Alan Hervey d'Egville (1891-1951) had an older sister, Evelyn Marguerite (1883-?), known a Madge. She married Dr. William Harold Stott and they made their home together in South Africa. They had at least two sons, Michael and Alan.
Alan was born in 1920 and was perhaps named after his uncle. By the age of 24 Alan was a Lieutenant in the South African Air Force and was flying on operations as a Navigator with 178 Squadron Royal Air Force.
In the summer of 1944 Warsaw was still occupied by the Nazis; but on the 1 August the Polish resistance Home Army rose up against the occupying forces. Stalin's Red Army sat on the opposite bank of the River Vistula within a few hundred metres of the Polish lines yet made no attempt to support them.
Churchill's requests to both Roosevelt and Stalin for support were unsuccessful. Under British command the Royal Air Force, the South African Air Force and the Polish Air Force began over 200 low level missions to supply the Polish Home Army.
To avoid the heavily defended areas of the Reich an alternative route was chosen over northern Italy with a round trip of 3200 km. The cost in human lives to supply the Polish allies was high - 69 South Africans never returned. 17 aircraft were shot down on the weekend of 13-16 August alone. On the 15 August Alan d'Egville Stott was one the men who did not make it home.
Alan is buried in Krackow Rakowicki Cemetery but some of his effects were returned to his family. These have now come to light on a South African auction site, bid or buy.co.za. The small collection includes a cap badge that has been turned into a brooch, some buttons from his tunic, his "pips," a cigarette lighter and an identity tag.
The starting bid was R150.00 but the collection does not appear to have been sold. It seeems particularly sad to me that these personal items might become buried in somebody's personal collection of militaria.
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