大象传媒

My father was an Aircraft Fitter during World War 2. He was initially posted to Pembroke Dock in Wales where he worked on Sunderland Flying Boats. From there he was transferred to India. In those days this involved a lengthy trip by Troop Ship via South Africa. Once in India he was involved in Crash Recovery. This required his unit to get to the scene of a crashed aircraft and salvage what remained of the plane . ( This was inevitably a grim job and he did not dwell on what he saw ).
All the men were required to take immunisation injections. This took the form of a tent with an entrance and exit clearly marked. About 20 feet from the exit were stationed two men. Their purpose became clear after the first man emerged from the tent walked 20 feet and went down like a sack of spuds!
At another stage of his posting , his unit assembled P-47 Thunderbolts on a Beach. They would arrive as parts in crates to be made into whole aircraft.
At the end of the War it would be many months before he arrived home to be demobbed. He had met my mother just before the War and had to wait five years to see her again.

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