RAF 50 Victory Message to the RAF Path Finder Force
ROYAL AIR FORCE PATH FINDER FORCE
RAF 50 Victory Message to the RAF Path Finder Force VE Day 1945
from Air Vice-Marshal D C T Bennett CB CBE DSO
Air Officer Commanding No. 8 Group, Bomber Command
ROYAL AIR FORCE
THE PATH FINDER FORCE
Victory Message
To: The Path Finder Force
From: Air Vice-Marshal D C T Bennett CB CBE DSO
Great Britain and the Commonwealth have made a contribution to the civilised world so magnificent that history alone will be able to appreciate it fully. Through disaster and triumph, sometimes supported and sometimes alone, the British races have steadfastly and energetically over many long years flung their forces against the international criminals. They have fought the war from end to end without a moment’s respite, in all theatres, and with all arms – land, sea and air.
Bomber Command’s share in this great effort has been a major one. You, each one of you, have made that possible. The Path Finder Force has shouldered a grave responsibility. It has led Bomber Command, the greatest striking force ever known. That we have been successful can be seen in the far-reaching results which the Bomber offensive has achieved. That is the greatest reward the Path Finder Force ever hopes to receive, for those results have benefited all law-abiding peoples.
Whilst you have been hard at work through these vital years, I have not interrupted you, as I would like to have done, with messages of praise and congratulation. You were too busy; but now that your great contribution to the world has been made, I want to thank you each man and woman of you personally and to congratulate you on your unrelenting spirit and energy and on the results you have achieved.
Happiness to you all – always. Keep Pressing On along the Path of Peace.
DON BENNETT
Headquarters
Path Finder Force
European V-Day, 1945
Air Vice Marshal D C T Bennett CB CBE DSO
Air Officer Commanding 8 Group Path Finder Force Royal Air Force
Donald Clifford Tyndall Bennett (1910-1986) was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1930, qualifying as a pilot, transferring in 1931 to the Royal Air Force.
His autobiography Pathfinder was first published in 1958. It is typical of the writing style of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s and upon which I grew. His account is direct. AVM Bennett does not hold his punches.
I grew up in a household in which, for some reason, the name Bennett was important. It was to do with my parents’ brothers, both of whom were killed in action in 1943 and 1945 respectively. Both flew Halifaxes. My mother’s brother was then transferred to 405 (City of Vancouver) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force from the Royal Air Force, as he was a highly skilled flight engineer. 405 Squadron was a Pathfinder Squadron, and I quickly learned that the Path Finder Force was an elite forward thrusting force that marked the target for the Bomber Command Main Force to then follow through with precision bombing.
At 15, I was encouraged to join the Air Training Corps. I did so, and never looked back. Things impress upon a young mind. The RAAF, the RCAF and the RAF. All were synonymous, equal and at one. It is still so to this day, a fact that those south of the 49th Parallel cannot really grasp. We are all sovereign and fiercely independent nations. We happen, for the moment, to have the same Monarch. Thus, the King of Australia and the King of Canada happens also to be the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is no pecking order. Even, if we all go our separate ways in the future, there is an indelible bond that is indestructible, and very different from that which exists between the two nations that stand apart either side of the great Atlantic Ocean.
In a phrase, it is important to note that the English-speaking Peoples have never included the American-speaking Peoples. The English-speaking Peoples are what, today, we know as the Commonwealth of Nations, currently 56 independent and equal nations.
20 March 2025
Leading Image is of a Squadron of Path Finder Avro Lancasters taxiing to take-off at Royal Air Force Coningsby in 1944.
