"HAWK-EYE" HOM0E

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXV, Issue 254, 28 October 1942, Page 6

"HAWK-EYE" HOM0E

wing commander wells's story. veteran of 350 raids. Now in New Zealand on a special tour of duty, Wing Commander e. p. Wells, d.s.o., . d.f c. and bar, of Cambridge, who trained in Blenheim. completed no fewer than 350 sorties and raids against the enemy before leaving Britain. He came through all of them completely unscathed. He is credited with having destroyed 11 enemy aircraft, shared in the destruction of four bombers, secured five probables and damaged eight other machines. He is the only New Zealamder to have received the particular group of decorations he holds. That keenness of eye which brought for him remarkable skill as a rifie and gun shot before the war earned for him the sobriquet of "Hawk-eye" as a fighter pilot in Britain. Speaking of the war in the air, j Wing Commander Wells said that the Spitfire saved Britain in 1940. After the Battle of Britain fighter sweeps over enemy territory became a regular routine and the raids were attended by magnificent success. The morale of the Royal Air Force was very high, said Wing Commander Wells. He added that he had met many German pilots who had been shot down in Britain. They were of two types. The Hitlerites were arrogant and surly, while those not po'litically-minded were reasonable and spoke freely so long as nothing was disclosed that would compromise their families. prisoners' eyes opened. Prisoners who were told of the damage done by British bomber raids over Cologne simply would not believe the evidence of photographs and reports, while one who was shown a typical grocer's shop in London was dazed when he saw the quality of goods that were available for sale. He could hardlv believe the evidence of his own eyes, so different was the state of affairs from what he had been led to expect. The German propaganda system was so intense and the press so rigidly controlled that the Germans could only believe what they were told by their Propaganda Ministry, no matter how far its stories departed from the truth.