- Contributed by听
- Action Desk, 大象传媒 Radio Suffolk
- People in story:听
- Peter Clarke - his father Stanley Clarke and mother Marje.
- Location of story:听
- Spilby, Lincolnshire.
- Background to story:听
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:听
- A5800538
- Contributed on:听
- 18 September 2005
My Dad spoke very little of his war experiences. He was ground crew. His job was to greet returning Lancaster bombers from their bombing raids.
He said the worst of it all was removing the remains of the rear gunner who was in the worst position and was all too often smashed to smitherines.
The job was to make the Lancaster ready to do it all again as soon as possible. Fix it and make it ready for the next bombing run.
Jammed landing gear caused him awful problems working in all weathers with the ever present danger of dive bombing Germans.
I was amazed at the lengths he would to to getting home to his sweetheart (my mum) with 36 hours leave. He would cycle to Boston station, take a train to Kettering then thumb it to Northampton just for a few hours with Marge, my Mum.
Dad died aged 61 in 1982
Mum died aged 76 in 1995
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