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This story has been submitted to the 'Peoples War' Web site, by Betty & Don TEMPEST of Lancshomeguard on behalf of Norman NUTTALL, and has been added to the Web Site with his permission.

'The Night I Came of Age'.

For a Trainee Navigator, on a murky November night, to find base on the Isle of Man, with the whole of Britain and Northern Ireland blacked out, was no easy task!

Cross country exercises were carried out in an Avro Anson with semi-retractable undercarriage, the crew consiting of a Pilot, W/OP, and First and Second Navigators, requiring dead-reckoning and/or map reading ability. The only other aid obtainable was a Q.D.M. (Magnetic Course) to base but this was frought with danger on a West to East Course, for one could overshoot the island and end up with an impact on the Cumbrian Hills. Alternatively, a North to South Course could, on a bad night, mean contact with Snaefell (3000feet!) Aircraft were found there during my course - including several Barracuda's from Trainee Fleet Air Arm Squadrons, I understand.

My particular scarey night was the 27th./28th. January, 1944, in an Anson H.2. with Flight Sergeant Moranski (Who spoke little English) returning from across country - base - Ludlow - Shrewsbury - base Isle of Man. On leaving the Blackpool area the Pilot indicated that all the fuel tanks were 'kaput' (empty) and requested the wireless operator to alert emergency services. We all envisaged going down in the Irish Sea but fortunately our luck held and on reaching Maughold Head, with the runway cleared of traffic, it required a nerve - wracking 122turns on the undercarriage lowering and locking mechanism to gain a stuttering glide down to base and a final flop on the runway. Phew! I reckon I became of age that night!!

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