- Contributed by听
- cambsaction
- People in story:听
- Jillian Clements, Bill Hotchkiss
- Location of story:听
- Newnham, Cambridge
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A7942232
- Contributed on:听
- 21 December 2005
Crew of the Stirling at RAF Waterbeach. My father is second from the left who was the only survivor of that crew come the end of the war.
I was born late in the war and have no clear memories of my own. My father served in the RAF in Bomber command as a navigator. He flew in Stirling and Wellingtons and he flew in raids that bombed the Skoda factory in Pilsen.
On return from one raid they were being fired at by German fighters and the pilot of the bomber told him to go to the bomb bay and fire at the German fighters with his rifle. Because of the angle of fire he was unable to strap himself in in any way.
After the war ended, I have amemory of him coming down the stairs and just locking up. My Mother and grandmother stood with him and after a few minutes he was able to carry on as usual.
Year after the war ended, he was on live on Radio Cambridgeshire talking about his war experiences.
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