August 7, 2017 3.26 pm This story is over 79 months old

Bomber Command survivor’s daughter to complete 150 mile charity walk in Lincoln

Money raised will go to the International Bomber Command.
Linda Meredith will arive at the IBCC at around 3pm on Tuesday, August 8

The daughter of a Bomber Command survivor, who was shot down in the Second World War, is to complete her 150 mile walk in Lincoln.

Linda Meredith started her walk on July 29 from the London Bomber Command Memorial and will arrive at the International Bomber Command Centre around 3pm.

Money raised will go to the IBCC and the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The route incorporated a mix of memorials, wartime airfields and operational RAF stations and has walked between five and seven hours over the last 11 days.

Linda will be joined by volunteers from both the charities, members of the RAF and her family.

William White, Linda’s father was shot down on July 28, 1942 and was taken as a prisoner of war.

“My father, William White, was a rear gunner, who was shot down on only his second op and spent much of the war as a prisoner of war,” said Linda.

“He also survived the infamous Long March in the freezing winter of 1945, as the Nazis forced prisoners to flee the advance of Russia’s Red Army.

“Four of his crew mates never came home. We owe them and all those like them a huge debt of gratitude.

“My father rarely spoke about his experiences but my Mum said that decades after the war he would still wake in the night and say he could hear his friends screaming in the burning plane.

“He and the pilot and co-pilot escaped but the others all died.

“The reason for my walk is simple: it’s for my father and the 125,000 other men who volunteered from around the world to serve in the Bomber Command. For the 55,573 who never came home.

“To raise funds and awareness for two very worthy charities who between them are taking such excellent care of those who deserve it. We owe our veterans such a debt. This is my own tiny part payment.”