Eley, Frederick William “Fred”.

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Eley, Frederick William “Fred”, born 14-05-1919 and in his early years lived a few miles from Wrenbury, south Cheshire at Cholmondeston Hall Farm, near Wettenhall, where his father was a dairy farmer. The business failed, Fred’s mother died and he went to live with the family of his cousin Brian George, seven years younger than Fred, in Aston, another nearby village. Both boys went to Nantwich and Acton Grammar School, popularly known as “NAGS”. From the 1930’s this nickname was marked with two horses on the school badge. On leaving school Fred joined  working first in rural Shropshire at Church Stretton, under the Long Mynd and then, in considerable contrast, at Burslem in the Potteries. The rules of the bank demanded that, in both cases, Fred had to lodge near his work and Brian’s father supported him financially. It was while in Burlsem that Fred met his girlfriend, Nancy.

Frederick had always been interested in aviation – Brian George feels that he might eventually have made his career in the RAF even if war had not come. Brian later qualified as a dentist.

In the spring of 1939 Fred joined the RAFVR at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton. He was called up on 01-09-1939, the day the Germans attacked Poland, and, training completed, was posted to 74 Squadron at Rochford in Essex, under command of Squadron Leader John Colin Mungo-Park. On the evening of 27-06-1941, flying Spitfire Vb X4668, Mungo-Park was part of an escort for a bombing raid over northern France coded ‘Circus 25’. They were attacked by two formations of Bf 109s, led by Major Rolf Pingel of I./JG 26 (who had been spared by Robert Francis “Bob” Thomas Doe, DSO, DFC & Bar, during the Battle of Britain) and Major Wilhelm Balthasar   of JG 2. Rolf Pingel survived the war and died 04-04-2000 (aged 86) in Lollar

Squadron Leader John Colin Mungo-Park, was shot down and killed when his plane crashed just north of Dunkirk, a couple of miles over the Belgian border. He is buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery, about 60 miles north of his father. In a twist of fate, Wilhelm Balthasar died in an air crash less than a week later and was buried in a Flanders cemetery alongside his father who had been killed in the First World War.

Apart from a brief spell at Leconfield the squadron would alternate between Rochford and Hornchurch until August 1940.

On July 8th, one of Fred’s fellow Sergeant Pilots on the squadron, Flying Officer Edward Anthony Mould, was credited with the first German fighter to come down in Britain. He was killed on 85 squadron on 20-01-1943. The Me109, flown by Leutnant Johann Boem, forced-landed on Bladbean Hill outside the village of Elham, near Folkestone.

Death and burial ground of Eley, Frederick William “Fred”.

It was not until 31st July that Squadron 74 lost pilots in action in the Battle of Britain. This was a day of Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and on the Dover balloon barrage. In the late afternoon 74 engaged Me109s over Dover. In the resulting fight the squadron suffered three casualties. P/O Gunn was killed, his body being recovered by the Germans and buried in Belgium and Flight Lieutenant.Donald Patrick Kelly  returned to Hornchurch uninjured, but in a badly damaged aircraft. Fred Eley’s Spitfire P9398, No.74 Squadron, went down burning off Folkestone harbour. It seems he was the victim of the vastly more experienced Oberleutnant Horst “Jakob” Tietzen, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Flight Lieutenant. Donald Patrick Kelly

would die 28-12-1943 in battle

Boatmen and service personnel brought the British fighter ashore and Fred’s body was recovered from the cockpit. Brian George remembers clearly the moment he learned that his cousin was gone. The school holidays had started and he was in the garden with his father. His mother came out of the house holding a telegram and crying.

Many local people attended Fred’s funeral and there was an RAF flypast. Horst  “Jakob” Tietzen survived less than three weeks longer than Fred. On 18th August his aircraft fell into the sea off Whitstable, probably shot down by P/O Zenker of 501 Squadron. Six days later Zenker himself was killed. Tietzen was posthumously promoted to Hauptmann.

Eley, Frederick William “Fred” was buried at the Wrenbury (St Margaret) Churchyard Cheshire cemetery- Centre part. Row 4. Grave 11.

 

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