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A Quiet Man: Ted Caban by Dan Engle

In the 1970’s you were spoilt for choice when it came to local men’s barber shops. Amongst the many I came to use was Michael, a Polish chap, who was an ex-RAF serviceman and had been on one of the last bombing raids of the war when the RAF bombed the “Eagles Nest” at Berchesgarten; who had a shop in Mildenhall. Irish Tom who managed the AAFES barbers shop at RAF Mildenhall who used to cut hair with a straight razor. Ted, the barber at Beck Row, who could also sort you out with a bottle of bourbon and a date for the weekend. Reg Moss at Lakenheath who kept an air raid siren under his counter, John Wells at the bottom of Brandon High Street opposite the Peacocks Restaurant and Ted Caban at the top.

Ted Caban was the man who gave me my first proper haircut in 1956, knew my father and sometimes went Pike fishing with him at Lakenheath Staunch. In those days there was a Bullard’s Pub named “The Green Dragon”, just along the river bank, so if the Pike were not biting it was easily possible to go in to see Mrs Tomlinson the landlady and try the beer. The “Dragon” had some fine traditions, if the Pub was still full at closing time on Saturday night Mrs Tomlinson would say, “Well I am off to bed now, you can leave the money in the till”, and people always did.

Dad & Ted Caban had “toed the same line” they had both been in the RAF, dad as a fitter and Ted as an Airgunner.

Caban’s Barbers shop in Brandon was a typical Gents hairdressers, a pile of  “Tit Bits” or the “Illustrated London News” for the waiting customers. Ted smoked a lot; in fact everyone in the barbers seemed to smoke a lot. Shelves were stocked with Bay Rum, Featherlites and a good selection of fishing tackle. A man could go into Ted's shop, have a short back & sides, Brycream, a packet of Durex and a “Jardine” snap-tackle - it was a one stop shop.

On the counter was a faded formal photo of Ted in RAF uniform and his DFM which he had been awarded during the war.

In 1956 I was three years old and I continued getting the short back & sides at Caban's until I left school.

After I left school I first worked near Mildenhall and Michael or Tom cut my hair until I moved away, discovered girls, styled haircuts and eventually partial baldness.

I didn’t see much of Ted until I was in my late 20’s when I was starting to record local RAF history. One afternoon he kindly allowed me to go round to see him and we talked about his RAF service.

He had joined the RAF in 1937 and had been first stationed at RAF Wittering where he was an airgunner on the new Mk 1 Blenheim Bomber. Ted had been part of the BEF and served in France with 18 Squadron, a misadventure which came to a sudden end when they were told to “get out quick”. Ted and his Blenheim made it back to England but his kit was captured by the Germans; it had been a close run thing.

Following the fall of France things started to get sorted out.

In April 1941 Ted took his mother and father from their home in Brandon to Buckingham Palace where he collected the DFM which he had been awarded whilst serving with 18 Squadron. Although he had finished his tour of Ops and had been promoted to gunnery leader he volunteered to go on one more trip when 139 Squadron joined with 18 Squadron on a raid. Ted was crewed up with Squadron Leader Sydney Smith, (author and post-war editor of the “Daily Express”).

On the 16^th July 1941 their target was a daylight raid against ships in Rotterdam harbour, (it is worth noting that most of the Blenheim Squadron raids were conducted during daylight hours).

When Blenheim XD-V approached the harbour at Rotterdam it flew over a Flak ship which raked the underside of the aircraft with 20 mm cannon fire. This action by the enemy took out one of the aircrafts engines and as it was flying at less than 100 feet made a crash inevitable. Ted had been shot in the back by one of the cannon shells, an injury which would keep him in a German hospital for the next nine months. Squadron Leader Smith narrowly missed the spire of Rotterdam Cathedral and spotted a small park in the Waalhaven where he could make a forced landing. Whilst attempting this landing one of the aircrafts wings caught in a main power line which crossed in front of the park but luckily the cable cutter in the wing did its job and separated the cable. The aircraft made a rough landing but there was no fire and Squadron Leader Smith and Pilot Officer White, the aircraft's Navigator, managed to climb out, assisted by a growing crowd of helpful Dutchmen. Ted Caban was stuck in his turret with a severe wound to his back and could not be moved so had to be left for the Germans. White had a broken leg so Dutch people in the park quickly took Smith’s uniform tunic from him and gave him civilian clothing, some money and pushed him onto a tram. Unfortunately the tram was not running because their aircraft had cut the power cables to the tram lines and he had to make his escape on foot.

It may be that the German forces were temporarily distracted from the crash as another Blenheim belonging to 21 Squadron, from RAF Watton had crashed nearby and was burning. Despite the best efforts of the Dutch people Squadron Leader Smith was captured later that day.

The German occupiers were so enraged by the Dutch civilian efforts to protect Smith, White and Caban that they fined the city a quarter of a million ponds, dismissed the Burgomeister, and left the body of Wing Commander Tim Partridge DFC, the pilot of another 18 Squadron Blenheim, who died attempting a similar crash-landing in Noordsingel, on public display for the rest of the day.

After the war to commemorate this attack, the people of Rotterdam erected a sculpture at the Noordsingel Canal inscribed: "In grateful memory of the men of the RAF who gave their lives for the freedom of The Netherlands."

Ted had his stay in hospital after which he was transferred to a Stalag Luft in Poland where he spent the next three and a half years of the war. Short of food, short of everything, he passed the time giving captured fellow airmen a “Short Back & Sides”.

In that cruel winter of 1944-45 he went on the same long 1000 mile march which most of the captured RAF airmen made as the Russians advanced and eventually he was freed.

Ted had been awarded the DFM on the 7^th March 1941 whilst serving with 18 Squadron; he was not given any award for the action which resulted in his injuries on the Rotterdam raid. By the time he was shot down he had conducted over 30 Operations with No 2 Group including some of the most difficult during the Battle of France. He laughingly told me that on the day he was shot down he was already officially “off Ops” and was standing in for another gunner.

In happier times Ted and his crew had followed the railway line to Shippea Hill and picked up the Little Ouse and followed it to RAF Feltwell. “Landing away” at the Station on some small pretext was not uncommon and allowed the crew to visit friends, the mess and local pubs.

After the war Ted married Cybil Eyres, the daughter of the landlord of the Feltwell Chequers, and they settled down in Brandon, where they were to spend most of their lives.

I asked Ted what it was like flying operations and he told me that the first couple of trips were an adventure but you were always afraid of what might happen. At some point, he thought around his fifth trip, when the Nav called out “Enemy Coast Ahead” he would wet his trousers. He did everything to avoid it, not drinking before a raid and going to the toilet but it still happened.

As a young man I thought that heroes were men who carried out great acts of bravery in the face of huge adversity but Ted showed me that bravery was being aware of the danger and hazards of war, knowing that at any moment you might be killed, but despite your fear you carried on and stayed in your place.

I remember Ted standing on the old Staunch of the river Ouse Pike fishing with my dad and my first haircut when I was three but I most remember him as a very remarkable man.

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