Heroic brothers in arms Tragic tale of RAF pilot siblings who fought Luftwaffe over the skies of Britain and died just weeks apart
IN a corner of a Worcestershire cemetery, dappled by the shadow of trees, lie two military graves a few inches from each other.
It is the last resting place of Henry and Barry Goodwin, brothers whose heroics as Second World War RAF pilots earned them the epitaph “the best Worcestershire could give”.
But the dates marked on the white stone memorials reveal they died just weeks apart in the summer of 1940 – Britain’s finest hour.
Yet most visitors to St Cassian Churchyard, in the parish of Chaddesley Corbett, near Bromsgrove, are blissfully unaware of the story – one of bravery, adventure and sacrifice – that lies behind the words etched on those graves.
Henry and Barry, sons of a successful Kidderminster businessman, gave their lives to retain our freedom.
And they were close. When Barry died, his brother – known as Mac – flew his Spitfire in tribute over the church.
They enjoyed a privileged young life. Their father, Laughton, had built up a successful motor business on the back of First Worl War munitions production and the boys were educated at public school.
In fact, Barry gained local fame by winning the famed Shelsley Walsh hill climb in his souped-up FrazerNash vehicle.
The brothers’ young lives at large home, Palmers Hill, Hagley, were filled with soirées, dogs, horses and fun.
The family’s wealth meant Henry and Barry learned to fly as teenagers in their father’s biplane. They were their near social trained from an early age to take the reins of the family business, but also decided to join the Auxiliary Air Force in the mid-1930s.
In August 1939, just ahead of the outbreak of the Second World War, they were called up into the regular RAF and were posted together to 605 Squadron, also known as the Warwick Squadron, based at Birmingham’s Castle Bromwich.
But being part of the same squadron didn’t sit easy with Mac and Barry. Despite being in their early 20s, they were painfully aware of their own mortality and feared the possibility of both being killed during the same sortie.
Knowing the news their mother, the pair separated.
Mac was posted to 609 Squadron, based at RAF Northolt, while Barry remained in Birmingham.
It was Mac who first saw action. In would asked crush to be late May 1940, he flew a Spitfire to protect the British Expeditionary Force which was being evacuated from Dunkirk.
Barry took part in similar patrols, flying a Hawker Hurricane.
Barry’s 605 Squadron was designated a fighter squadron on January 1, 1939, and began to take possession of Hurricanes just before the outbreak of war.
In February 1940, following heavy losses, Barry and his colleagues were moved to Edinburgh, but the squadron moved back down south three months later.
After 605 squadron suffered severe losses, with both men and lives destroyed, it once again withdrew to Edinburgh to regroup – and it was here Barry met his fate.
As the younger of the two brothers tried to make a twilight training flight on June 24, he lost control of his Hurricane while landing.
It tumbled to the ground, the 23-year-old instantly.
In his superb book, Palmers Hill – the name of the brothers’ home – Worcester author Ian Morris described the chilling moment that father Laughton was informed of the loss of his son.
He wrote: “It was on the morning of June 25, 1940, when Laughton Goodwin heard the Post Office messenger whistling as he cycled up the drive of Palmers Hill.
“He met the lad on the front porch and was handed a telegram, signed for it and turned back into the hall.
“He opened the envelope and in stark capital letters the message read, ‘Regret to inform that your son No 90504 PO BL Goodwin killed in flying accident’.
“Laughton and his wife Jessie hugged each other in their grief and cried, and cried, and cried. Barry had apparently died when his plane killing stalled flight.”
Tragically, within six weeks, father and mother would receive a second telegram.
Mac, still with 609 Squadron, was posted to RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire, where he took part in the defence of the southern airfields.
In a diary entry on August 2, 1940, Pilot Officer John Bisdee recorded the newcomer’s arrival: “The lacuna (gaps) in this diary is at present worse than ever. This is mainly due to the altered way of life which we now lead – practically no time for writing while we are on readiness.
“After the Dunkirk show, life at Northolt mainly consisted of practice flying. We got three new pilots from 600, P/Os Miller (“Mick”) and Curchin and Sgt Feary, a VR. Also from 605 (S/L Avent’s old squadron), F/O “Mac” Goodwin, nicknamed “Quisling” by Beau. and crashed on a practice