Rather unusually the French War Memorial in the town of le Folgoët contains the names of two pilots from the Royal Air Force alongside those from the community who gave their lives for France.
Squadron Leader Sandy MacIntyre from South Africa and Flight Lieutenant Johnie Small from Fife in Scotland are buried in the local cemetery. 2023 was the 80th Anniversary of the combat in which they lost their lives. Families of both men attended a special commemoration ceremony on 8 May “Victory in Europe” day
In all three RAF pilots were shot down in an aerial combat that took place above the town on the afternoon of 15 August 1943. It was Assumption Day and many local people saw the drama unfolding over their heads. A third RAF Pilot Flt Lt Brian Biddulph , from what was then Southern Rhodesia, was shot down over the sea. His body was never recovered.
The RAF pilots were all from No. 266 Squadron. Flying Hawker Typhoon fighters, they took off from Exeter. Their mission that day was to escort allied bombers who were to attack the Luftwaffe base at Guipavas. But the fighter pilots were not told the bombers when the bombers were recalled to base in England.
The Guipavas airfield was well defended with regular airborne patrols by Luftwaffe Focke Wulf FW 190 fighters. Crossing the coast, the allied fighters were caught by surprise from behind. Other Luftwaffe fighters were also mobilised to repulse the attack. The combat was fast and furious. Both the Typhoon and the FW 190 flew at over 660kmh.
Sandy MacIntyre crashed in his plane in nearby St Frégant. Johnnie Small jumped out of his plane, but his parachute did not open His plane crashed at the edge of town. Brian Biddulph was seen to jump from his plane over the sea and was presumed drowned. In 2023 Brian’s name was added to the memorial and unveiled by a member of his family.
Two German Luftwaffe pilots Oberfeldwebels Sievert and Gryz were also shot down. Hans Gryz jumped from his plane, which crashed in nearby Ploudaniel, but his parachute failed to open. George Sievert crashed in his plane between in le Folgoet itself. Both are buried in the nearby German cemetery in Lesneven
The German Commander at Lesneven Colonel Jaeger ordered that the two RAF pilots be given a full military funeral with an honour guard of sixty soldiers to be led by a Sergeant Bittner, a catholic priest serving in the Germany army as a medical orderly. People from all the surrounding towns and villages filled the famous Le Folgoët Basilica to show their solidarity. Colonel Jaeger was later relieved of his command, being judged “Unfit to command a major military unit”. It is not known how much his decision influenced this judgement.
brittanyremembers.com 