Scourge Of The 'doodlebugs'

摘要

In the churchyard at Scheemda, Netherlands, is a solitary war grave. It marks the final resting place of 24-year-old Sqn Ldr Joseph Berry dfc~(**). Joe, as he was known, was my father's cousin. Although I was born seven years after he was killed in action, my great passion for all things historical ensured that my research into his career would snowball into an obsession. When you reach middle age, the realization of mortality comes to the fore, and for some, the desire to trace your roots becomes compulsive. While documenting my disjointed family history, one of the first stories I heard was that we had a relative who had: "won a medal for shooting down 'Doodlebugs'". This turned out to be Joe Berry, who has become something of a 'forgotten' 'ace'. This article, I hope, will go some way to addressing that.