Search for True War Story-Spitfire took off with man on tail

[KayM]

Hi All, I have been looking out, many years, for a true war picture story that featured my father Willie Kay in one of the main UK comics around the early 1960’s. He was featured telling the story of his friend James Overed (Eddie) who accidently remained on the tail of a Spitfire (Seafire) taking off from HMS Furious, an aircraft carrier just returned to Scapa Flow after a raid on the Scharnhorst. The pilot, Lt David Wilkinson managed to carefully land the plane at Hatson aerodrome, Orkney and Eddie survived. I think it was published based on an article written in the Sunday Post 9th October 1960. Any guidance would be hugely appreciated, I have checked the excellent Victor/Hotspur/Hornet Indexes but saw no sign of it there. Thanks for your attention, M Kay

[colcool007]

Hi All, I have been looking out, many years, for a true war picture story that featured my father Willie Kay in one of the main UK comics around the early 1960’s. He was featured telling the story of his friend James Overed (Eddie) who accidently remained on the tail of a Spitfire (Seafire) taking off from HMS Furious, an aircraft carrier just returned to Scapa Flow after a raid on the Scharnhorst. The pilot, Lt David Wilkinson managed to carefully land the plane at Hatson aerodrome, Orkney and Eddie survived. I think it was published based on an article written in the Sunday Post 9th October 1960. Any guidance would be hugely appreciated, I have checked the excellent Victor/Hotspur/Hornet Indexes but saw no sign of it there. Thanks for your attention, M Kay

Hi M,

I have checked my index and I cannot find that story anywhere as one of the Victor cover stories. However, that story does ring a bell, so I will continue to dig.

[KayM]

Hello sir, that's very much appreciated, but please do not go to any trouble, Best Wishes, Morris Kay

[stevezodiac]

The Victor cover stories were about soldiers who had won a medal for valor so it was probably in the Hornet or Hotspur.

[colcool007]

The Victor cover stories were about soldiers who had won a medal for valor so it was probably in the Hornet or Hotspur.

They weren't just about soldiers winning medals. You also had stories such as Rifleman Khan where Khan was an Alsatian that won the Dicken Medal during the Advance on the Rhine and 20,000 Feet Without A Chute when Sgt Nicholas Alkemade survived bailing out from that height and walked away with nothing but scratches from his landing!

Most of the Hotspur true life stories were from the Wild West and this leaves the Hornet as the most likely suspect if this was a cover story. However, all of the D C Thomson boys' comics featured a lot of true stories in the comics. This is why I am going to keep looking as it sounds so familiar and even worse, I think it is a Jeff Bevan story that I should be able to name right away!

[KayM]

Thanks Steve & Col, I'm noting all this, Morris

[colcool007]

Thanks Steve & Col, I'm noting all this, Morris

Morris, so that you have an idea of what I am wittering on about, here is a link to a spotlight that I put on the work of Jeff Bevan.

Jeff was a staff artist at D C Thomson and is criminally underappreciated.

[KayM]

Superb Tribute to a great artist Col. I remember some of these covers I'm sure