Kenneth Campbell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 21 April 1917 Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Died | 6 April 1941 (aged 23) Brest, German-occupied France |
| Buried | Brest (Kerfautras) Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1938–1941 |
| Rank | Flying Officer |
| Unit | No. 22 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Kenneth Campbell, VC (21 April 1917 – 6 April 1941) was a British airman who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack that damaged the German battlecruiser Gneisenau, moored in Brest, France, during the Second World War.
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How did English evolve? - Kate Gardoqui
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Berkeley Engineering Graduate Commencement 2017, Berkeley Engineering
Transcription
I am going to start with a challenge. I want you to imagine each of these two scenes in as much detail as you can. Scene number one: "They gave us a hearty welcome." Well, who are the people who are giving a hearty welcome? What are they wearing? What are they drinking? OK, scene two: "They gave us a cordial reception." How are these people standing? What expressions are on their faces? What are they wearing and drinking? Fix these pictures in your mind's eye and then jot down a sentence or two to describe them. We'll come back to them later. Now on to our story. In the year 400 C.E. the Celts in Britain were ruled by Romans. This had one benefit for the Celts: the Romans protected them from the barbarian Saxon tribes of Northern Europe. But then the Roman Empire began to crumble, and the Romans withdrew from Britain. With the Romans gone, the Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians quickly sailed across the water, did away with the Celts, and formed kingdoms in the British Isles. For several centuries, these tribes lived in Britain, and their Germanic language, Anglo Saxon, became the common language, what we call Old English. Although modern English speakers may think Old English sounds like a different language, if you look and listen closely, you'll find many words that are recognizable. For example, here is what the Lord's Prayer looks like in Old English. At first glance, it may look unfamiliar, but update the spelling a bit, and you'll see many common English words. So the centuries passed with Britains happily speaking Old English, but in the 700's, a series of Viking invasions began, which continued until a treaty split the island in half. On one side were the Saxons. On the other side were the Danes who spoke a language called Old Norse. As Saxons fell in love with their cute Danish neighbors and marriages blurred the boundaries, Old Norse mixed with Old English, and many Old Norse words like freckle, leg, root, skin, and want are still a part of our language. 300 years later, in 1066, the Norman conquest brought war again to the British Isles. The Normans were Vikings who settled in France. They had abandoned the Viking language and culture in favor of a French lifestyle, but they still fought like Vikings. They placed a Norman king on the English throne and for three centuries, French was the language of the British royalty. Society in Britain came to have two levels: French-speaking aristocracy and Old English-speaking peasants. The French also brought many Roman Catholic clergymen with them who added Latin words to the mix. Old English adapted and grew as thousands of words flowed in, many having to do with government, law, and aristocracy. Words like council, marriage, sovereign, govern, damage, and parliament. As the language expanded, English speakers quickly realized what to do if they wanted to sound sophisticated: they would use words that had come from French or Latin. Anglo Saxon words seemed so plain like the Anglo Saxon peasants who spoke them. Let's go back to the two sentences you thought about earlier. When you pictured the hearty welcome, did you see an earthy scene with relatives hugging and talking loudly? Were they drinking beer? Were they wearing lumberjack shirts and jeans? And what about the cordial reception? I bet you pictured a far more classy and refined crowd. Blazers and skirts, wine and caviar. Why is this? How is it that phrases that are considered just about synonymous by the dictionary can evoke such different pictures and feelings? "Hearty" and "welcome" are both Saxon words. "Cordial" and "reception" come from French. The connotation of nobility and authority has persisted around words of French origin. And the connotation of peasantry, real people, salt of the Earth, has persisted around Saxon words. Even if you never heard this history before, the memory of it persists in the feelings evoked by the words you speak. On some level, it's a story you already knew because whether we realize it consciously or only subconsciously, our history lives in the words we speak and hear.
Early life
Kenneth Campbell was from Ayrshire and educated at Sedbergh School. He gained a chemistry degree at Clare College, Cambridge,[1] where he was a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron.
Second World War
In September 1939, Campbell was mobilised for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) following the outbreak of the Second World War. Flying Officer Campbell joined No. 22 Squadron RAF in September 1940, piloting the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. Campbell torpedoed a merchant vessel near Borkum in March 1941. Days later, he escaped from a pair of Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, despite extensive damage to his aircraft. Two days later, on a 'Rover' patrol he torpedoed another vessel, off IJmuiden.
On 6 April 1941 over Brest Harbour, France, Flying Officer Campbell attacked the German battleship Gneisenau. He flew his Beaufort through the gauntlet of concentrated anti-aircraft fire from about 1000 weapons of all calibres and launched a torpedo at a height of 50 feet (15 m).
The attack had to be made with absolute precision: the Gneisenau was moored only some 500 yards (460 m) away from a mole in Brest's inner harbour. For the attack to be effective, Campbell would have to time the release to drop the torpedo close to the side of the mole.[2] That Campbell managed to launch his torpedo accurately is testament to his courage and determination. The ship was severely damaged below the waterline and was obliged to return to the dock whence she had come only the day before; she was put out of action for six months, lessening the threat to Allied shipping crossing the Atlantic.[3][4]
Generally, once a torpedo was dropped, an escape was made by low-level jinking at full throttle. Because of rising ground surrounding the harbour, Campbell was forced into a steep banking turn, revealing the Beaufort's full silhouette to the gunners. The aircraft met a withering wall of flak and crashed into the harbour. The Germans buried Campbell and his three crew mates, Sergeants J. P. Scott DFM RCAF (navigator),[5] R. W. Hillman (wireless operator) and W. C. Mulliss (air gunner), with full military honours. His valour was only recognised when the French Resistance managed to pass along news of his brave deeds to Britain.[3]
Victoria Cross citation
The announcement and accompanying citation for the decoration was published in supplement to the London Gazette on 13 March 1942, reading[6]
Air Ministry, 13th March, 1942.
The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery:—
Flying Officer Kenneth CAMPBELL (72446), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (deceased), No. 22 Squadron.
This officer was the pilot of a Beaufort aircraft of Coastal Command which was detailed to attack an enemy battle cruiser in Brest Harbour at first light on the morning of 6th April 1941. The aircraft did not return but it is known that a torpedo attack was carried out with the utmost daring.
The battle cruiser was secured alongside the wall on the north shore of the harbour, protected by a stone mole bending around it from the west. On rising ground behind the ship stood protective batteries of guns. Other batteries were clustered thickly round the two arms of land which encircle the outer harbour. In this outer harbour near the mole were moored three heavily armed anti-aircraft ships, guarding the battle cruiser. Even if an aircraft succeeded in penetrating these formidable defences, it would be almost impossible, after delivering a low-level attack, to avoid crashing into the rising ground beyond.
This was well known to Flying Officer Campbell who, despising the heavy odds, went cheerfully and resolutely to the task. He ran the gauntlet of the defences. Coming in at almost sea level, he passed the anti-aircraft ships at less than mast-height in the very mouths of their guns and skimming over the mole launched a torpedo at point-blank range. The battle cruiser was severely damaged below the water-line and was obliged to return to the dock whence she had come only the day before.
By pressing home his attack at close quarters in the face of withering fire on a course fraught with extreme peril, Flying Officer Campbell displayed valour of the highest order.[7]
Legacy
At a small ceremony in his home town of Saltcoats in Ayrshire on 6 April 2000, the 59th anniversary of Campbell's death at Brest, a memorial plaque and bench were unveiled by his sister-in-law, and his 90-year-old brother handed over his VC to the safekeeping of the commanding officer of the present-day No. 22 Squadron.
The RAF named their original Vickers VC10 aircraft after Victoria Cross holders. XR808 is named after Kenneth Campbell.[8]
A memorial to him stands in his old school, Sedbergh, commemorating his brave deeds.
A room is named after him at the town headquarters of Cambridge University Air Squadron. At RAF Wittering, the RAF base used for flying training by CUAS, the Campbell Building is named after him, which hosts the CUAS and London University Air Squadron offices.
References
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Note:An air-launched torpedo required about 400 yards (370 m) to settle to its set depth and for the warhead to be armed.
- ^ a b Barker pages 57 to 67
- ^ Robertson pages 14 & 15
- ^ Note: Sgt. Scott apparently tried to help fly the Beaufort when Campbell was incapacitated by the flak.
- ^ "Posthumous VC awarded 68 years ago today. - World War 2 Talk". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "No. 35486". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 March 1942. p. 1163.
- ^ "Citations For RAF Holders Of The Victoria Cross Whose Names Are Associated With VC10 Aircraft". Vickers VC10. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
Bibliography
- Barker, Ralph. The Ship-Busters: The Story of the R.A.F. Torpedo-Bombers. London: Chatto & Windus Ltd. 1957. No ISBN.
- Robertson, Bruce. Beaufort Special. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-7110-0667-9.
External links
- Flying Officer K. Campbell in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives
- Video on BBC for Remembrance Day 11 11 2011
This page was last edited on 15 December 2023, at 18:58