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This story was submitted to the peoples war site by Peter Nicholas of Link into Learning, Cornwall County Council, it was recorded by Age Concern and Link into Learning, Bodmin, Cornwall, on behalf of Mrs. J B Hawkins and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs. J B Hawkins fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

My Wartime Memory by Mrs. J B Hawkins of Bodmin, Cornwall
Imagine my surprise to return home from school at noon in 1940 (because the London evacuees were sharing our premises) to find my brother, a meteorologist with the RAF, who I believed was 'somewhere in France' -sitting by the coal fire, with his leg propped up on a nearby stool.
'I got separated from my squadron at the evacuation port (at the time of Dunkirk evacuations) because I has a septic leg. I was taken on a stretcher, on board a boat bound for home, at St Nazaire, but shortly taken off again because I was taking up valuable space. I was taken to an emergency airfield, where the last plane was leaving and flown back to the UK. From there, after being examined, I was able to walk and told to go home, awaiting orders' he said.
Jack was still at home when, 2 days later, a telegram for my parents arrived from the Air Ministry - 'We regret to say that your son is missing, believed killed.' Apparently the boat Jack had been turned off was the LANCASTRIAN. Shortly after leaving harbour, a German aircraft had dropped a bomb down the funnel of this ship, which immediately sank with the loss of 99% of crew and passengers, including most of the crew of Jack's squadron.
We all went down on our knees and thanked God for his lucky escape. (His name was on the list of passengers on that boat, but had not been declared when he had been turned off.
It was another 3 weeks before he was 'fit for duty' and allocated to another squadron.
Mrs. J B Hawkins.

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