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This story was submitted to the People's War Website by Eddy Hornby of Stockport Libraries on behalf of Leslie Landells and has been added to the site with his permission. He fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

5th October 1943 — No. 3 A.F.U. South Cerney

I was posted to this aerodrome on or about 5th October 1943. To be instructed on Oxford and Anson twin engined aircraft in preparation to fly Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster bombers.

During my time at South Cerney I visited Bristol said to be built on seven hills. I was impressed by the famous suspension bridge and the surrounding countryside.

Also the Bristol Museum . Here I saw my first Egyptian exhibition. I also visited the Mauritania Hotel. The furnishings and rooms were said to be all from the famous ocean liner which once had held the record for crossing the Atlantic. Then I went to the very old dockside area. It looked as I imagined it had been during the era of the slave trade and when I entered the ‘Landogger Inn’ where slaves were once auctioned I was overwhelmed by ‘man’s inhumanity to man’. Especially when I saw the hollowed out centre of the block of stone worn out by the bare feet of the slaves being auctioned.

Once in the NAAFI canteen I was approached by a young airman. It turned out to be Ernest Stabler, an old school friend and neighbour from Distington, Cumbria. After a short chat he had to leave as he was on duty. He was training to be an Air Gunner. I never met him again. Then I heard, it could be when I was on leave or even after the war, he was killed very early on his operational tour. He was an only son and was cherished by his mother and father. I was told afterwards that his parents never fully recovered from their loss. He was only 18 or so years of age.

I have just remembered that when flying solo on a cross country flight, I nearly panicked as I lost my sense of direction.

Eventually I saw a very small airfield, made contact and landed on grass. There were no tarmaced runways. On the approach I noticed that the airfie3ld had a rising dome like centre to it. I thought about ‘overshooting’ but by then was concerned about my fuel levels. So I carried on and made a perfect landing. I found out later that the airfield was only intended for small single engined aircraft. I was given the course to take with the remark ‘you certainly made a landing’. This episode was never mentioned on my return to base. So once again it was a case of aircraft and pilot landed intact, so ‘why bother’ as long as they could both still contribute to the war effort.

It has just come to mind that the airfield could have been RAF Wroughton, nr Swindon.

Training was intensive but only lasted two months or so. By then I felt confident to pilot ‘Oxfords’ and passed with an ‘average’ rating.

Before I close this chapter I must mention that on leaving Temple Meads station to visit the city centre I had to walk through the areas devastated by bombing. As I had done in London and Manchester.

Hence the feeling that most people had at that time, which was we must carry on and achieve peace as soon as possible.

December 1943 — 1531 Beam Approach Squadron

My next training course was in Beam Approach Squadron, Cranage, nr Middlewich, Cheshire.

It was a most demanding course, mostly consisting of taking off up to 100ft or so then the instructor pulled a screen over your side of the cockpit blacking out everything. From then on you flew by instruments only, guided by the radio beam system until you were on the final stage of the approach for landing, when the instructor removed the screen.

During this course I also passed the General Instrument course on the Link Trainer.

The weather was so bad it took 6/7 weeks to complete the course instead of the expected 2/3 weeks.

During the latter weeks of training, I often practised overshooting the runway from a height of a few feet to anticipate late emergencies.

I also flew many hours at night. Altogether this course was the most intensive to date but by then I felt confident to fly Oxfords and passed the final test.

During my odd day pass, I visited Manchester again. It remained more or less the same as I had seen it earlier in the war, just devastated. I still feel as I am sure most people did, for the citizens in their suffering and grief.

April 1944 — I was posted to 83 O.T.U. Peplow

Here I accepted our crew.

Then on to RAF Sandtoft, Yorkshire. Where Eric ‘Marty’ Martindale joined us.

Please refer to the story: ‘The Story of an R.A.F. Bomber Crew by Pat Dwyer and Les Landells’.

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