HEROISM DURING AIR RAID

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 51, 24 November 1941, Page 7

HEROISM DURING AIR RAID

Gun Crew’s Ordeal

(British Official Wireless.) (Received November 22, 7.5 p.m.)

RUGBY, November 22.

How a former Brooklands racing motorist, himself wounded by bombs during an intense night air raid drove his wounded, men through lines of blazing buildings to a hospital—and then drove back to his Bofors gun—is told by the War Office. He is Second Lieutenant D. C. Bain, Royal Artillery, and on the night in question won the Military Cross.

Bain and his men manning a Bofors gun and searchlight were stationed in a dock area, and for three and a hal hours indendiaries an'd high explosives fell around them. Smoke came from blazing warehouses and cut visibility to 50 feet, making the searchlight useBain took spare men and set to work saving what he could from the flames, including his own transport and a large quantity of Government and pnva.e property. They struggled for an hour. Then Bain saw a low-flying raider approaching. He ran back to the gun, but had fired only one round when a stick of bombs fell very near. The first blew the gun crew stunned against their sandbags. The second wounded Bain and three of the gunners, two ot whom were detachment drivers. Someone had to get them to safety. After the first raid, Bain decided to (io the job hi.mself. He drove a truck through lines of burning electric power cables first to the dock first-aid post—which he found destroyed—then on to a hospital. He then turned round and drove back to the gun. He never left it again till the raid was over.