大象传媒

Part 2 of this story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site at Surrey History Centre on behalf of F/Lt J, Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM 155220. It has been added to the site with the author鈥檚 permission, and he fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

We were based in a Hotel in Algiers and spent most of the time collecting survival kit civvy suit and all 鈥�.. then as we were going to fly an aircraft had a complete set of flying gear including a complete set of electrically heated Irvin suits, boots, gloves, the lot, I had never seen them before. Several days later we were sent to the airfield at Blida. The station commander, a lovely man, I don鈥檛 recall his name a group captain with MC & Bar allowed me to fly his personal Hurricane an aircraft put together from bits in the desert. He found a Halifax at Froha a French base about 50 miles away.

We had a very interesting week there trying without assistance to get this aircraft serviceable, the French sent us some bright blue petrol, I guess it was the same octane value as Pool petrol 40 oct. We spent a week cleaning filters and tanks charging batteries etc and eventually managed to start all four engines. It was time to go, after clearing all the crowds and sheep away by turning the aircraft and blowing sand at them we took off. The undercarriage would not retract!鈥� our engines would not give power, we could do little better than 130 knots, if an engine cut we would have to land immediately there was a range of hills at about 3000ft and we had to go out to sea to get around them. Ditching is bad enough, but with wheels down impossible.

We were very relieved to reach Blida and gave them a long list of problems.

The station commander then asked if I could fly a Lancaster, I would have flown anything to get home.

They had a Lancaster ex 44 squadron Wing Com. Nettleton who like Gibson had been doing a shuttle bombing exercise, bombing targets around the Med and bombing up again at Blida and again bombing on the way home. I wondered if he would ask us to do the same, but he had better things in mind, he had a few parcels! It was near Christmas and he filled the bomb bay 鈥渁nd that is big鈥� with baskets and hampers about 5ft x 3ft x 2ft one to every senior officer in the RAF, we had to manually hoist them into the bomb bay and then gently close the doors pushing the hamper in. On top of this we had three very senior officers from Army, Navy and RAF.

Our plan was to take off at night and cross the Spanish French border at about 10000ft and do a fast run home. At about 7000ft we iced up and lost 3-4000ft that meant a return to Blida, my second landing in a lanc! It went well enough, but we had to find another way home and all aboard were asking how? and when. On Dec 13th we flew from Blida to Rabat west coast of N Africa and the following night set off for St Mawgan. We flew across the Bay of Biscay at 1000ft during day-light without interference.

At St Mawgan I was surprised to find what I thought was a naval officer trying to board the aircraft. I hadn鈥檛 heard of customs officers, he was most indignant and went off see the station commander, we rapidly set off for RAF Graveley. I heard nothing more. Just to show the lads my new Lancaster I did a low pass past the flying control tower, in the summary of evidence for my court martial, the met officer stated he had seen the aircraft fly below his window, he was on the first floor!

Unfortunately my arrival had exactly coincided with the departure of an Air Marshal who was just leaving the briefing room with the area Station Commander etc they had all ducked, the instruction was 鈥渁rrest that man.鈥�

Two weeks later I was told to report to the Station Commander Group Capt Manaul he kept me waiting 45 minutes and he drove me to Huntingdon our group HQ without a word.

We arrived at Group Capt Don Bennett鈥檚 office where I was told to enter and he to wait outside. Don Bennett was friendly and I had to describe in detail our adventure, he congratulated me and asked how long I had been under open arrest. A short consideration and he said that the charge was changed from low flying, a court martial offence, to careless flying, 14 days confined to camp. I was quite unprepared for this and speechless for a minute or two, he said is that OK? I thanked him very much. Manual was not asked in, and on the way home asked what had happened. I told that that Bennett would be making a report to him in due course, but when I got back to base I told the lads the story and my bar book, which had been closed for two weeks, took 鈥渜uite a bashing鈥�.

I had done 10 operations on main force and completed another 60 on pathfinders and left the squadron 11/7/44, my 20th birthday.

I was posted to 24 squadron at Bassingborne the King鈥檚 long range flight with Lancastrians, a heavily converted Lancaster, we planned trips to S America and China, this took weeks finding out about airfields, radio frequencies, lengths of runways etc and each time it was cancelled! I was very disappointed and decided to leave the RAF.

I had offers of jobs from Don Bennett鈥檚 British South American airline and KLM. While taking a navigation course in London a friend of mine from Sunbury David Bond a pre war short service commissioned pilot had started an air taxi service mostly flying jockeys etc around racetracks.

He had bought a Halton (Halifax) from Freddie Laker but hadn鈥檛 got it on his 鈥淏鈥� licence, I had Halton and Lancastrian. It was great for a while but then he went broke.

The Berlin airlift was starting up and Westminster Airway Flying Dakotas had to convert to Halifaxes so I had the job of converting their pilots to Haltons at Blackbush. Several of their pilots were easy to convert, and after a while I suggested that we move to Hamburg, start day flying with half the pilots and continue conversion on the rest, only 1 hour each way and they could earn money, the operations manager thought this a good idea and agreed to double my pay. It lasted almost a year and I had decided to get married. On my honeymoon in Ireland I had a telegram thanking me for my valuable services but no need to come back.

For several years I worked for the Marley Tile Co, roofing and flooring tiles but later worked for Highways Construction and after a short spell took over their mobile department, mostly re-surfacing airfields, as a happily married man with two beautiful daughters, some time later I joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force at Biggin Hill. I still had that itch, what would it have been like as a fighter pilot. It was magic Spitfires Vampires, Meteors. I so enjoyed my weekends at Biggin. Sir Winston Churchill was our honorary Air Commodore and 600 the other Aux Squadron had the 鈥淨ueen Mum鈥� as their Commodore, such fame! 41 Squadron the regular RAF squadron had no chance!

At the time of Korea we were the Biggin Hill wing and at weekends the USA AF would fly their B29s with Sabre escorts to attack London and we would defend, what sport! The word was that we would look after the Old Country while the regulars were in Korea.

The Queen Mother and Sir Winston visited occasionally, we dined at Chartwell one evening. One day Sir Winston dined with us at Biggin, after lunch he got to his feet slowly and even more slowly said gentlemen it will not be necessary for the Auxiliaries to go to Korea! Well there was such a silence鈥�.. we had no idea the plan was to send the Auxiliaries, war had now finished.

I carried on in the RAUXAF for a while and as an economy measure it was wound up shortly afterwards.

My flying enthusiasm has waned, I would have liked to experienced MACH 1, but now only fly on holiday trips.

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