Crew of B-17 Flying Fortress ‘Mi Amigo’ of 305th Bomb Group
Back row: Robert Mayfield, Vito Ambrosio, Harry Estabrooks, George Williams,
Charles Tuttle, Maurice Robbins.
Front row: John Kriegshauser, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, John Humphrey.
Courtesy: American War Museum
The date was 22 February 1944. Tony Foulds at eight years old was with a few friends, having problems with a group of boys from a rival school. They had arranged to meet in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, UK, to sort things, prepared for it to escalate into a fight. He was just an ordinary boy living in the extraordinary days of World War Two. For him, the day had begun like any other, while his thoughts snagged on a smaller, more personal war of sorts as he wondered how this day might end … Victor or Loser. Little did he know then it was to be a very different outcome!!
As they arrived at the Park, a plane was circling. The Pilot was waving to them. Tony waved back.Just being friendly.
But then …
The aircraft didn’t lift higher into the skies and fly away as expected. Instead, it seemed to fall even lower, heading for trees at the edge of the Park. Suddenly, the aircraft plunged nose first straight into the ground. There was a HUGE explosion … then … Silence.
Tony Foulds has lived the events of that day in his mind every day over the ensuing 75 years, feeling personally responsible for the deaths of the ten men on board the American B-17 Flying Fortress as the Pilot desperately tried to avoid crashing into the children he saw below.
In the 1970s, Tony decided to do something in memory of these airmen killed. He erected a Memorial in the Park, regularly watering flowers he planted, keeping the area clear of debris and litter. Today, this has become a special place for him. He sits and talks with the airmen who saved his life that day in February 1944. All these years on, he realises the Pilot had been frantically waving, not in friendship, but as an urgent warning of imminent danger. Tony feels a link between him, the Pilot and his crew … a connection reaching beyond Time.
In early January this year, 2019, Tony Foulds was tending the Memorial as he does every day, quietly going about his business, sitting and sharing thoughts with the American airmen he views as his friends. At the same time, BBC Breakfast Presenter Dan Walker was walking his dog in Endcliffe Park and happened across him. They talked and shared awhile. Tony explained about that day in February 1944 and how he had created a Memorial, feeling a kinship with the Pilot and crew who saved his life. Dan was so moved by what he heard that he tweeted his colleagues:
‘Just met an amazing man in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield. Tony Foulds was an 8-yr-old playing in the Park when a US plane crashed in Feb 1944. He has diligently maintained a Memorial to them ever since. He was planting new flowers as I passed by. Almost 75yrs of service … what a man! I’m in bits …’
Tony Foulds had told Dan that it was his dream to see a Military Flypast at the Park to pay tribute to these airmen, and the Presenter immediately launched a Twitter Campaign, telling users:
‘He doesn’t want a medal. All he wants is a Flypast on the 75th Anniversary of the death of the American airmen … 22 February 2019. Can anyone help?’
Tony appeared on BBC Breakfast in early January thanks to an invitation from BBC Breakfast Television Presenter Dan Walker. Afterwards, a huge social media Campaign quickly gathered pace.
Meanwhile, more about the story of the American airmen is now known.
B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed ‘Mi Amigo’ of the 305th Bomb Group was supposed to be dropping a 4,000lb bomb on a Luftwaffe Air Station in Aalborg, Denmark, but was ambushed by German fighters over the North Sea, sustaining heavy damage. The bomb load was jettisoned before it attempted to return to its base in Northamptonshire. However, it ended up off course over the skies of Sheffield, and the U.S. bomber came down in Endcliffe Park on 22 February 1944, killing everyone on board.
Pilot Lt John Kriegshauser was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross.
On Friday 22 February 2019, Tony Foulds’ wish was fulfilled, bringing a fitting end to this story. Colonel Will Marshall of Lakenheath in Suffolk, which houses a U.S. Air Force Unit, had, a few days previous, appeared on BBC Breakfast with a message, saying that Tony should: ‘Look to the skies on February 22nd for a very special Flyby’. In the days that followed, there was a huge build-up, while Tony remained very emotional:
‘It means everything to me. They’re my family. It’s the tribute they deserve. It was only when I was in my teens that I really understood what a terrible thing had happened, and what an enormous sacrifice the young Americans made. I could not have been here if those lads hadn’t given up their lives’.
On the exact place and time as ‘Mi Amigo’ and its crew met their fate, thousands of people gathered to witness a Flypast honouring the ten airmen who died when their plane crashed in a Sheffield Park 75 years ago.
Dan Walker, Presenter on BBC Breakfast, was extremely moved by Tony’s story, and the Memorial he had created and kept going all these years. As a result of his initial ‘Tweet’ and bringing the story to the attention of television viewers, he was inundated with messages of support. Within 48 hours he had spoken to the U.S. Embassy and top-ranking officials at both the U.S. Air Force and the RAF. He was determined to make Tony Foulds dream come true, and more, to honour the men who had given their lives for the children playing in the park that day. Among the thousands of people who came to Endcliffe Park in Sheffield were family members of the crew who gave their lives. In meeting them, Tony’s words summed up his feelings:
‘I never thought I would ever meet the families of this Pilot and crew. They are all lovely, lovely people. I have had a guilty conscience all my life because, if I hadn’t been in the Park that day, they could have landed safely. Instead, the Pilot avoided us children and crashed into the hill. I owe them my life. Their sacrifice gave me everything. I love them as much as my own family. And my ashes are going to be put on the Memorial so that I can remain with them …’
He was given a rousing round of applause and wiped away tears as aircraft flew over his Memorial at approximately 08.45 GMT. The double Flypast included United States Air Force aircraft from two Suffolk airbases – RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. Crews set off in an F-15 fighter jet, to be joined by Ospreys, Typhoons and a Dakota.
Wreaths were placed as part of the Remembrance Ceremony attended by The British Legion, and new steps and a flagpole added to the crash Memorial created by Tony Foulds.
Tony continues to visit his ‘Mi Amigo’ friends every day. If he can’t make it for any reason, then it’s his son who goes in his place.
Woody Johnson, US Ambassador in the UK said: ‘It takes amazing people to have an amazing moment!’
Tony Foulds at his Memorial created for ‘Mi Amigo’ pilot & crew
Brought together by Janine Harrington
This article is from the Autumn / Winter 2019 issue of Confound and Destroy
