大象传媒

Before war broke out I worked in a factory. During the war I was a navigator in Bomber Command. I was based at Driffield in Yorkshire. At the time I was single. I got married after the war.
I served with an Australian squadron. They were a good bunch of men, but could be a little wild. They were very young and one of my biggest worries was keeping them in order. I have some good memories of them - they brought light relief to some dark days.
I went on 37 missions with the same crew. We looked out for one another. The rear gunner was the most reliable lookout. I couldn't see much from where I was, most of my work was on paper.
On leave we went in the Mess bar and went to dances, but even free time was occupied in some way. My family were originally from Guernsey but my mother was born in Poole. Whenever I could get a leave pass I came home to Poole. Poole was quite flat and subdued during the war, not the lively place it is today. It suffered some bombing. I remember walking home down a country lane when a bombing raid was on, but I was lucky.
I was a Flying Officer by the time I was de-mobbed - the very day I was due to make Flight Lieutenant - so I didn't get the promotion.

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