WW2 Veteran Could Finally Be Honoured For Saving Airman From Burning Wreckage

A forgotten World War Two hero could finally get the recognition he deserves - for risking his life and saving an airman from a burning plane.

Brave Ron Dale pulled a man from the burning wreckage of a crashed plane in 1942 – when he was just 17.

Despite his heroism, the 91-year-old’s act of courage has been lost in time, but his bravery could finally be recognised.

On September 16th, 1942, a teenage Ron was preparing to leave his family home in Milton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire.

He was heading to work at an airfield in Chipping Norton and his mother, Eva, was seeing him off when they saw a Wellington bomber suffer a failure in one of its engines as they stood in the garden.

He dragged the only survivor of the crash from the burning wreckage and both fled as the plane burst into flames.

Ron said: “It seemed to be coming lower and lower. I said, ‘mum, that’s going to crash’.

“No sooner had I said that the plane had hit the ground about a quarter of a mile from where we were stood.

"It was trying to land at an airfield but it missed and kept getting lower and lower. It only took five minutes to get to it, that's how close it was."

Ron immediately sprung into action, cleared a wall and darted to the field where the plane had come down.

Four of the five crew aboard the plane, which was completing a non-operational sortie, were killed in the crash.

Sergeant Lyon, the plane's rear gunner, survived but was badly burned, trapped, and in immediate danger due to the risk of explosion.

Ron added: “I just went straight over there and saw him trapped. He was in the back of the plane. It was obviously burning.

"He was only little and the poor devil was burned badly up one side. His boot was stopping him from getting out.

“I tried to get the boot off but I couldn’t. I gave him a pull and he came straight out of it. We both ran as fast as we could.

“As we ran he said ‘go on, it will blow any minute’ and then the whole thing went up.”

Sergeants McCarthy, Ferguson, Ritchie and Arnold were all killed in the crash.

Sgt Lyon, a Canadian, was taken to a hospital in Little Rissington, Gloucestershire, before being transferred to an RAF hospital.

Six weeks later he returned to Milton to thank Ron for saving his life – but the teenager was working at the time and never had the chance to see him.

To this day, despite his efforts to find out more, Ron does not know whether Sgt Lyon saw out the end of the war.

Ron went on to own a shoe shop next to Wembley Stadium, in north London, for around 40 years, splitting his time between there and his hometown of Witney, Oxfordshire.

But, more than 70 years after the day of the Wellington crash, he can still remember it vividly.

He said:

“I can still hear that noise today. I can still visualise it now - the diamond-shaped fuselage, covered in fabric and burning like hell.”

Ron visits St Peter’s Church in nearby Little Rissington every year, where two of the men, both from New Zealand, lost their lives in the crash are buried, to pay his respects.

He has also spent time at the scene of the crash, reflecting on that September morning all those years ago.

During a visit to the church earlier this year, he and a friend noticed an image with words describing the events of the day.

The words reveal that a civilian saved the life of a Canadian who was trapped in the crashed plane, but Ron is not mentioned by name.

While Ron himself does not consider himself a hero – others have been too keen to use this label.

Just a few months after the crash, Ron got his calling up papers on his 18th birthday to join the army.

He served in the 7th Armoured Division, battling his way through north-west Europe, including Holland and Germany after landing at Normandy.

Mayor of Witney, Chris Woodward, has written to the Lord Lieutenant of the county calling for his bravery to be recognised.

He said: "Words like hero are used all too often and for doing a lot less. Mr Dale is a true hero.

"His inspiring story is something that everyone should hear, it’s not every day that you have a living legend on your doorstep.

"Saving a life in such harrowing circumstances is not only incredibly brave, it demands our utmost respect and gratitude.

"I have written to the Oxfordshire Lieutenancy to inform them of this story in the hope that Mr Dale gets some recognition."