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This is one of the stories collected on the 25th October 2003 at the CSV's Make a Difference Day held at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Manchester. The story was typed and entered on to the site by a CSV volunteer with kind permission of Desmond G Pastore.

Desmond G Pastore-Search for Arthur.

War had been declared and we had just invaded France.

Three brothers had been called up, one was in the Cheshire Yeomanry, one was in the Yorkshire Infantry and one was in the Navy, and I thought King and country needed me and volunteered for the RAF. My younger brother had given a false age and conned his way into the Manchester Regt.

I was posted to St Athens (?) Wales-but I heard that they were opening pilot training wings in Canada and the United States, so I volunteered over seas.

I boarded the troop ship Arcades. We went west and turned south into the mid Atlantic. First port of call was Freetown, but we were not allowed ashore. Then Cape Town where we were allowed ashore. The Australians weren’t because they had a reputation for vandalism.

Then Durban, where I had my first experience of trouble. I went into a service bar where I got booed and called Brylcream boy. I met a girl who had been a friend of my brother, she invited me home for a meal and we went in two rickshaws. Suddenly we were surrounded by Merchant navy boys jeering. Some RAF types rescued me, but I had to be taken to hospital as I was covered in bruises. The next thing a Doctor was saying ‘bed 87’- I said ‘no, the ship is sailing at midnight’ and I got up and went on board.

Set off for Singapore-sailing up the straits strafed regularly by the Singapore air force. I went into a gun turret and a man collapsed by my side, I helped him to the hospital, but they told me he was dead. A huge troop ship was sunk.
We landed at Singapore but were told nobody could disembark as the Japanese were on the coast road. I knew my brother Arthur was in KL and I had to get ashore to find him. So, having done a first aid course I put on my arm band and conned my way ashore. Whilst walking down the street an army staff car pulled up and the colonel said ‘what are you doing airman? ‘Looking for my brother’. ‘Get inside’-I was taken to the Army underground centre where they told me that my brothers unit had left 2 weeks earlier. They took me to Arcades, where to my astonishment on the second day I saw my brother Arthur coming up the stairs. I finished up in Indonesia where I made friends with the Dutch air force who were very brave. The next thing, I hear that my brothers unit is sailing, so I asked the adjutant what was going on. There was so much chaos that they told me to throw my things onboard and get on with the rest of them. I was not going to leave my brother; we sailed through the incoming Japanese fleet in darkness and landed in Ceylon. Three weeks later our sea planes told us that the Jap fleet was on its way and would arrive the next morning at 8am. The Jap air force arrived like a flypast, six ‘vics’ with 12 in each, the last peeled off and started straffing us. RAOC ignored orders and told everybody to scramble, we did knock down 15 planes. The rest of the Japs went to Trincomalee where the fleet was. This so upset the Japanese command that their invading fleet turned back. This was the end of the Japanese invasion.

Ceylon:
I was stationed at Ratmalana and was told by air vice marshal Lees to come to come to Colombo and organise sports for the RAF to gather together scattered players. First a rugby team, then swimming and athletics. Captained the England rugby team against the rest. Went to Poona for OTC.

War was over in the Far East, I returned home, but had to wait six months as the married men went first.

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