Ron Hawkins was born in 1916 in Harwich, Essex. His family moved to Ipswich in 1928 and, on leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship with a firm of chartered mechanical engineers where he qualified as a draftsman. In December 1935 the Air Ministry advertised for vacancies in the RAF Reserve as non-commissioned pilots. This attracted Ron who was an outdoor adventurous type by nature. He was already an experienced sailor of small boats in the River Orwell and around the coast. He trained part time at No 6 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, Sywell and on the 23rd April 1936 flew solo. He returned for further training periodically until he finally became a qualified pilot in April 1937. He joined the Straight Corporation at Ipswich aerodrome in June 1937 flying calibration flights for Army anti aircraft and sound locating units and providing training for Observer Corps.

In September 1937 he was provisionally accepted for a commission in the Reserve of Air Force Officers, undertook a further period of training, and was confirmed Acting Pilot Officer in November 1937.

After a year of service/training in the RAF Ron went onto the Reserve and rejoined the Straight Corporation in September 1938. The company planned to add flight training of RAFVR pilots to its activities and he was sent on a flying instructors course, which he completed in November 1938. He continued to work as an instructor until the start of the war.

Ron Hawkins was recalled for active service in October 1939 and undertook conversion to Fairey Battles with 63 Reserve Squadron at Benson. He was then transferred to 98 Squadron, which moved to France in April 1940.

98 Squadron was based in Western France and used in a reserve and training role on behalf of the Advanced Air Striking Force, a role which was unaffected by German invasion on the 10th May.

Ron was transferred to a front line unit, 103 Squadron based at Rheges, on the 24th May 1940. He flew several operations during his short time with the unit but was shot down on the 14th June 1940 in a daylight attack on German troop concentrations near Evreux.

The following is a verbatim transcription of Ron's report of this flight and his subsequent capture evasion and escape completed on his eventual return to the UK.

"P/O Hugill and I took off at 18:45 hours on the 14th June 1940 from the French landing ground at Souge to attack enemy units in the large forest South West of Evreux: climbing most of the time we reached an area a few miles South of the target area at 8,000 feet at 1920 hours - to be attacked by approximately 11 (eleven) Me 109s. Our intercommunication was not good and I had difficulty hearing Hugill's report as to their different directions of attack: however as the forest was in sight and only a few miles ahead I carried on and managed to release two bombs on some transport and whilst doing this was attacked from astern and underneath, resulting in my control column coming away from its mounting and the bottom of the cockpit taking fire - the aircraft, now out of control, continued to dive at an increasing angle. Hugill was ordered to take to his parachute and I followed after having tried unsuccessfully to get out in the approved manner owing to the air pressure but eventually managed to work my feet up over the instrument panel, over the top and slightly to one side of the windscreen and so letting the air pressure pull me out by the heels and legs. I pulled the rip-cord immediately and regretted it at once as a was given a few short bursts of fire - finding myself not heavy enough to spill the air from the canopy by pulling the shroud lines on one side, I hung limp shamming that I had been hit. Hugill was floating down several miles away and I have not seen him since, as you know he is now a prisoner of war. My aircraft and one of the 109s crashed fairly near the target - the 109 was presumably shot down by Hugill, possibly helped by the bursts of front gun that I gave them whenever they went by the nose after attacking.

I landed in the very forest that I had set out to bomb, hid my parachute and left the forest as quickly as I could by the Western side, lay in a cornfield and watched them searching the wood for me.

At dark I started marching South by the stars travelling cross country all that night, hiding the next day and on again the next night, hoping to regain our own lines, but had had nothing to eat or drink since lunch time on the 14th and while looking for water in a farm yard was captured by seven German soldiers at about 02:00hours on the 16th June. I was driven to a sub headquarters, given breakfast with a German Lieutenant and then taken away to a head quarters unit near Vernon (Position since given to Intelligence) and interrogated, giving my name, rank and number but managed to pick up the piece of paper on which the interrogator had written this information, as I left the office. From here I was taken to a former French barracks at Vernon and put with about 300 French prisoners, here the food was quite reasonable and the treatment was good. The captors allowed us to enter the French stores and to help ourselves to French kit, so I obtained haversack, water bottle, chisel, a pair of pliers and a file when no one was looking, with a view to planning an escape.

On Tuesday the 18th we were taken by lorries to a camp West of Evreux. It consisted of a flourmill and house used for German offices and living quarters, a small field for about 2000French prisoners and an outhouse for approximately 30 French officers, three British Army officers, a Flight Lieutenant from a fighter squadron and myself. The whole thing was surrounded by barbed wire, machine guns and was bordered on the South by a river. I took the names and addresses of the British officers next of kin having unsuccessfully tried to persuade them to escape with me, made my escape in the early hours of the 19th by crawling along the sewage trench every time the sentries had their backs to me and swimming the river that formed part of the Southern boundary of the camp. Unfortunately I lost my trousers and money crossing the river ( having taken them off thinking it was shallow enough to wade ), so I had to put my shirt on with my legs through the arm holes.

I knew the rough direction of the coast line and marching by night and hiding by day, reached Trouville (a small town and harbour on the Channel coast, 10 miles South of Havre) on the 22nd June - on this day I was given old civilian clothes and bread and sugar by a friendly farmer, having previously lived on biscuits saved from the prison, supplemented by potatoes from the fields and milk when I could find willing cows."

Ron Hawkins, Part Two or Back to More Stories