15th June 1940

All airfield light and heavy anti aircraft guns left Souge during the day leaving the airfield and 103, 12 and 226 Squadrons to be defended by a few Lewis machine guns. Most of the ground staff had departed with surplus spares and equipment and remaining the ground staff tried to make some aircraft serviceable by stripping parts from other damaged machines.

At 07:00 a German reconnaissance aircraft circled the base out of range of the Lewis gunners much to their annoyance and, with the possibility of further raids, Wing Commander Dickens sought permission to move to an alternative site or withdraw. At 10:00 three Battles were despatched to carry out a reconnaissance of the area and look for an alternative and secure base. All returned and reported that there seemed to be no immediate danger and the airfield looked unoccupied from the air. Orders were received from 76 Wing to destroy all remaining stores, equipment and damaged aircraft pending withdrawal to Britain and these instructions were carried out and the petrol dump set on fire. At 12:00, 20 Battles from the three squadrons were considered flyable, although many were rather the worse for wear and the crews were instructed to fly these back to the England. Most of the Battles had left when the airfield was subjected to another raid by 9 Dornier 17 bombers.

Flying Officer R D Max was refuelling his own aircraft in preparation for departure. Whilst on the wing he heard the distinctive engine noise of the Dorniers as they came in low and he immediately dived for cover in a nearby slit trench landing on top of his gunner. Bombs fell on either side of the trench and it was partly filled with soil but both men escaped. Another airman in the trench, Sergeant Dowling, was completely covered. Flying Officer Max and his gunner dug him out with their bare hands but sadly he was dead. In addition there were 8 other casualties from 12 and 226 Squadron personnel. Bombs fell all over the airfield destroying more of the Battles and, without any opposition, the Dorniers were able to circle the airfield machine gunning everything in sight.

Wing Commander Dickens ordered the rear parties from 12 and 226 Squadrons to leave and he then made a final inspection of the airfield with Squadron Leader Tait during which another attack was made on the airfield and both officers had to hastily take cover in a slit trench. After the attack they continued their inspection but were spotted by another German bomber as it made a low level strafing attack on the airfield. The bomber opened fire on the two officers and Squadron Leader Tait was forced to dive headlong into the nearby river and Wing Commander Dickens quickly bounded half way up a tree. Fortunately neither officer was hit but the lack of dignity in this experience was the source of great amusement when the story was told in later years although it must have been far from funny at the time.

Wing Commander Dicken's aircraft was destroyed in the attack and there was only a single Battle left that was even remotely flyable. This aircraft had a leaking port fuel tank and its instruments were unserviceable. Even more seriously the main spar was nearly severed. The engine started first time however and Wing Commander Dickens, Flying Officer Max and Squadron Leader Tait were able to fly to Nantes. The flight proved most difficult with the Battle flying with a 20-degree low port wing and petrol fumes in the cockpit. Squadron Leader Tait unshipped the rear gun in case they were attacked but the weapon had a faulty safety catch and he accidentally put a burst of fire right through the Battle's tail. In spite of all this they made it to Nantes where they found that the Squadron ground party had left that morning and were to embark on ship from Brest at 07:00 the next day. Wing Commander Dickens and Squadron Leader Tait flew back to Britain landing at Jersey to refuel on the way.

The Squadron ground party, with Pilot Officer Terry in charge, had arrived at Nantes early on the 15th June after a 20 hour journey on roads congested with refugee traffic and had camped several miles beyond Nantes on the Brest road. Flying Officer Vipan arrived soon after to take charge of the convoy, which now consisted of 12 lorries with 180 men. With no motor transport petrol available the lorries were filled with aviation fuel from one of the bowsers.

That morning new orders were received for the ground party to head for the port of Brest via an assembly at Blain and they left immediately. Throughout the journey to Brest the RAF police gave directions along the route and tried to clear a way through the refugee traffic but the French police and authorities were proving most unhelpful and frequently delayed the convoy. Vehicles were stopped for inspection and rerouting but the convoy was able to reform and it was decided to rush any further towns and cross roads and crash through any road blocks to prevent further delays.

On arrival at Blain the convoy was behind schedule and to speed up the journey it was decided to abandon all the trailers and any unnecessary equipment. All the Squadron records and papers were destroyed at this point. The convoy left Blain at 15:30 on the 150-mile journey to Brest.

16th June 1940

Flight Lieutenant Ingram joined Flying Officer Max at Nantes and they flew a reserve aircraft back to England. In total 9 Battles from the Squadron made it back across the Channel to Abingdon. Pilot Officers Hayter and Barratt remained at Nantes under orders to fly further operations if required. It is noted that, although no doubt disappointed, they cheerfully accepted this decision and were later to return to rejoin the Squadron in England.

The ground party completed their dash to Brest at 05:00 having driven through the night on dimmed headlights, two hours ahead of schedule, and camped outside the city. They were able to get some well-earned rest in the fields near to the vehicles. The drivers in particular were exhausted having had very little sleep in the last few days as were the two motor cycle despatch riders who accompanied the convoy. Aircraftsmen Brennan and Bridle had ridden their motor cycles without a break for two days and had frequently been forced to threaten angry local inhabitants with their revolvers to force a way through. Both men became exhausted from lack of sleep and were eventually unable to maintain their balance on their machines. Another German raid developed soon after but fortunately there were no casualties and all the Squadron personnel except for the drivers later boarded the SS Vienna, which left Brest at 08:00 for England. The drivers were left in France with their vehicles and were placed under the orders of the senior staff.

17th June 1940

The SS Vienna arrived at Plymouth at 08:00 and all the Squadron personnel were transported by rail to Weston.

19th June 1940

The Squadron drivers arrived back in England and were the last personnel from the unit to be successfully evacuated from France.

22nd June 1940

France surrendered.

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