25 September 1940. Vale Kenneth Christopher Holland

Australians in the Battle of Britain. 25 September 1940. Vale Kenneth Christopher Holland

On 25 September 1940 the Luftwaffe’s Kampfgruppe 55 (KG55), along with escorts, attacked the Bristol Aero Company’s works. This was the first time the Luftwaffe had sent so large a force to attack an inland target. 152 Squadron was one of the squadrons sent to intercept. Rather than flying in sections of three, the squadron was broken into six sections of two. Ken Holland, in Spitfire N3173, was Blue Two, flying with Squadron Leader Peter Devitt. The individual sections were not able to form up in the air and so could not operate as a unit; they operated independently. Devitt at least led Blue and Green sections.

Just before 11.30 a.m. Devitt led Ken and Green Section to intercept the enemy aircraft which were at that time over Warmwell aerodrome. He ordered them to climb as he surmised the enemy aircraft would be heading towards Bristol. Then control advised that the ‘bandits’ were 15 miles north of Yeovil at 15,000 feet so he then ordered the climb in this direction. When they were over Bath he saw 100 plus enemy aircraft making a wide sweep with about 50 fighters astern and above. He advised control of this and remained in the sun. The enemy bombers then turned due South and were approaching Devitt and B Flight. He ordered a number one attack and led the attack from above.

It was an aggressive engagement, with roiling dogfights. After dropping his incendiary, Devitt saw no more as he was blinded when his petrol tank was hit. He did not see that Blue Two, Ken Holland, was killed. Ken’s fellow Australian, Ian Bayles, Black One, however, saw Ken’s Spitfire crash.

 

 

Shortly afterwards, Flight Lieutenant Hudson investigated and reported that: 

‘Sergeant Holland came up at great speed, circled once to identify his quarry and opened fire at approx 400 yards from the rear and slightly to the port side. His first burst apparently took effect for the [Heinkel] He 111 rapidly began to lose height and circled as if looking for a landing. Sergeant Holland turned quickly and got in a second burst, turned again and at 2000 feet came up on the enemy’s tail. This was his only mistake and was fatal as the rear gunner had not been silenced and was able to get in one burst at short range. This burst was fatal and the machine of Sergeant Holland dropped his nose and crashed.’

A witness to the battle saw the Heinkel and Ken’s Spitfire plummet. The wreckage was strewn across the fields of Church Farm Woolverton, a village about four miles north of Frome, in Somerset. Heinkel and Spitfire were less than 500 yards apart. The witness recalled that :

‘the Spitfire broke its back as it crashed. I sent the gardener out to see if the pilot was all right—nothing could be done for him—he had been shot right through the head.’

Kenneth Christopher Holland was only 20 years old. He was the youngest Australian to die in the Battle of Britain. Since his first combat he had made a conscious effort to improve his combat technique, thus increasing his success rate. But during this last action he had forgotten one of the fundamentals taught by the instructors (veterans of the Battle of France) at 5 Operational Training Unit Aston Down: Never follow an enemy aircraft down after hitting it because of the likelihood of an attack from the rear. Rather, strike and get out fast. He had also forgotten the lesson he learned a few days earlier: rear gunner first then engine.

Forgetting these important lessons resulted in Ken’s death. And the second attack was not even necessary: Flight Lieutenant Hudson later discovered from Hauptmann Brandt, the pilot of the downed Heinkel that ‘Sergeant Holland’s first burst had, in point of fact, been sufficient to put his machine completely out of action’. Small consolation, but Ken was credited with bringing down Brandt’s Heinkel. 

Kenneth Christopher Holland, known as Ken, was born on 29 January 1920. Fair-skinned with sun-tipped blond wavy hair and good looking in a fresh-faced way, he had grown up in the coastal suburbs of Sydney, ranging around the Bondi area like any other growing boy, taking pot-shots at rats with his air rifle and perhaps even contributing the results of his fishing expeditions to the family table.

He entered Randwick Intermediate High School in 1933. After three years he gained his Intermediate Certificate with passes in English, History, Latin and French, but failed Mathematics. He was a keen and strong swimmer and in October 1935 joined the Tamarama Surf Life Savings Club as a junior member. As soon as he turned 16 he began working towards his surf bronze medallion.

At the club he met the man who would become his guardian, Major Hugh Ivor Emmott Ripley, known as Toby. Toby invited his young protégé to accompany him on his next trip home to England. At some point Toby suggested that Ken live there under his guardianship. Ken’s parents agreed and, after a brief return to Australia where he passed his examination for the surf bronze medallion, he farewelled his family in early 1937 and left Australia with Toby, trading the beaches of Bondi and Tamarama for the Cornish coastline.

 

 

 

Toby was devastated at Ken’s death. He had Ken’s body cremated and kept the ashes in a small urn. Ken’s bedroom at Melorne, the house in which they lived at Camelford, was kept unchanged since Ken’s last visit. Toby erected a stone monument at the place where Ken’s Spitfire crashed. He also placed a memorial in the church in which Ken was baptised at Tintagel. Although he had not formally adopted Ken, he acknowledged an adoption on the Tintagel memorial—a statue of St Christopher, patron saint of travellers—and gave his young ward the courtesy of his name on both memorials.

 

 

 

But Toby was not the only one who grieved Ken’s death. Back in Sydney, his parents, Ina and Harold Holland, who had not seen him for almost four years also grieved. On 5 October 1940, a small notice appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Roll of Honour:

‘September 25, 1940, killed in action. Sgt-Pilot Ken C Holland RAF, only son of Mr and Mrs H G Holland of 11 King Street Bondi.’

Vibrant, happy-go-lucky Ken, who lived life to the full had died. Their only son. Indeed, their only child.

The photos of Kenneth Christopher Holland used in this blog appear to be the only ones of him in the public domain. If anyone else reading his story here has photos they would be willing to share with me I would appreciate it if they would get in touch. Thank you.