He was carrying a 4,000lb “cookie” bomb, six 1,000lb bombs plus incendiaries and was part of a 500 strong force.

As he crossed the Dutch coast, a German Messerschmitt night fighter attacked, smashing the windscreen and wounding Bill in the head, hands and shoulder. The seven-man crew’s oxygen supply and compass was destroyed, and navigation was possible only by observing the Pole (North) Star.

Bill was very seriously hurt. He recalled “I felt as if my head had been blown off”. Despite his incredible injuries, which made him lose consciousness several times, he said nothing of his injuries to the crew, and kept the damaged bomber on course.

Unfortunately, soon after this first encounter, another night fighter attacked them. The navigator, P/O Alan Jefferies, was killed instantly and the wireless operator, Jim Mann, was fatally wounded.

Bill Reid was also again injured. In spite of this, and with amazing courage, he decided to continue the mission. And he succeeded, despite heavy enemy fire, to drop his bombs of the Mannesheim Steelworks at Düsseldorf. Only then did he turn back, again losing consciousness several times during the flight.

Due to the confusion of the battle, the crew had forgotten to switch fuel tanks, and all four engines of the plane suddenly cut out over the Channel. The plane was forced to make an emergency crash landing at a misty U.S. base at Shipdham in Norfolk. American doctors patched up the crew and sent them on to a hospital in Norwich. Bill spend a further five weeks in Ely, recuperating from his many injuries.