RAF Wittering re-name building after Sgt Nicholas Alkemade
A building at RAF Wittering has been re-named after a remarkable story about a Second World War gunner.
Known as the 'Wendy House' since 1996, it was decided that the 115 Squadron's home should be given a more meaningful and more relevant name.
After putting it to the vote, 115 Squadron decided unanimously to call it the 'Alkemade Building'.
At the ribbon cutting and official re-naming of the building on Tuesday, Sqn Ldr Andy Tagg told his squadron the story of Sgt Nicholas Alkemade.
On March 24, 1944 members of the 115 Squadron - who were flying in a Lancaster aircraft - were on their way back from dropping bombs on Berlin when they were attacked from beneath causing their plane to catch alight.
The Lancaster was too cramped for the gunners to wear parachutes during flight. They were instead stored in a separate canister in case of an emergency, and were to be clipped on to a chest harness if they were needed.
When Sgt Alkemade opened the door to the separate cannister, his parachute was already on fire. Flames seared his body and his clothes caught alight.
Despite not having a parachute, Sgt Alkemade made the decision to jump out of the plane rather than burn to death.
Not expecting to survive, he plummeted 18,000ft to the ground, blacking out as he fell.
To his sheer luck, a cluster of young pine trees broke his fall and he landed in a patch of soft snow.
Had he fallen seconds later, there would have been no snow or trees to save him.
When he woke he was shocked to find he was completely intact with only a few scratches and bruises, and a minor knee injury. Not a single bone had been broken.
Freezing and unable to move, Sgt Alkemade blew his emergency whistle which alerted the nearby civilians who took him to a hospital.
He was interrogated by the Gestapo who, in their disbelief, accused him of being a spy. However, a search of the woods where he landed confirmed his story to be true.
Sqn Ldr Tagg, who made the decision to re-name the building, said: "Sgt Alkemade wasn't awarded anything, he was just lucky."
Flying Officer,Ryan Shields added: "It's a brilliant story that some people otherwise wouldn't know about."
