213853 P/O. Thorkild "Teddy" Hoeg Royal Air Force 107 Squadron from:Baldock (d.22nd Oct 1943) Teddy Hoeg was the fourth son of Danish parents and was born in 1921 at Wallington, a small village near Baldock, Hertfordshire. He always wanted to fly and he got his chance by volunteering for flying duties with the Royal Air Force. After an intensive period of training to become a pilot in Tampa, Florida, USA he was awarded his wings and returned to the UK as a Sgt. Pilot, flying mostly Harvards and Stearmans. Teddy was selected for multi-engined aircraft and posted to OTU at Bicester, Oxford, piloting Ansens, Oxfords and Blenheims as the next stage of his training. It was at Bicester that he flew with his crew for the first time.
Joining 107 Squadron at Great Massingham, Norfolk in early 1943 he learnt to fly the twin-engined Boston 111 and with his crew flew on several low-level operations, bombing targets in Belgium and Holland.
Being made up to Pilot Officer in late 1943, flying from 107's new posting at Hartford Bridge, the Squadron mounted a low-level bombing operation to strafe busy railway marshaling yards at Ceurcelles in Belgium on 22nd October 1943. This proved to be the tragic end of Teddy's short career as a pilot, for the raiding Bostons made a faulty landfall over the Dutch coast and several were shot down by a nest of German light ack-ack that opened up on them as they flew in. Shot down and killed with his crew, Teddy has no known grave, but his two colleagues are buried in a cemetery in Holland. In addition to the other crews lost on the raid, the CO of 107, Wing- Commander Geoffrey England, DFC, who led the Squadron, perished with his comrades.
Teddy is remembered on a Memorial Panel, (No 132), at the RAF Memorial at Runneymead in Surrey. His crew P/O Neville Gardner, (Navigator), and Sgt. Cliff Rodham, (W/0p A/G), are buried at Flushing North Cemetery, Holland, graves No's 29 and 30. Information about this tragic operation and the 107 crews who took part, including those brave men who never returned, is available at Great Massingham in the Air Museum set up by Sister Laurie who, sadly, is no longer with us.
The above information has been related to me by Teddy's brother John who lives in Hempton, Norfolk and at the time of writing, (2014), has just celebrated his 89th birthday.
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