The Douglas Bader Mystery, page 1

Thanks for the replies guys;

Timeless test, I emailed Ken about Alex Ross, this part of the story was covered in some detail on Kens site but was one of the casualties of ken having to scale it all back into a condensed version, I was unsure of exactly what it previously said and didn't want to try and guesstimate the content so heere is the full reply I received back;

Alex Ross was indeed acting as Bader's batman whilst in Colditz and yes,
Alex was advised by the Germans that he was eligible for repatriation, being
a medic and a non-combatant. It is also true that Bader refused to allow
Alex to come home and told him in no uncertain terms that he (Alex) was his
"Lackey" and he would be staying in Colditz to look after him.

I was hoping to speak to Alex Ross through a very good contact very early in
my investigations but he died before this happened and his story is now
silent for ever. It is well documented however, that whilst in Colditz and
when the war was over, Bader treated him very shabbily.

The story of my meeting with Bader in Liverpool in 1942 does not
automatically assume that he had been "Repatriated." The whole thrust of my
story is based rightly or wrongly on MY reasoning that he made this short
visit for some purpose that I am not au faix with, but have put forward my
theory that he came back to have new legs organized and then, according to
the generally accepted story, was later liberated by the Americans when his
war ended as a prisoner in Colditz.

If Bader had been "repatriated" in 1942 (as Hodgkinson was in 1944) as your
forum member apparently assumes, then there would not be any reason for the
whole drama of The Bader Enigma! His repatriation would have been widely
publicized and Alex Ross would have in my view, not automatically have been
included as part and parcel of any Bader repatriation to England.

Bader's Liverpool excursion was in MY view very obviously an arrangement
made between those in very high places as an expedient and I just happened
to be on the spot at that time.

Your members should fully understand that that whilst there is no question
whatsoever that Bader DID come to Liverpool in 1942 as I proclaim, but why
he came is just as big a mystery to me as it might be to them to fully
understand why these remarkable events took place.

Best Wishes

JimC, this is part of the reason why parts of the Bader legend look as if they might be fabricated. When Hodgkinson was measured up for new legs in exactly the way described they too were dropped by the RAF but were found to be useless due to muscle wastage in the intervening period. You cannot allow for this in the measurements as it is entirely unpredictable and if the strength is gone then it is simply gone, as was the case for 'Hoppy'. The does not automatically prove that it was impossible for Baders legs to be replaced the same way, but it does mean that lots of questions are thrown up about why this should be.

An example of the Bader legend unravelling for example is the account, clearly spelled out in Reach For The Sky, where Bader was brought down by a collision with a Bf 109. Research in 2005 finally proved that no such collision took place, no 109 was lost, nor did a 109 even claim a victory on that day. However a pilot from Baders own squadron claimed a a kill of a 109 (even though none was lost) and described the crash in exactly the way that Baders aircraft is known to have come down having lost its tail, the pilot concerned even described shooting the tail off and ghow the 'German' took ages to get out (Bader's leg was trapped).

This is not to the detriment of Bader however as it is entirely likely that he saved his subordinate from considerable shame, although some claim his arrogance led him to believe a collision was the only way he would be brought down, there is no evidence to support such a view, and Bader really did care deeply about his pilots whatever his personality defects may have been.

Likewise Kens story does not infer anything negative about Bader, if the facts were known who is to say that he wasn't an even bigger hero than we thought?