The Airmen's Stories - F/Lt. I J Muirhead

Ian James Muirhead was born in 1913 at West Ham, East London, the son of John Stewart Muirhead (1881-1964) and Clara Vinson Muirhead (nee Forsyth 1890-1970).

His father served in the Merchant Navy in WW1.

His family later moved to Carlisle. He was educated at Nelson School, Wigton.

Muirhead joined the RAF in September 1929 as an Aircraft Apprentice and passed out in August 1932.

He later applied for pilot training and was selected. Before the war Muirhead was serving with 151 Squadron. He was promoted to Flight Sergeant on 24th October 1939 and commissioned in April 1940.

Muirhead joined 605 Squadron at Wick on 6th April 1940. On the 10th he damaged a He111.

The squadron moved south to Hawkinge on 21st May. He destroyed a He111 and damaged another on 22nd May, destroyed a Hs126 and two Ju87s on the 25th and destroyed a Me110 on the 26th.

On this day Muirhead was patrolling Dunkirk when he was shot down in Hurricane I N2346, it was thought by Royal Navy anti-aircraft gunners but most probably a Me110.

He baled out over Ostende and despite being fired on by Belgian soldiers while still in his parachute reached the port and boarded the ss Abukir which sailed for England. Early the next morning she was then torpedoed by E-boat S-34 and sank within minutes.

The E-boat machine-gunned survivors in the water by the light of its searchlight. Perhaps 200 people were lost with approximately 32 survivors being rescued by RN destroyers.

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Muirhead recorded these incidents in a letter too indistinct to publish (below):

Dean Sumner, who researched the letter, kindly transcribed it:

NOTE1: The following is a letter originally written in pencil by P/O John Muirhead soon after surviving the ordeal of the sinking of the SS Abukir in the early hours of 28th May 1940. The version of the letter reproduced below was typed as a copy and all grammar, spelling and layout is as per the original. It should be noted that Muirhead recalls sailing, “at about 10 on Tuesday night …”, but 28th May was a Tuesday, thus the Abukir actually set sail after 22:00 hours on Monday 27th May.

Not identified by name in the letter, Muirhead was writing to his previous CO, E M ‘Teddy’ Donaldson, whom he knew from his time serving with 151 Squadron. Individuals named in the letter are ‘Ivy’, the nickname of Flt/Lt Frederick Allen Ives of 151 Sqn, who had force-landed after a mid-air collision near Ostend on 25th May 1940 (see below).

‘Atkinson’, refers to F/O Cyril Frederick Atkinson, the 151 Sqn Adjutant (retired 1964 as a Wing Commander).

‘Cogman’ was F/O William Curwin Gavine Cogman, a regular RAF pilot (not Volunteer Reserve as stated in the letter) with 102 Squadron. He was captain of a Whitley bomber on a leaflet raid to the Ruhr on the night of 8th/9th September 1939 that was intercepted and forced to land at Nivelles in neutral Belgium. Later released from internment, Cogman returned to operational flying with 102 Sqn but during the late evening of 19th May 1940, his Whitley came down over Holland. He managed to evade capture by the invading German forces and was on board the Abukir but went missing and is commemorated on panel 5 of the Runnymede Memorial. As another of the RAF missing from the Abukir, Flt/Lt Ives is commemorated on panel 4.

The statement in the letter regarding cannon-armed Spitfires shooting down a Lysander and Skua, it is recorded that on 28th May 1940, Spitfires of 610 Squadron attacked Blackburn Skuas of 806 Fleet Air Arm Squadron, off Ostend causing one to ditch in the sea with the unnamed crew rescued unhurt. In all likelihood the “very bitter” pilot that Muirhead recalls meeting on the destroyer came from this Skua shot down by ‘friendly fire’.

Hemlington Emergency Hospital,
Middlesboro.

1.6.40.

Dear Sir,
Excuse my writing to you in pencil but I am in Hospital and not very capable yet. Congratulations on the D.S.O., Sir, I wish that I had been there at the time. I am writing to give you news of Ivy who, unless he was picked up by the motor boat which torpedoed us is, I am very sorry to say, missing.

He originally landed on the beach 12 miles south west of Ostend and I met him in Ostend after being shot down and jumping at the same place. I had been told the night before he had gone into the sea, by Atkinson, so it was a shock to met him at Ostend. We spent the next two days together dodging bombs and bullets and Ivy spent a lot of his time patching people up who had been knocked about. In fact he was everything anyone who knew him would have expected – and then some.

We sailed in the ABOUKIR at about 10 on Tuesday night, and Ivy, myself and an Army Officer were on the top manning the gun, because we expected to be bombed particularly as we were shadowed out of harbour and along the coast by a machine which kept dropping flares.

Eventually however we were torpedoed without warning at point blank range, and we all got blown off into the wreckage somewhere. I made contact with Ivy in the water and asked him if he was O.K. and he said that he was but we were both near the stern of the boat and it sank instantly bow first with the prop still going within a few feet of us. I managed to contact a large chunk of wood but although I found two airmen, I couldn’t, I am afraid, contact Ivy anymore.

In addition to this the motor boat was cruising about shooting people in the water. I was unfortunately out of action myself by this time with both legs u/s., otherwise I might have been able to do a little more about it. Out of over 500 on board only 24 were saved. I was the only Officer and the two airmen I had with me the only airmen. Incidentally they behaved like heroes, not a murmur or complaint after four or five hours hopelessly drifting around.

Please express my heartfelt sympathy and admiration for Ivy to his people – he was a brick. He spent all his time while being bombed looking after people and cheering up refugees. Well, I don’t have to tell you how he behaved under these circumstances.

Page…..2.

Incidentally. Sir, we had a very important R.A.F. Mission on board and I believe they were all wiped out. So far the A.M. have made no attempt to contact either the skipper of the boat who was saved and is here or myself who could help them regarding personnel on board etc.

There was one V.R. lad called Cogman who jumped behind German lines and had walked and scrounged lifts for a week including crossing the German frontier in uniform. I don’t know all the R.A.F. people who were on board but the Skipper and I could certainly help to straighten things out. Also, I watched all the German raids that day and there are numerous points which may be useful. One in particular the 109’s came over five or ten minutes before the raiders and circled the targets or the vicinity in a straggly line astern. I saw literally dozens of raids and dodged dozens of bombs and as Ostend was intact when they started and wrecked when they finished I think I saw the whole phase night and day.

I don’t know what will happen to me when I come out of Hospital. I am only bruised all over and a damaged ear. I got hit in the balls by something and my legs are still u/s but I’ll soon be O.K. again. I want to get even with those absolute bastards – there’s no other word for them, for machine gunning poor old men and women and kids in arms as they wandered aimlessly around the country roads trying to escape, some too tired even to try. Very few with food and none with any hope. If you’ve got any room for me in the Squadron when I get fit I’ll be more than delighted to come and lend a hand.

Incidentally a spitfire squadron armed with canon is doing some good work around the south-east coast. They’ve shot down a lysander and a Skua. The Skua Pilot was taken on board the destroyer which picked me up and was very bitter about the Air Force. Well, I seem to have rambled rather a lot so I had better say cheeriho for the moment, Sir, and give my regards to the next Bosch you meet (in lead).

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) J. MUIRHEAD.

NOTE2: Note the address for the letter is Hemlington Emergency Hospital in Middlesboro - Muirhead is recorded as spending time at Torquay recovering (which he might well have done after Hemlington as Torquay was a convalescence hospital for RAF officers ). In respect of a timeline, the Abukir was attacked and sunk in the early hours of 28th May 1940 and Muirhead dated his letter 1st June, so recollections he gives would be quite fresh in the mind. It's an indication of the pressures on hospitals during the Dunkirk period in the south and the Midlands for Muirhead to be sent north of the country for treatment.

Above: Flt/Lt. Frederick Allen Ives - 'Ivy'

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Muirhead was made non-effective sick and did not rejoin 605 until 15th July.

He was awarded the DFC (gazetted 28th June 1940), 605 Squadron’s first decoration.

Above: a Hurricane of 605 Squadron, Drem, August 1940.

Above image courtesy of Darren Prior & Relatives of the Few Facebook Group.

He claimed a He111 destroyed on 15th August and shared a Do17 on 24th September. He was appointed 'B' Flight Commander on the 29th and promoted to Acting Flight Lieutenant about 10th October.

Muirhead was shot down in combat with Me109s over south London on 7th October and baled out, unhurt. His Hurricane, V7305, crashed and burned out at Bexley. In the action he damaged a Me109.

Muirhead was shot down and killed by Me109s over Maidstone on 15th October 1940. His Hurricane, N2546, crashed at Spekes Bottom, Darland, near Gillingham.

He was 27.

He is buried in St Mary’s churchyard, Holme Cultram, Cumberland.

Additional research courtesy of www.aircrewremembered.com

Above image courtesy of Lost Ancestors.

His portrait was made by Cuthbert Orde (below).

A memorial at the crash site was unveiled on Remembrance Sunday 2020, in the 80th anniversary year.