Clifford Archibald Chew A.F.C. (Flight Lieutenant) - 512
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Clifford was born in 1917, the only son of Mr & Mrs A.B.
Chew of "Bryanston" Moores Lane, Boveney Newtown. He had four sisters
and like the rest of the family he a was a conscientious member of the
Methodist Chapel. His Great Aunt, Mrs Annie Tough, was in fact the founder of
the Alma Road Chapel in 1886. Clifford was a village lad who passed the
entrance exam to Slough Secondary School where he completed his education, and
he left the school when he was about 16 years old. He was always a keen
sportsman and played rugby for Windsor Rugby Club and rowed with the Eton
Excelsior Rowing Club.
When he left school he was employed by I.C.I. as a clerk in
the distribution department at Slough, for a period of about two or three
years, before transferring to the company's London depot. He became interested
in flying and joined the R.A.F.V.R. which enabled him to undergo a course of
flying instruction at White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead. Being in the
Volunteer Reserves he was called for immediate service when the 1939 threat of
war became a reality. He was serving with Fighter Command and was a pilot with
Spitfires throughout the Battle of Britain in 1940. He completed a full tour of
duty and was commissioned in 1942.
In June 1944 he was captain of an aircraft engaged on an
instructional series of flights requiring take-off from the airfield, flying
circuits and landing. Four times he carried out this procedure, but on the
fifth occasion the starboard engine developed a serious fault. Flight
Lieutenant Chew took over the controls from the pilot under instruction and
managed to gain height to an altitude of 800 feet, despite the fact that only
the port engine was functioning. Violent vibrations made it impossible to
maintain this height and the aeroplane lost the altitude just gained, with the
starboard engine catching fire. The undercarriage failed to function and the
situation became extremely hazardous. Clifford managed to avoid other aircraft
as he successfully landed the blazing aeroplane on the runway. The entire crew
were able to jump clear of the wreck without injury. He was subsequently
awarded the Air Force Cross for his courageous action.
In March 1945 Clifford was serving in yet another capacity
with 512 Squadron in support of the European offensive against Germany. On the
24th of March he was flying paratroopers across the Rhine when his aircraft was
shot down. His mother received a letter from his squadron commander dated
27.3.45 notifying her of his "failure to return from the operation"
and stating that any further information would be forwarded.
A newspaper reported a few days later under the heading:
Given a British Burial - Air Officer's Fate.
News of the death and burial in Germany of Flight
Lieutenant A. Chew, A.EC, of Windsor, has reached his friends in Northern
Ireland, where he was formerly stationed. FLT/LT. Chew was shot down while
flying paratroopers across the Rhine. The other members of his crew managed to
get clear of the aircraft but he was unable to bale out in time, and his body
was afterwards recovered by British troops and given a fitting last honours.
His mother Mrs D. Chew of "Bryanston", Eton Wick, Windsor has
received news of his burial at Rees, a town on the Rhine situated between
Emmerich and Wesel.
This gallant airman, who joined the R.A.F.V.R. in 1939,
was awarded the A.EC. for outstanding skill and coolness in landing a burning
aircraft. During his service in N. Ireland he was stationed at Nutts' Corner,
Troome and at Ballymoney...
After the war Clifford's remains were taken from Rees and
interred at Hotton War Cemetery in the Province of Luxembourg, 30 miles south
west of Liege. Hotton Cemetery contains 666 burials: 340 from the army and 325
from the R.A.F., with one other grave.
Clifford was a single man and at the time of his death he
was 27 years old. He was the only commissioned officer from Eton Wick to lose
his life in either world war. His father, Archibald Chew, died in 1943 and
after the war the family had electric lighting installed in the Methodist
Chapel, Alma Road, in memory of the two men and a commemorative plaque placed
the Chapel. He is commemorated on the Eton Wick Memorial in the church yard and
on the Village Hall plaque.
This is an extract from Their Names Shall Be Carved in Stone
and published here with grateful thanks to the author Frank Bond.
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