D-Day: When Bill Went to War
Else and Rory have proudly shared their Great-Grandfathers D-Day achievements during collective worship this week. If you would like to hear the interview in full please click here for the BBC link. Bill Eames from Enniskillen, one of last remaining D-Day pilots, who recalls his flight into enemy territory in the early hours of 6th June 1944.
Bill always dreamed of joining the war effort as a boy at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, sketching planes on his school books. Just a few years later he joined the RAF and took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 that marked the beginning of the end for Hitler’s forces. Flt.Lt. Eames towed a glider carrying the troops that would capture Pegasus Bridge – a key military target for the Allies.
Later in September 1944, Bill took part in Operation Market Garden, an ill-fated Allied attempt to secure the Rhine crossing at Arnhem. On the third day Bill’s plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire from the ground and he was severely injured.
