On May 11th 1944, a P47 crashed on Rockford WI Hall, just avoiding the village school. My dad (Wally Walling) was a pupil at the school, and was there that afternoon. Over the years, I heard stories about what happened from Dad himself, and from his Dad before him – but I never knew the full account. Having seen a reference to the incident, and also noted that the 70th anniversary was fast approaching, my natural curiosity led me to see what I could find out.
I was soon immersed in the almost endless information that is now available to us all via the internet. I ended up researching the full story – before, during and after the pieces that I had known.
I produced a small booklet with a summary version of what I found, to create a formal record. I hope it is of some interest and adds a few new details to this story. If I have made any errors or omissions – and I am sure that I must have – I apologise, and I will happily make corrections for any that are pointed out to me.
Read Ken’s booklet – Return to Base v2 – The Full Account of a Single Wartime Incident
You can find out more about Ibsley Airfield in this overview article, which has links to other articles relating to Ibsley Airfield.