WAY Hills of heroes
WE REVISIT DEREK PARKER’S RAMBLES THROUGH RENFREWSHIRE
The Renfrewshire hills are littered with the wreckages of RAF and Fleet Air Arm planes which crashed while flying to and from Abbotsinch and Renfrew aerodromes during the Second World War.
Ghostly presences of long-dead heroes wearing combat fatigues and goggles who perished in flaming debris and mangled metal still haunt peat hags, heathermantled moors, rocky ravines and rushrobed slopes at Hill of Stake, Irish Law and other cloud-canopied peaks.
Sighs of dying men are embodied in wistful calls of curlews nesting on windswept hillsides.
Grey- plumaged hen harrier birds gliding across lonely landscapes resemble phantom aircraft plunging earthwards and freeing the souls of broken-bodied aircrews to roam forever across mistshrouded morasses where their young lives ended.
During my 16 years as a countryside ranger at Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, which includes many crash sites, I often sensed the spiritual presence of dead
Derek Parker knew many of Paisley’s secrets – the grimy and the good.
He wandered every corner in search of the clues that would unlock Renfrewshire’s rich history.
These tales were shared with readers in his hugely popular Parker’s Way column.
We’ve opened our vault to handpick our favourites for you.
airmen in grey, spectral mists shrouding hills and hollows.
Shepherds said they saw bloodied phantom flyers wandering through the gloom and ghostly girlfriends searching tearfully for lost loved ones.
One crash site is marked by white heather among the more usual purple – while spooky flashes and explosions are said to echo on at death scenes.
In silent tribute, I lingered beside crushed cockpits and fragmented fuselages, honouring winged warriors who soared among the clouds in aerial chariots of fire like Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mosquitoes, Typhoons, Seafires, Swordfish and Beaufort bombers.
The valiant hearts included heroes such as Buddie John Hannah, who won the Victoria Cross during the Second Word War for extinguishing a fire on his Hampden bomber, and Squadron-Leader Archie McKellar DSO, who was born in Southpark Drive, Paisley, and shot down the first enemy aircraft over mainland Britain.
Archie was killed in action above Kent on November 1, 1940, aged 28, after setting a wartime record of downing five German planes in two hours.
Last week marked the 90th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, founded in 1918 by Scot Sir David Henderson.
“Never in the field of human endeavour has so much been owed by so many to so few,” was wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s tribute to Britain’s air aces.
The wreckages of their aircraft in the Renfrewshire hills are their memorials. Long may their souls rest in peace in the lonely landscapes where they died.
Mine of information