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James Hampton | Flight Lieutenant James Hampton James Hampton enlisted in the RAF in 1945 and trained as a Flight Engineer. He flew Halifaxes operationally with 76 Squadron from RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor in Yrokshire. He was also the youngest and only survivor of three brothers. After leaving the squadron he flew on flight testing. |
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Dawn Breakers by Anthony Saunders. As the first rays of dawn broke over Gold Beach on the morning of 6th June 1944, twenty-three Halifax bombers from No.76 Sqn headed inland over the breaking surf below. Their task was to annihilate the large German coastal gun battery of Mount Fleury that overlooked the beach where elements of the British 50th Division would shortly be landing. As ships of the Royal Navy joined the barrage and with the battery all but silenced, the bombers headed north, back towards England. The painting catches the moment as the Halifaxes, now escorted by American P-51s of the 359th Fighter Group, survey the extraordinary sight unfolding below them. Carried by a vast flotilla of landing craft, the first assault brigades of the 50th Division stream towards the Normandy shore where, despite heavy initial opposition, the British forces soon broke through. The German defenders who had survived the assault on the Mount Fleury battery had been cowed into submission, the survivors quickly over-run and taken prisoner. Their 12mm guns had offered no resistance and remained silent throughout. By midnight the 50th Division had landed over 25,000 men, and linking up with the Canadians on Juno Beach, had secured a deep bridgehead along a six mile front. The Battle for Caen and their long, slow march to Berlin had begun. |
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