大象传媒

The paths of my contribution to the WAR began on the 14th may 1927 鈥� just a couple of weeks before Charles Lindbergh set the magic air alight when he flew over my nearby pram at Purley to land in front of the exited crowds awaiting his tumultuous arrival at Croydon Airport. His World stirring 鈥楽PIRIT of St Louis鈥� had quite providentially arrived on the very doorstep of my part of Surrey.
Flying was really sensational in the 1920s and thirties and the 鈥榮pirit鈥� had entered into many peoples鈥� hearts and minds 鈥� and which was to rub off on me in due course. In fact it started a few days after Charles landed at Croydon, for with estimates running at over 100,000 people clamourously crowding around the arriving silver monoplane, it was deemed too dangerous to depart from there, so he secretively 鈥榮pirited鈥� St LOUIS to nearby R.A.F Kenley prior to his official departure back to his ecstatic, awaiting USA.

R.A.F Kenley was to become my local BATTLE of BRITAIN fighter station for, at 4 years old we moved from my Purley birthplace to live among the North Down denes and country fields a couple of miles west of the soon famous 鈥楤attle鈥� airfield. It was at pre war Kenley that air displays in the form of the 鈥楨mpire Air Days鈥� was to make firm inroads to my aeroplane interests for I didn鈥檛 miss out on these 鈥極pen Day鈥� events in fine summer weather.
Aeroplanes were wonderfully smelly in those days too, and the oil fried exhaust air of the sprightly Hawkers and Gloster biplane fighters in dazzling coats of silver paint and red, white and blue, 鈥榮tung鈥� a boy's snitch till the day he could get his hands on the controls of his first flight.
So when the WAR finally started 鈥� after the months and years of wrangling and talk 鈥� I had reached the great age of 12 years and 4 months, been inside a plane鈥檚 cockpit at Kenley, looked into gun-sights, fondled the anti-aircraft guns, marvelled at the searchlights, watched the lone parachutist make his 鈥榙are devil鈥� crowd adoring descent, and, via a fabric tunnel, actually explore the vast inside of an inflated silver barrage balloon!! It was marvellous!
And little did I know then that all that I鈥檇 seen and felt at Kenley was in due course coming my way, for a year later 鈥� in my 13th year I was too see the first overhead Battle of Britain, the bombing attacks on Kenley, and then the nightly blitz as the bombers bound for London over-flew our country bungalow. And from our road we could watch that great fireworks display of flashing guns and millions of shells, the flash of bombs the strings of incandescent flares, the fascinating shafts of penetrating searchlights, and the great red glow of London burning. It was all quite awesome and unforgettable.

April 1941 saw me prematurely discarding my little school shorts for some undersized long trousers and begin work at a Reigate hotel of high rating. I was nearly 14 years old and off for the daily grind. This was to last till I was 17 1/2, when I made off to Croydon in mid December 1944 to sign the enlistment papers and join the army. The RAF was full and needed no more recruits 鈥� good or dud. The recruiting offices said: 鈥渏oin the army, then volunteers for the parachute regiment; the way you鈥檒l see some flying and real action.鈥� And so it proved, for I started army training in January 1945, got into my flying 鈥� albeit via the back door of the most favoured aeroplanes 鈥� DAKOTAS- at Ringway, Manchester, in July. - - All that had so impressed me at Kenley a few years before was now mine: I was a trained soldier, knew all about our guns, flown in the aeroplanes, jumped from cages hanging beneath the 鈥榝limsy鈥� great barrage balloons and, 鈥榯oyed鈥� with the 鈥榙are devil鈥� parachutes. And all my wings sown on a month before the war ended! How remarkable!

So, a boy born in mid 1927 was 12 陆 at the outbreak of the war, saw the B of B at 13, spent several teenage years envying everybody flying in planes, then was old enough to enter military service as a soldier before the war ended. (August 1945). Had I been a year older I might have got shot at Arnhem or the Crossing of the Rhine! And incidently, because I volunteered at 17 陆 in stead of waiting for 鈥榗all up鈥�, I proved to be the youngest Para boy training in the Isle of Wight in 1945: I had my 18th birthday at the Albany Barracks (Parkhurst prison!) and a pint with pals at Newport. 鈥淪choolboys!!鈥� the training sergeant gasped glaring at my 8 stone and 8 lbs. Yet I reached the Course boxing finals at lightweight, and, got a good hiding from a Scotsman who knew the ropes, and spots to punch. There was however a standing ovation and impressive words from the C.O. for, as he put it; 鈥溾�� of standing up and carrying the fight to a superior opponent, this man (me) has set an example of the requirements of all our parachute soldiers.

My army 鈥楢ctive Service鈥� was with the 6th Airborne Div in Palestine 1946-1948, but all those trials and frights caught between Arab and Jewish factions is another story of my five-year army affair. These stories are recorded in my manuscript 鈥楩rom Cherry Trees to Nazareth鈥�; the trees of my Surrey garden.

My local history booklets include an account of the 18th August 1940 German air raid on Kenley. This was an anniversary 1990 publication called 鈥楰enley鈥檚 Open Door鈥�, and copies were in New Zealand two days after going on sale. Known as The Hardest Day in a book by Alfred Price, Dorniers of an elete Staffel came within a hundred feet of our bungalow roof.

My 70th birthday publication covers allsorts of adventures escapades as a lover of planes, the flying and parachuting as a skydiver, the War events in my part of Surrey, and Kenley, and many other stories and mentions of my village from my boyhood days to the present times of glider flights over our fields and woods from the winch launch at Kenley. 鈥楾he Spirit* and The Dragon鈥� is mainly a local history book, with abridged stories from my autobiography 鈥楾wig in Heaven鈥� and other works. De Havilland Dragon Rapides are a feature of the 鈥楽pirit鈥� that began in may 1927, were seen frequently at Croydon and over flying our houses and fields, and served my jumping freefall platform while parachuting in Wiltshire.

*Spirit of St Louis

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