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This story was submitted to the People’s War Site by Three Counties Action, on behalf of Peter Green, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Having just completed operational flying with Halifax’s 102 Squadron I was posted to RAF Calvely and was there when VE Day occurred. I celebrated by going with a group of friends to Hanley for the evening. Later in the year I attended a street party in Reginald Street in Luton, which was held for everyone who had lived or grew up there.
I had mixed feelings at the end of ‘Hostilities’ and certainly didn’t know how I would ever adjust to civilian life and began to wonder [and still do] why some of us had been spared from the reaper, as many of my friends had not had such luck. I sometimes felt guilty.
Service life was comparatively easy for ex-aircrew after the war but we knew however, that civilian life would be difficult. I wanted to continue flying in a civilian capacity, but it wasn’t to be, mainly through lack of funds, so I returned in 1947, having spent 4 years in the RAF to finish my apprenticeship in engineering at Commer Cars, Biscot Road. Even so, everybody seemed more happy go lucky and glad to be alive so I expect we were lacking in ambition and just wanted to get on with life.

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