrades who died so long ago are never forgotten.The band playing making your feet tap.
All the veterans have passed now.All the wreaths have been placed on or around the Cenotaph.
It is now the turn of the young soldiers to be brought to attention,and marched back to their barracks.
What do we take away with us from this ceremony.Personally I take away the feelings I have had all my adult life.
A sense of sadness for lost friends.
The loss of such talent which would
have been such an asset to the world and its peoples
And above all a sense of pride and gratitude to have been part of it and to have had the honour to be able to call some of them friends.

Kitty with her colleagues on the Beach at Normandy 2006