Four forgotten WWII heroes who flew behind enemy lines to snap clandestine photos of Nazi operations could be commemorated in a new monument.
85 years after the boys from Bermondsey, Walworth and Blackfriars braved the Luftwaffe in pursuit of Allied victory, campaigners are desperate to learn more about them.
Despite suffering a horrendous casualty rate of almost 50 per cent, pilots and navigators who flew with the secret ‘Photographic Reconnaissance Units’ (PRU) have never been formally commemorated.
Roughly 150 MPs, including Bermondsey and Old Southwark’s Neil Coyle, have called for a memorial that would put their achievements back on the map.
The search is now on for more information about William Fisher and Frederick Legon, both born in Bermondsey.
Campaigners also want to know more about Lesley Baker, born in Walworth, and Frederick James, born in the old ward of Newington by Blackfriars Road.
What did the PRU do?
PRU aces’ reconnaissance work – including surveillance of the Bismarck German warship, Normandy’s beaches and V2 rocket launching sites – was instrumental to Allied military planning.
Formed in September 1939, three weeks after Germany invaded Poland, the unit captured more than 26 million images of enemy operations.
The pilots flew in Spitfires and Mosquitos stripped of their armour and guns, increasing their flying range from around 575 to nearly 2,000 miles.
But this left the aircraft incredibly vulnerable to enemy fire meaning of the 1,287 men who flew, there were 500 casualties including 378 killed.
One plane – the Spitfire AA810 – was famously flown by Pilot Flt Lt Alastair “Sandy” Gunn who was part of the iconic ‘Great Escape’.
He bailed from the craft and escaped imprisonment in the Stalag Luft III prison camp only to be recaptured and executed by the Gestapo.
The same campaigners behind the memorial are now rebuilding the plane after it was discovered in a Norwegian peat bog so it can fly again – possibly this year.
PRU servicemen weren’t always Brits – citizens of Belgium, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Malawi also served and gave their lives.
Who were the Southwark Four?
Frederick Legon
Frederick Vernon Legon was born in St Olaves, Bermondsey, the son of Albert and Martha Legon.
He trained as a pilot in the RAF converting to the Mosquito aircraft and was posted to 540 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.
On April 10, 1944, Fred and his navigator F/o John Swann took off from RAF Benson to photograph Friedrichshafen, a German city on the borders with Austria and Switzerland.
The crew were met by several German fighter planes which shot down down Fred’s unarmed Mosquito.
Crashing in the Forest of Petit Failly in France, John Swann was able to escape the crash and was taken Prisoner of War.
Fred, aged just 24, sadly perished and is buried in Verdun-sur-Meuse.
William Fisher
William Arthur Fisher was born in Bermondsey, the son of Arthur and Phyllis Fisher.
Selected to train as an RAF Photographer he was posted to No.2 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit based in Africa for operations over the Mediterranean.
He was responsible for the camera operation on the RAF Beaufighter aircraft used in desert conditions, and flew with the aircraft regularly.
On April 6, 1942, William and his pilot took off from RAF Maaten Bagush in Egypt for a reconnaissance of Crete.
They were intercepted by Ltn Wilhelm Schieter of 7./JG27 who shot down Williams’ unarmed aircraft with the loss of both crewmen.
William is still missing in action to this day.
Frederick James
Frederick Edward James was born in St. Mary Newington, Southwark, served in the PRU during the war, and is believed to have survived the war but little is known about his post-war life.
Lesley Baker
Lesley Bernard Baker was born in Walworth, and is known to have served in the PRU, but little else is currently know about his wartime service, or post-war life.
What’s happening with the monument?
MPs calling for a permanent memorial to these brave men include 75 Conservatives, 50 from Labour, and others from the Lib Dems, DUP, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Alliance.
The Spitfire AA810 Project, the organisation behind the campaign, have been spearheading the movement since 2019 but have been hampered by Covid-related delays.
In November 2021, MPs made passionate representations in favour of a monument at a Westminster Hall debate.
The memorial will probably be situated in “a central London location with historical relevance to the PRUs missions”, campaigner Anthony Hoskins told Southwark News.
Visitors will be able to scan the memorial with their phones which links them to a website telling the stories of the individuals who served.
The monument is currently scheduled to be completed and unveiled in 2025.
Neil Coyle MP said: “Southwark continues to amaze and impress me and inevitably the local contribution to this crucial military team is strong.
“Lesley Baker, William Fisher, Frederick James, and Frederick Legon, all served under exceptionally difficult conditions, and I would urge anyone who might have any more information on these four brave men to get in touch please.
“I look forward to working with the Spitfire AA810 Project to establish this memorial and to being able to pay my respects to the local, national and international heroes of this unit once it is completed.”