As part of the 385th BG, “The Wild Hare” was based at Great Ashfield, England. For further information about the airfield, see: http://www.suffolkvillage.info/greatashfield/. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Great_Ashfield.
A pub, “The Eagle”, was popular with both 8th Air Force and RAF personnel, who often put graffiti on the ceiling by the bar, using lip stick and cigarette lighters, according to Robert Cammarato. Our thanks to Mr. Cammarato for the information and for providing the two photos he took in “The Eagle”. According to Tom Applewhite’s escape and evasion report, he was in the 385th Bomb Group and 548th Bomb Squadron but not the 96th Bomb Sqd. shown in the photo. For that reason it appears that the ceiling graffiti must be referring to a different “Wild Hare” than the B-17 on which Tom Applewhite flew.
The Wild Hare was shot down 11 November 1943 between the village of Hedikuizen and the town of Heusden west of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (also known as Den Bosch) in the province of Brabant, The Netherlands.
Members of the crew were:
Pilot – John P. McGowan
Co-Pilot – James C. Bufkin
Navigator – Ellis Shorb
Bombardier – Thomas Applewhite
Top Turret Gunner – Nello Malavasi
Radio Operator/Gunner – James C. French
Ball Turret Gunner – Vernon L. Mulvaney
Tail Gunner – Robert D. Johnson
Left Waist Gunner – William J. Bloeser
Right Waist Gunner – Anthony T. Barckett
A photo taken in England of “The Wild Hare” shows the plane, some of the crew, and a group of English cadets:
“The Wild Hare,” Oct. 31, 1943. Front row from l-r: McGowan, Bufkin, Applewhite, cadet scoutmaster, McMahon, Malavasi, and French
WWII Netherlands Escape Lines 
That’s my Pop on the bottom left, Pilot John P. McGowan.
Hi Robert,
We have this photo on our wall here in England. And I was looking into any information I could find on it..
The young cadet in the photo Is Richard Witton, and was my wife’s grandfather. He was 14 years old in 1943, and at the time the photograph was taken.
So this page was quite an interesting find.
Do you happen to know if your father was the pilot of a B17F or B17G. I would be interested to know which variant the ‘Wild Hare’ was?
Ah, I see it was an ‘F‘ variant………
Is there any other photographs in existence?
My father flew in a different Wild Hare than in the photo posted . I have a picture of the B-17 Wild Hare.
Tom Applewhite told me that the B-17 they flew on almost all missions was a B-17F. However, on one occasion they were assigned a B-17G.
Bruce Bolinger
Thanks for the reply Bruce, so the photograph is more than lightly a B-17F.
Be good to get more info on the B-17 n the photo
Heusden is not east from ‘s Hertogenbosch, but west from ‘s Hertogenbosch
Thank you for bringing the error to my attention. I have corrected it.
Bruce Bolinger
Just visited the American Military Cemetery in Cambridge. Beautiful place.
Afterwards, we visited The Eagle Pub, there.
It is famous for having been a popular place with both 8th Air Force and RAF personnel, who often put graffiti on the ceiling by the bar, using lip stick and cigarette lighters.
One bit says “The Wild Hare”
I have a picture of it, but can’t seem to insert it in this thread.
Thanks to Mr. Cammaroto, we were able to insert the photos in the body of this page. See above.
Bruce Bolinger, Webmaster
Hello Bruce and Bob: Re: Ceiling graffiti at the Eagle Pub.
“The Wild Hare”, has 96th bomb squad written under it. Would not be in reference to my father’s plane if so. Bruce? your thoughts.
Leatha McGowan Cooksy
Ma’am…I had mentioned to Bruce that I thought there were at least two B-17’s that had the name “Wild Hare”…I am not sure what bomb group/squadron they were in, respectively…I think both were shot down.
I had done a little looking around a while back that caused me to come to that conclusion…I have to retrace those steps.
I think the name may have originated from its possible use for a Bugs Bunny cartoon at some point, but I’m not sure about that….will also check that out.
Great Ashfield is about 40 miles from Tge Eagle, as I recall.
As an aside:
This past weekend, we had a dear family friend as a house guest…102-year old MSgt Bruno Gallerani, who flew out of Great Ashfield with the 385th…he was shot down on the first Regensburg mission on August 17, ‘43, in “The Jolly Roger”, and escaped and evaded through Belgium, France, and Spain, returning to his field in mid-September. He said Cambridge was a long haul from the field and the pace of operations at that point in the 8th’s war was such that they didn’t have time to make the longer trips, and tended to stay closer in.
Certainly, others’ experiences probably differ…stay tuned!
Quick addition…”A Wild Hare” was in fact a Bugs Bunny cation, released July 27, 1940, and was about Bugs confusing and duping a hunter, Elmer Fudd. A quick internet search of the title will bring up all sorts of information on the cartoon, and the short cartoon itself.
Update…
I found at least three B-17’s that were named
“The Wild Hare”…there may wel be more out there:
42-31515, shot down 11/27/44, with the 91st BG out of Bassingbourn.
42-30795, shot down 11/20/43, with the 385th BG, out of Great Ashfield.
43-37826, returned to US 5/25/45, with the 457th BG out of Glatton.
I have to see if there was also a ship by that name in the 96th BG…which seemed to me to be the case based on the ceiling graffiti at I saw at The Eagle…great fish and chips there, by the way!
Last pesky thought for tonight:
The graffiti says “96th Bomb Squadron”, not Group.
The WAS a 96th BS in the 12th AF, out of North Africa, then later transferred to the 15th AF out of Italy. Later in the war, they bombed many of the same targets as did the 8th.
The question is how would a 96th BS airman have gotten to write graffiti in Cambridge?
He would have been stationed hundreds of miles away. A visitor perhaps, for personal or official reasons?
Am trying to find a source for the squadron to see if they list a “Wild Hare”.
Sorry, but I don’t have an answer for this puzzle.
Best wishes,
Bruce
Hi Leatha,
According to Tom Applewhite’s escape and evasion report, he was in the 385th Bomb Group and 548th Bomb Squadron. It appears that the ceiling graffiti must be referring to a different “Wild Hare” than the B-17 flown by your father. I have updated the page on the website accordingly.
Best wishes,
Bruce
Hi Leatha, According to Tom Applewhite’s escape and evasion report, he was in the 385th Bomb Group and 548th Bomb Squadron. It appears that the ceiling graffiti must be referring to a different “Wild Hare” than the B-17 flown by your father. I have updated the page on the website accordingly. Best wishes, Bruce
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