MSPS mark WW2 pilot’ s milestone

One of the last surviving Lancaster bomber pilots has been congratulated in the Scottish Parliament after celebrating his 100th birthday in Perth.

Ernie Holmes marked the milestone of his remarkable life which has seen him shot down over the Netherlands during the Second World War before being captured by Nazis.

He turned 100 at Kincarrathie House care home in Perth in an event marked in parliament.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser put forward the motion, telling The Courier he lived around the corner from Ernie’s old house.

Mr Fraser said: “He’s such a remarkable character. There are fewer and fewer veterans of World War 2 left and getting to the ripe old age of 100 is noteworthy.”

The motion applauding Ernie on his achievement read: “That the parliament congratulates the former Lancaster pilot, Ernie Holmes, on his 100th birthday.

“Ernie survived being shot down during a bombing raid in 1944, and was then rescued and sheltered by a Dutch family.

“He worked as a civilian instructor with the Royal Air Force until blindness sadly cut short his career... the parliament wishes him well as he enjoys his 100th birthday.”

Ernie was on his way home after a night-time bombing raid in Germany when his aircraft was shot down in May 1944, killing five members of the eightman crew.

The Lancaster crashed over the Netherlands but Mr Holmes parachuted to safety and was taken in by farmer Fons van der Heijden, a member of the Dutch resistance.

Just days before the region was liberated, Fons, who had harboured many servicemen, was taken out of church by Nazis and shot.

Fons and Ernie also shared a birthday, meaning the Dutchman would also have turned 100 years old on January 29 had he survived.

“These were good people who risked their lives, risked everything, to keep me safe,” Ernie said.

Speaking on Songs of Praise in 2018, he recalled his memories of the crash.

“We dropped our load and we had the target burning,” Ernie said.

“And then we started our way back home by a different route, and it was on the way back, all we heard was the roar of our engines.

“It was dark then suddenly, there’s a vibration and a sound, and then a fire broke out in the starboard wing.

“Meantime, number three engine was tearing itself to bits, exploding, throwing bits around. I called out to my crew: ‘Bail out, bail out!’ But before this happened there was an explosion and I woke up.

“The cabin had gone, I was hanging off the nose of the aircraft but still strapped to my seat.”

He managed to open his parachute and land in a wood.

“A girl came by riding a bicycle,” he said. “She said ‘Gude Morgen’ to me and I knew straight away I was in Holland, not Germany, not Belgium. She pointed to the corn, she wanted me to hide.”

Ernie was eventually captured and taken to a prisoner of war camp where he was kept for the rest of the war.

The former RAF pilot has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for “acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty while flying in active operations against the enemy” and on his 99th birthday the French government awarded him their Croix de Guerre.

CENTENARIAN: Former Lancaster bomber pilot Ernie Holmes with his Croix de Guerre and in his RAF days.