The Evening News Monday August 9 1943

BEDHAMPTON FLYING OFFICER GETS THE D.F.C.

Five Enemy Planes Destroyed
Daring Night Fighter

Official information has been received that flying officer Peter Greville Kaye Williamson,
whose parents live at BedHampton Hill, Havant, has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross

The official announcement stated:

  They have displayed great keenness and co-operation and have destroyed five enemy aircraft. During one sortie they were forced to abandon their aircraft over the sea and were subsequently adrift in the dinghy for over five hours. In spite of this trying experience F/O Williamson and Sergt. Lake quickly resumed operational flying. Sergt. Lake has since been promoted to Pilot Officer.
   Flying officer Peter Williamson is 19, and like his mother, was born in Australia. His father, who served with the famous 10th Anzac Regiment at the Gallipoli landing in the last war, was born in India.
  Flight officer Williamson gained his commission very rapidly after joining out. He has a large number of operational flights to his credit, and has specialized in night fighting. At present is attached to a squadron which holds the record for number of enemy planes brought down during the past six months in the medic training area.

Wrecked two bombers within 30 minutes

During the past few months he has wrecked two enemy bombers within half an hour, and also accounted for a four engine Italian plane piloted by a one of Mussolini's air aces. Nothing has given F/O Williamson so much pleasure as to learn that his observer Sergt. Dennis Lake has been awarded the DFM for the part he played with the flying officer in his exploits.

Survivor rescued

  In a recent letter home Flying Officer Williamson recalls one of his exploits and reveals a typical example of the humanitarianism characteristic of the RAF which contrasts strikingly with the mentality of those Italians who clamored for the shooting down of parachuting airmen.
The letter includes the following: "I had a bit of luck the night before last and shot down two Italian bombers. It was rather astounding, because when the second one crashed, about half an hour after the first, it was well on fire and hit the sea a terrific smash which broke it into pieces. But just in case I asked for a rescue boat to be sent out. About five minutes later I was going to cancel it when I saw a light flashing, and so told the boat to make all speed to the spot which I was circling.
  "I circled for about an hour until the Dawn broke. We then saw a man clinging to what was left of the tail unit which had broken off when the aircraft hit the water, and was fairly whole. I dived down and fired Verey lights to let the poor beggar know he had been seen. We saw also that the tail unit was slowly sinking, so my observer inflated his dinghy and dropped it to him. It landed about 20 yards away, but he made no attempt to swim towards it, so we gathered his injuries prevented him from swimming. This we discovered afterwards to be true, as he had broken legs and various other injuries."

The mystic light

  "The extraordinary part about the whole affair was that the man had no light. I discovered that the flashing light which I thought I saw was purely imaginary. He is now in hospital and doing well."
   F.O. Williamson has also had an unpleasant experience, for he hints that he has "had to swim for it," caught a chill, and had to go into hospital. He has been made a member of the Goldfish Club, but looks upon the incident which qualified him for that honor as being just part and parcel of the risks run by every airmen. It did not take him long to get back into form again.

Isn't this stuff great !?! Newspaper clippings from the war !
It was all most generously submitted by
Professor Chas Williamson at Cornell University !   Thanks !!