Villagers remember their Battle of Britain heroes

In the story of Fighter Command's tenacious resistance the stories of many individuals' efforts have been lost or overlooked but the exploits of two Yorkshire brothers are now being revisited.

The stories of John Dundas, a former Yorkshire Post reporter, and his brother Hugh, have been revived as part of a Second World War exhibition in the tiny village museum at Cawthorne, Barnsley, where they grew up.

Both joined the RAF to fly Spitfires, serving with distinction during the German onslaught of 1940 and details of their exploits could have been written for the pages of Boys' Own.

John Dundas proved to be a skilled and brave pilot with 609 Squadron, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and then a "bar" to the medal for further action.

His biggest moment of glory was perhaps shooting down Helmut Wieck, a German fighter ace at the controls of a Messerschmitt 109, but the triumph was brief because Dundas was then shot down by another aircraft and reported missing.

That dogfight took place near the Isle of Wight and his body was never recovered, though a memorial now stands on the island.

His brother Hugh is still noted in Cawthorne for the type of flamboyant behaviour which might have been expected from RAF pilots of that era or the movies which glamourised their exploits.

Villagers still remember the young pilot breaking off from a flying mission to visit his parents at Dale House in Cawthorne, using the nearby A635 as a temporary airstrip for his Spitfire.

History doesn't record whether his commanding officers approved but the incident did his career no harm and he went on to serve on Typhoon aircraft in North Africa, being promoted to Group Captain, the youngest in the RAF, by the end of the war.

Afterwards he went into a media career which saw him become chairman of Thames Television, earning a knighthood.

Museum president Barry Jackson said the Dundas brothers had been well-known in the village, with Hugh particularly remembered for his sporting prowess.

"Hugh most fitted the popular conception of those who became fighter pilots," he said. "A tall, gangling youth, he is remembered for roaring around the neighbourhood on an extremely noisy motorcycle.

"He was once invited to join some of the villagers in a tennis tournament but the invitation, given in the spirit of kindness, backfired upon them because he won."

For a small village, Cawthorne produced a catalogue of fascinating wartime stories and many are being re-told as part of the exhibition,which runs until the end of October.

The village had its own Home Guard unit and the grand Cannon Hall was taken over to serve as an army camp. While many locals fought in the conflict, those left at home supported the war effort and the community threw itself into fundraising efforts.

Even after the war the Polish Resettlement Corps was stationed there for some time and Polish families remained until the early 1950s.

Although they are now fondly remembered, letters to the local press at the time have been duplicated for the exhibition and show sentiment at the time was not always friendly.

Others who served on the front line include Louis Jagger, who took part in the campaign to liberate western Europe after D Day, serving with a tank regiment.

He took part in the Allied victory parade in Berlin during 1945 and returned to Cawthorne with a souvenir, a large Nazi banner from the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Mr Jagger later donated it to the museum but it had not been seen for decades, after being stored in a box by museum staff and forgotten.

It is now forming part of the display, called Cawthorne's War Effort, which also includes large numbers of photographs.

The museum's normal opening times are Saturdays and Sundays, from 2pm to 5pm.

Building with historic roots

Cawthorne owes the existence of its village museum to the Spencer-Stanhope family who lived at nearby Cannon Hall.

The family founded a museum society in 1884 and found a cottage to house exhibits but as that became full the family decided to have the museum building constructed .

Work was completed in 1889, although it has since been expanded, and provided exhibition space for a growing catalogue or artefacts and photographs. Among the items on display is Hugh Dundas's military kitbag.

The Spencer-Stanhopes sold the museum to the village for 100 in the early 1950s.

It led to the formation of a museum society made up of trustees and elected members.