Daring World War II pilot's medals auctioned

Bristol Beaufighter, 1943
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Daring World War II pilot's medals auctioned

 "A real 'Boy's Own' hero" is how the pilot at the centre of this story has been described and never was a truer word spoken!

In fact the recent auction of the late Wing Commander Ken Gatward's World War II medals seems almost incidental to the history of how they were earned, as part of an operation that could have come straight out of a Biggles book.

The RAF pilot who dropped the Tricolor on occupied Paris 

Only now, nearly 15 years after his passing and with the selling of his decorations, have the full details of the story come to light - and what a story! Although in the grand scheme of the war probably a minor mission (however deemed, somewhat redundantly, "unsafe") its morale value was obviously considered enough to make it worthwhile, as it did indeed turn out to be. In fact minor this action was not, requiring incredible flying skills, accuracy and above all bravery - to fly down the Champs-Élysée in enemy-occupied Paris at ridiculously low level and drop a French flag on the Arc de Triomphe, then shoot up Gestapo HQ. I can still hardly credit it, even several days after first reading about it! Fantastic is the only word for it.

 

Daring World War II pilot Ken Gatward's medals auctioned for £41,000

It should come as little surprise, then, that Wing Cdr Gatward's medals and associated souvenirs far exceeded the initial £8,000 pre-auction estimate when they were sold last week - eventually making five times as much!  While it is something of a shame that the medals weren't passed on to one of Mr Gatward's family (perhaps there were no close relations) or a museum (unless the buyer was such - no mention is made of it) the fact that it sold for so much more than the estimate hopefully proves that the new owner, whoever he is, recognises the value in how they were earned.

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For the rest of us there is the delight in having read, after 70 years, the amazing exploits of Wing Cdr Gatward (and the extra bonus fact from my point of view of him being a local Essex lad!) that are truly in the best traditions of the service and prove truth really is stranger than fiction.  Biggles would have been proud!

'Silent' electric cars should carry cowbells

'Silent' electric cars should carry cowbells

Electric cars, so we are told, may well be the future of motoring. It is entirely possible. In the form of the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight we already have two petrol-electric hybrids that can be used for everyday driving. The electric Tesla Roadster is proof that the future of the sports car is secure. General Motors will launch the Volt and Ampera petrol-electric hybrids within the year. The technology is advancing all the time and I feel sure that the day is not too far away when we will see more and more purely electric vehicles on every street.

However there is a problem with fully electric cars, above all others, that we may have overlooked in our excitement. As they do not have a traditional internal combustion engine with moving parts, or an exhaust from which gas escapes, they will not make any discernible noise when they are going along. So how are pedestrians to know when one is coming? It's all very well to want to save the planet and to lessen our dependency on the fast-dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, but such concerns must surely pale into insignificance when compared to the worry of having an electric car hit you in the small of the back as you're walking down the street. Well, I can reassure you that the best minds are working on it as we speak. Most likely what will happen is a small but powerful loudspeaker will be placed somewhere on the car and it will produce the sound of a running engine, so that you may hear it coming as you would any normal car.

I can't help but think, though, that this is all a bit too obvious and unimaginative and I'm glad to see that some of our politicians feel the same way. So when the time comes for us all to be driving around in electric cars you'll know which is mine, for it will have a cowbell on it and be preceded by a man carrying a red flag.

Moo.