L33 - Wigborough

[stephen p nunn]

Many would have just discarded it as piece of old rubbish – after all, why bother with a bit of burnt cloth andmetal? But the label said it all: "Recovered from the wreckage of L33Wigborough". On closer inspection, the fragment was actually revealed to be a section of braded epaulet with two distinctive officer's "pips", or badge ofrank, and the whole thing was spattered with dried, molten metal. It's one ofthose items of minutia that literally allows us to get up close to the past, a realconnecting block with another time and place. Research soon confirmed it to bea fragment of the uniform of a German Naval Zeppelin officer's tunic. But not justany officer – the Commander of L33, a man who we know was calledKapitainleutenant Alois Bocker. To re-discover his story and his unlikelyconnection with the nearby Blackwater village of Wigborough, we must turn theclock back to days of the Great War of 1914-1918.

Contemporary accounts indicatethat there were upwards of 62 air raids on Essex during the First World War,involving the release of some 536 bombs. These incidents began in the Januaryof 1915, firstly involving enemy aeroplanes over Colchester, Coggeshall andBraintree, but then Zeppelin airship attacks nearer to home, across ourdistrict. A direct attack on Maldon took place during the morning of Friday 16^thApril 1915, when Zeppelin L6 jettisoned two bombs and twenty or so crude 16lbincendiary devices on the Spital Road area. Thankfully there were no casualtiesthat day, but Zeppelins returned the following year and with quite catastrophicresults. On the still and starlit night of the 23^rd September 1916,Alois Bocker and his crew set off across the North Sea on a bombing mission ofEast London. The eventual shocking outcome was 11 people killed, but this timehome defences were ready to retaliate. Artillery fire scored a direct hit onthe six-engined craft, damaging one of the propellers, its steering mechanismand gas cells. Unsurprisingly, it began to lose height and the Royal FlyingCorps out of Hainault Farm, Chigwell, went in on the attack. Lieutenant Alfredde Bathe Brandon, a New Zealander, of 39 (HD) Squadron engaged L33 for 10minutes with machine gun fire from his primitive BE2c aircraft. L33 was clearlyin trouble. The stricken airship unloaded large amounts of its 2000 gallons of fuelover Woodham Ferrers and appeared to be following the course of the GreatEastern Railway line. It only just managed to clear the rooftops of Maldon andit was supposed that the Commander was attempting to drop into the Ray Channel(off West Mersea), but a gust of wind blew it over the sea wall. It hovered forsome time over the Tiptree Jam Factory and the crew threw out a machine gun,ammunition, a battery, burning logbook and a number of metal articles to tryand gain height, but all was lost. The Zeppelin eventually came down "aftermidnight", between 1 and 2 o'clock on the morning of the 24^th, partlyin Knapps and Glebe Fields and across Copt Hall Lane, within 20 yards of NewHall buildings, Little Wigborough.

Occupants of adjacent cottages refusedto open the door to Commander Bocker and his crew, who actually wanted to warnthem about their intentions. They returned to the airship and promptly set it onfire, leaving just the skeletal wreckage looking like "a beached whale" and "a Crystal Palace without its glass". The place was lit up for miles around. A dogwas killed in the conflagration; a local man, seed grower Alfred J. Wright ofGrove Farm, crashed his motor bike and later died; and a baby girl delivered atAbbots Hall was Christened Zeppelina (Clarke). Police Constable (354) CharlesSmith, promoted to Sergeant for his efforts and thereafter known as 'Zepp'Smith, was quickly on the scene to formally arrest the 21 enemy airmen. SpecialConstables Edgar Nicholas and Elijaah Trailer and Special Sergeant Ernest Edwardswere already there at that time and, along with 9 others (including Tom King),were awarded with pocket watches inscribed "for good services". Another waslater presented to a Mr. Trim by local G.P. Dr J.H. Salter of TolleshuntD'Arcy.

The Germans were marched all theway to Mersea Island where they were handed over to the vicar of West Mersea,Rev. C. Pierrepont Edwards, himself a military hero with an MC to his name.They were locked up in a barn (some say a church hall) before eventually beingtransferred to the Colchester Military Garrison. Meanwhile the wreckage of L33 wasguarded by armed men of the Lancashire Fusiliers, but not before souvenirhunters had their fair share. At a later stage items were actually sold off tovisiting spectators and there were a lot of them - 250,000 over the followingmonths who were charged the sum of 2d a time for a glimpse of the scene. Havingbeen examined by Admiralty engineers and draftsmen, the remains were finally dismantledand removed for ever some 14 weeks later.Today the site is remarkably unaltered and you will still find a small sectionof the girder structure preserved in St. Stephen's parish church, GreatWigborough, along with contemporary accounts in frames made out of metalfragments in both Great and Little Wigborough churches. Maldon's CombinedMilitary Services Museum also has a few fragments on display and there arenumerous items in private collections across the district but none, I venture,are as poignant and thought provoking as a fragment of the tunic left behind byCommander Bocker on that eventful night 96 years ago.

SPN

Maldon

[Aspern]

Sounds like a fantastic find. Any chance you could put a photo up?

[stephen p nunn]

Sounds like a fantastic find. Any chance you could put a photo up?

Many thanks - have now donated it to Maldon's Combined Military services Museum and they have it on display.

Best regards.

SPN

Maldon

[Guest Kendonn]

I have a framed photo of a solider in a frame which reads Souven'r of German Mine Layer U,C,5 Captured 27/04/16

On top of the frame is a plaque which reads L33 Wigborough 24/09/16 does anyone know more. I will upload photo of solider soon.

[spconnolly007]

donated it to Maldon's Combined Military services Museum and they have it on display.

Great little museum, will look for it when I visit next. As for the baby girl: (photo Boreenatra)

[SWET59]

. SpecialConstables Edgar Nicholas and Elijaah Trailer and Special Sergeant Ernest Edwardswere already there at that time and, along with 9 others (including Tom King),were awarded with pocket watches inscribed "for good services". Another waslater presented to a Mr. Trim by local G.P. Dr J.H. Salter of TolleshuntD'Arcy.

SPN

Maldon

I believe that it was Edgar Nicholas who in reply to one of the Germans " Is the war (nearly) over", came up with the immortal words "It is for you anyway/Fritz"