The Downing of BOAC Flight 777 (June 1, 1943)

I was reading an entry about Leslie Howard this morning, and it was suggesting that the German High Command had targeted this flight because of his presence onboard. It was probably more of an accident.

However, a more suggestive theory is that the man with Howard, his accountant Alfred T. Chenhalls, was mistaken for Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and he was the real target. Maybe yes, maybe no.

The use of GMT in the Wikipedia account is a little deceptive. There was no GMT by this time period in World War II, so the quoted time was more likely to be WT (war time) as noted in the United Kingdom.

The Pluto conjunct the Leo Ascendant is therefore quite accurate. But it leaves an inconjunct between Neptune and the Midheaven to explain the title of this piece.

Neptune Inconjunct Midheaven

You are very impressionable, in that you pick up the energies around you very quickly. Therefore it is very important that you are surrounded by wholesome influences in your early years, because negative influences will weaken your self-esteem and make it much more difficult to accomplish anything when you are older. On the other hand, your impressionableness may give rise to some psychic ability, or at least a very sharp intuition when you are older.

The Plot Thickens

Time magazine carried a brief story on 14 June, including details of the final radio broadcast from the Dutch pilot. “I am being followed by strange aircraft. Putting on best speed.… we are being attacked. Cannon shells and tracers are going through the fuselage. Wave-hopping and doing my best.” The news of Howard’s death was published in the same issue of The Times that falsely reported the death of Major William Martin, the red herring used for the ruse involved in Operation Mincemeat.

Wikipedia

Oh, ho. That early on? Wow. (I guess you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.)