'Its not gonna happen to you'

BERKHOUT - Ted Cachart (81), chairman of 49 Squadron Association, was also attending the memorial on te crashsite. He is a veteran: flew as wireless operator on a Lancaster bomber and was willing to tell what moved young people like him (he was 18) to fly on bomber missions without fear.

This is the interview like it was held in Berkhout, after the service. Questions are italic.

When did you fly in a lancaster:

From October 1943 to january 1944. In 1944,we had a head on collission with another Lancaster on a mission, about 60 miles north of berlin. All my crew bailed out, 7, we were all prisoners of war. The other crew were killed.

You were wirelss operator, somewhere in the plane. What is it like? People always say they gave their life for our freedom, but did the persons that go to war think like that?

Think back what you were like when you were 17, 18 years of age. You did things then that, you would have more sense to, you would think twice now. Ride a bike with no hands, motorcycle, all sorts of crazy things that you wouldn't do now. And that's the youth, it is the excitement, you haven't got any sense of what fear is. Yeah allright I'm gonna do something crazy, I'm gonna walk along this fence, whatever, if I fall off I won't get hurt. And if you fall off you do get hurt, but you don't think of it that way.
When your name went up on the notice board to say you're on ops, it was not: Oh my God, we're on ops tonight, you were happe: we're on ops tonight! Excited! Adrenaline! Challenge! Not a moment fear. Its not gonna happen to you.

Then you go up, you see search lights, flak, bullets, planes being hit, then you know what fear is, don't you?

No, still not gonna happen to you. You see this plane go down, you see that plane go down, it still is not gonna happen to you. You stand in the astrodome, that little dome on top of the aircraft, you see the flak, you see the search ligths, all the fires down below, the adrenaline rush you get, it's just awsome.

You would do it again?

I was asked to give a talk to the officiers of the biggest RAF station in the United Kingdom, 'bout six weeks ago. I would rather gone on two operations to Berlin than to have stood up in front of all that ninety officers and talk to them for fifteen minutes. I was scared stiff standing up there.

What's your feeling about the ceremony today?

Brilliant, very emotional, I was very pleased to have been involved in it. I think we all are. I just hope that the exhumation will take place and that the bodies are returned. One to Ireland, one to england, or Bergen, that's up to the family.

Ted Cachart talking to Sheila Hamilton and Jim Mollet, councilmember and chairman of the foundation Wester-Koggenland Dankbaar.

(Ted Cachart went to Berkhout with the other boardmembers of 49 Squadron Association, an association that provides all ex-members of 49 Squadron - where the Hampden belonged to - with the opportunity to meet. The other boardmembers present were secretary Alan Parr and Colin Cripps. They came to support Sheila Hamilton, daughter of Mary Irving (the nurse John kehoe became engaged with while in England before the war). Sheila and Ted layed a wreath at the ceremony. Sheila became a friend of the association. There are members: people who served on the squadron; associates: people who are related to people who served on the squadron and friends, who for one reason or another helped the association).