´óÏó´«Ã½

My Best Friend Den Mooney and I had just come off an all night spell working on our Lancaster to get it ready for Operations.

The Lancaster engines are about 12 feet up from ground level. We flight Mechanics used tall Trestles to climb up and service the engines. My fellow Flight Mechanic Den Mooney, (also my best mate), and I were pretty well inseparable. He serviced the Starboard side engines as a rule and I usually did the Port side.

This particular Day I had been working on the Starboard outer. Den had been off somewhere and came back to the dispersal. An Instrument walla needed the Port Outer engine to be run up. Den went to the Cockpit and I started to scramble up the trestle and had just got my hands round the metal tubing which supported the wooded planking at the top of the trestle, when all of a sudden there was the mightiest crack as the propeller on the engine I was about to work on, crashed into the planking right in front of my head, it missed me by about three inches. I hung on to the trestle, almost frightened to let go, then I looked up to the Cockpit (F/Engineers side) and saw this white face looking at me petrified. It took I guess only seconds to realise what had happened, Den had inadvertently pressed the wrong starter button. I think it took him longer to recover than it did me, but it earned me many free Pints afterwards.

If ever I was broke and we were near a pub I used to cough and put my hands up to my neck. It nearly always worked, I got my drink.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Des Evans and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Des’s stories:

• Bale out!
• Missions from Woodhall Spa
• Tracers coming through the thatch
• Little humour in adversity
• Ted Porters Crew
• The ‘Augsburg Raid’
• S/L Sherwood’s recommendation for the Victoria Cross
• The worst night of the War…
• The worst night of the War (Part 2)
• The worst night of the War (Part 3) - Crew
• The worst night of the War (Part 4) - Losses
• The worst night of the War (Part 5) — Extract from ‘the Berlin’ Raids’
• The worst night of the War (Part 6) — Bombers over Berlin
• The worst night of the War (Part 7) — Combat Report
• A Dedication to Skipper Wing Commander Ted Porter - Pause for Thought
• A Dedication to Skipper Wing Commander Ted Porter — A Navigators View of the Route to Heaven
• Did you know?
• Flight Operations carried out with Sgt. D.C Plaunt
• Flight Operations carried out by Sgt. J.J Johnson
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ after baling out on 9th — 10th June 1944
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ after baling out on the 9th - 10th June 1944 - Continued
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ - 11th June 1944
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ - 12th — 15th June 1944
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ - 16th - 18th June 1944
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ - 19th — 23rd June 1944
• The experiences of ‘Taffy’ — 24th August 1044
• ‘Our Heroes’

For further stories read ‘ACHIEVE YOUR AIM’ by Kevin Bending

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