大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Karolina Kopiec on the behalf of Mr Norman Edwards and Jack Meredith, and has been added to the site with their permission.

War-time service brought together men and women from all walks of life, some already noted in their fields, others destined to become famous 鈥� or on occasions, notorious!
In this account, Jack Meredith recalls meeting some of the people whose names were either well known at the time or are today 鈥� and his first experience of 鈥榡ankers!鈥� Writes Jack:-

At start of the war I was in a reserved occupation as a draughtsman but then discovered that you could get into the Services by volunteering for aircrew. I tried at first with what was known as the 鈥榊鈥� scheme with the Fleet Air Arm but failed on eyesight.
I then tried for RAF aircrew, was accepter and went to the Air Crew Receiving Centre at Lord鈥檚 Cricket Ground in May 1942. I was soon sent to the cookhouse for being naughty. I was greeted with cries of 鈥淎re you Jankers?鈥� 鈥楴o,鈥� I replied. 鈥業鈥檓 Meredith.鈥� Loud laughter!
Years later, coming through the Suez Canal, we were shouting to those on the banks 鈥楪et some in!鈥� and 鈥楪et your knees brown!鈥�
The innocent young 鈥榳et behind the ears鈥� lad had matured and seen the world.

Rhapsody
At ACRC I met Jim Clement, who had been a pianist with Lou Preager鈥檚 band. Wherever there was a piano Jim would start playing. Gershwin鈥檚 鈥楻hapsody in Blue鈥� and bogey-woogey were his favourites.
At initial Training Wing I was lucky enough to be at New Clare and Pembroke Colleges, Cambridge, where another cadet was chosen to star in 鈥楯ourney Together鈥� a war-time propaganda film in which he played the part of a would-be pilot who is sent to the USA for training, his 鈥榠nstructor鈥� being no less than Edward G Robinson. Edward G, obviously better at acting than flying instructing, sent his rather hopeless pilot pupil off on a first solo flight to 鈥榞ive him confidence鈥�, whereupon a Stearman training aeroplane was landed on its nose in a hedge after several abortive attempts to get it down.
A hapless would-be pilot was at last told he was hopeless and, not unnaturally, was rather miserable about this. However, a ray of light appeared 鈥� he could train as a navigator. In due course, this young navigator went on operations and cleverly did all the things to get the crew rescued after ditching in the sea. A happy ending, which proved that navigators were the cream of the crew!
While at Cambridge, after a what one might describe as a 鈥榖ad night鈥�, I put my head down for a nap while the lights were down during a lecture. I was caught by Pilot Officer Sebastian Shaw 鈥� a well-know actor 鈥� and given a stern warning.
On to No 1 Empire Air Navigation School, Bridgenorth, where I played left back in the football team when the outside left was Billie Liddell, who played for Liverpool and Scotland.

Navigator
Then to Canada, where I received my navigator wing at St John鈥檚 Quebec, and on to OTU and Heavy Conversion Unit on Mitchells and Liberators at Boundary Bay and Abbotsford in British Columbia.
It was there that I met bomb-aimer Arthur Wint, who later ran for Jamaica in the Olympics, subsequently becoming a doctor.
While travelling by train across Canada I met, at one of the stops, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who came to chat with us, asking how we liked Canada.
Back in England at Melton Mowbray, we crewed Liberator KL505 for a flight to the Far East. On arriving in India I was pleased to discover that Bill Townsend DFM and CGM was to be our Flight Commander. He was with 617 Squadron on the Dam-busting raid. When the Far East was ended we were in India and, on 5 September, were all invited by the Maharajah of Jodhpur to VJ party at one of his hunting lodges. The Maharajah, who was an Honorary Air commodore in the RAF, had his own Army. This Army fought in Italy.
It was an interesting experience 鈥� and a far cry from my usual holidays such as a day at Southport or a visit to Belle Vue!

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