大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Victor Musson, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was Mark Jeffers, and the transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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I went over [to sign up] when I was 17, but they [the RAF] didn鈥檛 accept people until they were 17 1/4. They sent me back home on what was known as deferred leave, and they paid me for the 3 months I spent at home until joined up. I thought that was terrific!

It was quite a few years [before I started flying]. When I eventually got into the Air Force at 17 1/4 my eyesight was not fit for flying duties. I took another course to be a wireless operator. So I went on the wireless operator course at Compton Basset for 3 months, no it was 9 months down there. I went to Blackpool first, then Compton Basset. That took up quite a time before I got round. After I came out of training school I was posted to a Polish Squadron near Nottingham. I was on watch there from 12 o鈥檆lock at night to 4 o鈥檆lock in the morning, taking and receiving messages all the time. It was still all radio for secrecy those days.

I started chain-smoking. I had a cigarette in my mouth the whole night. And when I felt the heat of it near my lips I got another one out and kept on smoking. I carried on that way for some time. I woke up one morning and I couldn't get eyes open. I really couldn't get my eyes open. I had to go into the bathroom and bathe them to get my eyes open. It finished up, I had to attend Nottingham infirmary for 3 months with my eyes. It stopped me smoking, and frightened the hell out of me. I stopped smoking. I had a night vision test very shortly after that. After the night vision test the guy said to me, 鈥測ou should go and have the eyes tested again, because you can see things in the dark that people can鈥檛 see. You're top of the class鈥�.
So I jumped at the chance and immediately applied for another eyesight test. My eyes were perfect. It was like a miracle to me, honestly. I couldn't believe this.

As soon as I had this eyesight test and they said my eyesight was OK, I applied immediately to re-muster onto a pilots鈥� course. I went to training school. In those days they had a test they gave people who wanted to be a pilot. They sent them to a little place, a little field, it was near Swindon, to see how long it would take for them to go solo. This was all in Tiger Moths. After 8 hours I solo'd in the Tiger Moth. The instructor said I could go off, and I went off and did a couple of circuits and landed again. And the minute I got out of the Tiger Moth I was jumping for joy. I was going across the airfield kicking my heels, I was so happy with myself that I had solo'd. And they said to me, 鈥淥K, you can go on the pilots鈥� course鈥�.

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