IOCB Prague has unveiled a memorial plaque in honour of Royal Air Force aviator and writer Richard Husmann
Richard Husmann, gunner of the 311th (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron, journalist and writer, lived a life that even Hollywood action script writers could feel proud to conjure up. He has recounted his experiences from the Second World War in the novel The Riders of the Sky (Nebeští jezdci), which he wrote under the pseudonym Filip Jánský. The book became a hit almost immediately after its first publication in the mid-nineteen sixties and served as the basis for an equally successful film.
A few months ago, the management of IOCB Prague learned that Richard Husmann wrote his Riders of the Sky in a house in Prague 6 that is now owned by the institute. The decision to install a memorial plaque on the villa in question to commemorate this RAF serviceman did not take long.
"Especially in today's increasingly dark times, it is important to pay tribute to the bravery of our compatriots that put their lives in harm’s way to defend Europe from the Nazi peril," said the Director of IOCB Prague, Prof. Jan Konvalinka during the ceremony, adding, "Fortunately, the present does not require us to have the determination to risk getting shot at in the ball turret of a bomber, but civic courage remains just as necessary as ever. It was needed by the signatories of the human rights appeal Charter 77, by students demonstrating in the Národní třída of Prague thirty-five years ago, and it is still needed today."
The ceremony was attended by the Deputy British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Kate Davenport, who emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two states, well tested by a common wartime history. The invitation was also accepted by a number of public figures, especially those interested in the distinguished Czechoslovak footprint in the Royal Air Force. The Director of the Museum of Czech Literature, Prof. Michal Stehlík contributed a short historical interlude. Among other things, he said, "I would like to emphasize two momentous aspects in the life and work of Richard Husmann. The first is the courage and determination of the then seventeen-year-old boy to go abroad with a willingness to lay down his life for the freedom of his country. And the second is taking care of memory, because this is exactly the legacy he has passed on to us in his work The Riders of the Sky. These are, in my opinion, still relevant at present."
The actor Ondřej Vetchý, who played the main role in the film Dark Blue World and who received the Medal of Merit from the President of the Czech Republic this year, recalled his meeting with RAF airmen. Richard Husmann's memory was also honoured, for example, by Charter 77 signatory, former politician and university teacher Daniel Kroupa, entrepreneur and philanthropist Jan Dobrovský, and film director Jan Hřebejk, along with affiliates of IOCB Prague.
