VE Day sparks poignant memories for Horsham wartime flight navigator

VE Day commemorations brought back poignant memories for 96-year-old former RAF navigator Jack Dark.
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Jack - Horsham born and bred - joined the RAF at the age of 18 in March 1942 and trained in South Africa where he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and later a Flight Lieutenant.

He joined RAF Bomber Command Main Force in 1943 as navigator/bomb aimer based at Metheringam Airfield (106 Squadron), and then Pathfinder Force at Conningsby (83 Squadron) as Radar Navigator Leader.

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“When I started training operations the loss of two complete crews occurred one evening in 1943 when the two planes collided during a night flying exercise,” said Jack.

Jack Dark, right, at the opening of the Bomber Command memorial in Lincoln SUS-200520-100141001Jack Dark, right, at the opening of the Bomber Command memorial in Lincoln SUS-200520-100141001
Jack Dark, right, at the opening of the Bomber Command memorial in Lincoln SUS-200520-100141001

More than 100 Lancasters and their crews were lost on raids that Jack flew. “It was a constant reminder of how vulnerable we were.”

With an average of seven hours per mission, Jack flew 28 combat operations to targets including Hamburg, two German battle cruisers in Gydinia/Gdańsk, Munich, Uft Dam, Dortmund, Emms, Oslo Fjord and Dresden.

His first raid was to Drammen Fjord Oslo to drop mines, and his last as ‘primary blind marker’ on the Norwegian coast.

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Pathfinder crews were tasked with flying out first before the main force, locating and marking the targets. Main force planes would then use these markers to locate their own bomb runs.

Jack Dark SUS-200520-100102001Jack Dark SUS-200520-100102001
Jack Dark SUS-200520-100102001

Jack’s last raid was to a Norwegian fjord, he marked a German battle cruiser at anchor. Similarly, he marked targets in Dresden, prior to the main raid.

Jack was born in Sedgwick Horsham, the eldest of six children.

He Went to school at Nuthurst Primary and then to Oxford Road School before leaving at 14 and joining Horsham Rural District Council in 1939 as a junior clerk.

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Jack had 45 years of local government service and by retirement was an assistant financial planning officer.

Jack Dark with his great grandson Harland Dark SUS-200520-120038001Jack Dark with his great grandson Harland Dark SUS-200520-120038001
Jack Dark with his great grandson Harland Dark SUS-200520-120038001

He was clerk to Nuthurst (1961-1990) and Lower Beeding (1974-1990) Parish Councils.

He played cricket for NALGO, the Leatherhunters, and Nuthurst Cricket Club 1958 to 1983 at the Mannings Heath ground, and football as captain of Horsham YMCA Second 11 from the 1950s to early 1960s.

He has one son, Chris, a retired secondary school headteacher. Jack is proud of his three granddaughters; Robyn, a senior designer at Alexander McQueen; Martha, chief operating officer at human rights charity Foxglove; and Lauren, senior executive commissioning producer at Film4, and a BAFTA winner in 2019.

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Jack’s wife Pat, who is currently being cared for in Horsham Hospital, worked for many years at the Horsham Telephone Exchange. They met at a dance at Horsham’s Drill Hall and have been married for 68 years.

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