James Hardy Marks, (19 March 1918 – 20 September 1942) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. An early proponent of developing a target marking method, he was the commanding officer of 35 Squadron when it was selected as one of the five founding squadrons of the Pathfinder Force. He was considered by his contemporaries as one of the top aviators of his time. He was killed while returning from a raid against Saarbrücken when his Halifax was set afire from an attack from a German night fighter. Marks stayed at the controls to allow his crew to escape before his aircraft crashed near Blesme in northern France.
Early life
Marks was born in Tolleshunt D'Arcy on 19 March 1918. At the age of 2 his family moved to Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire, where he grew up. Marks attended Barnard School and proceeded to Newport Free Grammar School, where he was a standout in cricket and football. He graduated in 1936. By his late teens he had become a tall young man, with fair hair and an athletic build, who exuded a quiet authoritative presence.
Following his graduation he obtained a pilot's license. In 1937 he joined the Royal Air Force. He made his first solo flight in April 1937, and completed pilot training at No. 10 Flying Training Unit at RAF Ternhill. On 24 May 1938 his crew was selected for an Empire Day display at Martlesham Heath. In January 1939 he was part of a flight that gave an air display to the top ranks of the service and a delegation from North Africa.
Early bomber missions
At the outset of the Second World War in September 1939, Marks was a bomber pilot with No. 102 Squadron, flying the two engine Whitley bomber. Marks flew with Leonard Cheshire at 102 Squadron. At the outset the squadron was tasked with the dropping of leaflets over Germany and the occupied countries, with many of its early missions going to Poland. On 1 November 1939 Marks and his squadron flew to RAF Dishforth, where it stood for inspection by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, commander-in-chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyril Newall, the Chief of the Air Staff, and King George VI. The pamphlet campaign continued through the end of the year, during a period known as the phony war.
In 1939 102 Squadron was based at Driffield, along with 77 Squadron. The two squadrons were a part of 4 Group Bomber Command. In January 1940 the leaflet policy was changed, and Bomber Command was freed to begin bombing raids against targets in Germany in earnest. No. 77 Squadron undertook its first bombing mission against a German target on 19 March, when it was flown against the German sea plane base at the southern tip of the island of Sylt. In the coming months Marks was engaged on raids on variety of disparate targets, including Posen, Prague, Warsaw, Hanover, Trondheim and Oslo, and was mentioned in despatches "for gallant and distinguished services."
In May 1940 German forces invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and France. British bomber forces did what they could to stem the German advance, but were largely ineffective. On 20 May whilst attacking bridges in France Marks' aircraft was hit by flak and the plane's hydraulic system was knocked out. He lost the use of his flaps, but he was still able to land his aircraft, though his ground speed at landing was much higher than normal. The following night 21 May he participated in a raid against Cologne and returned on one engine. For the rest of the month he was involved in attacking German transport support, striking Quesney Cross-roads in France on 23 May, Walcheren on 25 May and the Neuss railway junction on 27 May.
On 1 June 1940, Marks was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). According to his citation, he "has shown tenacity of purpose, a high courage and thoroughness of planning and execution which is beyond praise."
In the early days of the war it proved difficult to attack targets from the air with a conventional bomber due to a tremendous lack of accuracy. During the daytime such targets as railway junctions and cross roads could be located and attacked, but individual vehicles and other small targets could not be because bomber aircraft simply lacked the ability to deliver bombs with that kind of precision. It was much more difficult at night. Even attacking larger targets such as road junctions and troop concentrations was not effective. Flying in the dark of night each aircraft was in its own world. They were unaware of the position of other bombers around them, were unable to see them, and with the target itself shrouded in darkness it was very difficult for the squadron to deliver its bombs in a concentration upon the target.