大象传媒

The plan was that we would go by boat to West Africa, and then fly from there to the Middle East. The planes would have been shipped in crates, and assembled in Africa. Due to logistical problems we ended up flying across in a DC3. Anyway, I landed at Heliopolis where we adjusted to desert flying, and then joined up with 92 Squadron around February or March 1943. We were deployed as Forward Fighters, providing air cover to the Allied advance across North Africa after El Alamein. In the desert, communication was particularly important. It was difficult though, as we all lived in tents and conditions were hard. Each morning, the C/O would go for a spot of 鈥減rayer and meditation鈥� in the bog, where he would meet Orme, one of the ground staff who was detailed to be the bog cleaner. Having said hello and got settled, the C/O would often ask 鈥淲hat鈥檚 news?鈥� Orme would occasionally reply, 鈥淲ell, I鈥檝e heard we will me moving on Sir鈥�. The C/O would then comment to the effect that 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard anything yet. I鈥檇 better check with Group鈥�. I don鈥檛 know how he did it, but Orme was nearly always right. Maybe the bog leaner at Group was giving him a quick call, but he often knew what we were going to do before the C/O!

Well, we did move on, following the troops to Tunisia and then over to Malta where we prepared for the invasion of Sicily. We went into Sicily on the third day after the invasion, and then followed up Italy on the Adriatic side. It was slow progress as every river that came down from the Apennines was heavily defended by the Germans. Our role was to fly patrols over the battle area to help protect the ground troops from enemy air attack. We went across to the North of Naples to provide cover during the Anzio landings; a messy business.

While we were in Italy, we still lived in tents. The planes were parked in what was known as 鈥渄ispersal鈥�, i.e., they were scattered across the field in case of enemy air attack. It was a lesson learnt from the Battle of Britain. It meant that we had to taxi from there to the newly laid metalled runway. The weather in October 1943 was horrible, and the mud was awful. If you revved the engine too much to get through the mud, there was a very real danger that the tail would lift up. To avoid this, we would get crew men, the Rigger Fitter, to sit astride the tail plane while we taxied, and to leap off as we opened up. Well, one day Ken Warren was taking off but Dickie, his fitter, didn鈥檛 get off the tail in time and Ken took off with Dickie clinging on for dear life. Ken realised very quickly that something wasn鈥檛 quite right and looked in his mirror to see Dickie sitting there!! Fortunately, Ken was able to circle at circuit height, 500/700ft, make a good landing and let Dickie off. Earlier this year I met up with one of the Medical Orderlies who had been with the blood wagon that day. He said that Dickie鈥檚 face when he got down was ashen white!

I ended my extended tour and had a period of rest before going to Palestine where I taught others to fly and shoot straight. In all I was in the Middle East nearly four years.

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