War, peace and Canada geese

Back in May 2022, I was in the middle of a WIP set during the Southampton blitz, so the prospect of a VE day flypast by vintage World War II planes got me quite excited. Reports in the Daily Echo suggested there would be lots of planes, including Spitfires. By now, I should know not to believe the things I read in the Echo without double checking, but anticipation overcame scepticism and on Sunday 8 May, Commando, CJ and I found ourselves on Town Quay with a crowd of other Echo believers, eagerly awaiting the planes. To be frank, there was an air of cynicism amongst the crowd. Flypasts are often promised and the combination of ancient planes and unpredictable weather means they are not always delivered.

At least the weather was playing nicely. The sky was a deep blue, scattered with fluffy white clouds, and Southampton water was deep turquoise. If we half closed our eyes and ignored the stiff breeze, we could almost have been in the Mediterranean. Across the water we could see the remnants of the Royal Pier, dockside cranes and cruise ships docked at Ocean Terminal. One of them was the Queen Mary 2, carrying over a hundred memorial wreaths to launch The Veterans Charity’s Routes of Remembrance 2022 campaign.

The time the Echo said the flypast was going to start came and went, and the crowed wriggled restlessly on the quayside. The most exciting thing that happened was the Red Funnel ferry passing on its way to the Isle of Wight. There were mutterings about the possibility of technical difficulties. The planes in question were more than seven decades old after all. Despite appearances, it was chilly standing around by the water. Commando had just said, ‘Five more minutes and we go home,’ when we heard a Rolls Royce Merlin engine.

A tiny speck appeared in the distance. At first glance, it looked like a Spitfire. Then it got closer and Commando, who spent most of his working life building aircraft, identified it as a Hawker Hurricane. It may not have been a Spitfire, but the sound of the engine made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. This was a sound the characters in my WIP would have known well, and unlike the Daimler-Benz engines of the Messerschmitt, or the horrific screaming of the Stuka, it would have been welcome.

The Hurricane flew over, circled and barrel rolled. Cameras clicked, including mine. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to hear that sound back in 1940, when the town was a smouldering ruin. It would have been the sound of hope, the few to whom we owed so much, coming to the rescue and chasing away the Luftwaffe. It was a sound my father would have heard more than most. He was a member of the RAFVR, and spent the war at various air bases feeding the brave men who flew the planes.

Later, I discovered that the plane we saw had actually flown in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Perhaps my dad even saw the pilots scrambling to it. The Battle of Britain was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. It began after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in May 1940, and was fought throughout that summer and autumn, mainly over the skies of Southern England. Germany wanted to gain air superiority in order to prepare for an invasion of Britain. Hitler called it Operation Sealion. Ultimately, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command, supported by ground crew like my dad, defeated the Luftwaffe and forced Adolf Hitler to abandon his invasion plans. For the people of Southampton, they were desperate times.

Despite what the Echo promised, the Hurricane was the only plane to fly over Southampton that afternoon. Although we appreciated seeing it immensely, we were all hoping to see a Spitfire. They built them in the Supermarine factory in Woolston, so it is a plane close to the hearts of the people of Southampton. The planes are getting older and eventually there will be no more left in airworthy condition. Hopefully, there will be at least one more Spitfire in the skies over our city before that happens.

Two days later, on 10 May, Commando and I took a walk that was more about peace. The main object was to see the wisteria flowering in East Park. Once upon a time, my daily walk to work took me through this beautiful park and May, when the wisteria is in flower, was my favourite time of year. There really is nothing as wonderful as walking through the wisteria tunnel. The scent of the flowers is heavenly.

Sadly, photographs can’t capture the sweet scent of those flowers, so you will have to imagine. Even so, the drooping racemes of pale purple flowers are a sight to behold and it was well worth the walk to see them, even if the skies were nowhere near as blue as they’d been on Sunday.

We rounded off our stroll through the park with a visit to the Queen’s Peace fountain. This is a relatively new addition to the park, installed in July 2001 as part of the Southampton Millennium project to celebrate fifty-six years of peace under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The City of Southampton Society, and donations ammounting to £67,000 from the public, sponsored the project. The balance came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In March 2021, they turned the fountain off, and work began on a £150,000 refurbishment project. They replaced the water pumps with state-of-the-art energy efficient pumps that recycle the water, replaced the underground pipes, installed LED lamps, and refurbished the cobbled mosaic. Because of COVID, neither of us had seen the new and improved fountain in action. It was worth the extra walk.

My last proper walk of the week was with the Hamwic Harriers walk and talk group, led by Kim. There was far too much walking and talking for photos to be taken, but I did drag my phone out of my pocket when we passed a family of Canada Geese by the Ornamental Lake on the Common. It seemd fitting that the week had begun with very old flying machines in the air and ended with very young flying creatures on the ground.

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