Date Posted:20/08/11 3:18:36 Author:Malcolm Blackman Subject: Re: Canberra crash, Akrotiri In reply to:
Les Bywaters
's message, "Canberra crash, Akrotiri" on 28/07/05 11:48:15
I was a Station Photographer at Laarbruch when this crash happened. Also Kim was an aeromodeler as I was and we had spent many weekends at the end of the runway together flying our models. One of my fellow photogs took the photos in Cyprus and I printed the job for the board of enquiry at Laarbruch. Many year later I wrote this poem.
KIM
By
Malcolm Blackman
Two Canberra Bombers were on exercise one day,
And in the second of the pair,
Was a friend of mine, a lad called Kim,
Who really shouldn't have been there.
The rosters had been changed as they sometimes were,
And another should have been sat in his seat,
A different young airman should have died that day,
It was his kismet that Kim flew to meet.
For as the two aircraft were on final approach,
And the runway lay stretched out ahead,
A fault developed in the port engine,
Power was lost, and the engine went dead.
The sick engine then surged, and again died away,
While the skipper fought for control,
So close to the ground; it was an impossible task,
And the aircraft went into a roll.
A wing tip hit the ground and all was lost,
The aircraft tumbled end over end,
Breaking up as it went, it burst into flames,
And in that fireball died Kim; my friend.
I saw a photograph of Kim after the crash,
Although no way could you tell it was him,
For all three of the crew were burnt to a crisp,
All I knew was one of them was Kim.
No matter how painful the experience was,
I had photographic prints to make,
For the Board of Enquiry would shortly sit,
Their judgement eventually to make.
As I steadily worked through the pictures of the wreck,
My thoughts kept returning to him,
My only hope that the Board would make sure,
No others would die in the same way as Kim.
