大象传媒

I was 16 when the war started and was serving my time as a painter and decorator. I wanted to join the Air Force and become a pilot. Time went on and air raids became a very regular thing: houses were blown up, people were killed. Bomb shelters had been built in the streets in which people gathered together for protection. One night I remember in particular, it was my turn to stand-by with a work mate on fire-watch duty at my place of work. At midnight the air-raid sirens sounded and the town was heavily bombed. A few yards from where we were two shops were hit, resulting in several people being seriously hurt. Further along the street a department store was demolished and bombs had dropped on the market place, killing a lot of people.

The war continued and by that time I had reached the age of 17, and was determined to offer my services to my country. I went up to Newcastle to the Enlistment Centre to enquire on how to go about it. I came away dumbfounded: I had volunteered and was put on deferment until further notice. Six months later I was notified to go to RAF, Padgate, to sit exams to be a pilot. Soon after I was informed that I had been accepted as a pilot and was again put on deferment. After two or three months I received a letter stating that due to a heavy influx, pilots were no longer in demand, but flights engineers were needed for heavy bombers. If I accepted, which I did, call-up would be immediate. On June 9th I was 18, and two weeks later I was on my way to Cardiff to begin my training. Six months of hard training followed, which I completed with success. After two months at gunnery school my training came to an end. I had finally qualified as a flight engineer.

After a short leave I was ordered to go to RAF Longtown where I was crewed up and flew off to the Azores. Our mission was to protect the convoys of ships coming through the Atlantic Ocean from marauding U-Boats. We spent hours in the air both day and night with a lot of success. After 12 long months Germany finally gave in and we came home to be stationed at RAF Cambridge.

From Cambridge we regularly flew out East to places like Tripoli, Karachi, Madras, Cairo. The war with Japan was still going on and we started getting prepared to go out there when quite unexpectedly I was given the chance to come home.

I went away as a boy and returned as a man. My teenage years were gone. However I do not regret it.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.