SAGA — Doing things properly

The Ditching - a true story of hope, fear and survival

On May 3 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, Flying Officer Philip Brett DFC, 23, and his navigator WG 'Billy' Boorer, were returning in their Beaufighter torpedo bomber from an operation against enemy shipping in the Baltic Sea

In this compelling account of the last 'ditching' of the European war, Brett describes how the plane's flak-damaged engines failed off the Danish coast and how he and his crewmate drifted for days in a leaky dinghy in the North Sea.

Torpedo bomber crews had the most dangerous job in Coastal Command and were among the highest RAF casualties.

First serialised in the May and June 2008 editions of Saga Magazine, below is the full version of The Ditching, a true story of hope, fear and survival:

• The Ditching: May 3rd, 1945
• First Day: May 4th
• Second Night: May 4th
• Second Day: May 5th
• Third Night: May 5th-6th
• Third Day: May 6th
• Fourth Night: May 6th-7th
• Fourth Day: May 7th
• Fifth Night: May 7th-8th - aboard the lovely Ella
• The Rescue: Evening, May 7th
• Fifth Day: May 8th - VE Day
• Waiting to Start Engines 1944: a poem by Philip Brett, written 1950
• Biographies: Philip Brett and WG 'Billy' Boorer

Back to top

Make a comment