大象传媒

This is only a short story as my father is no longer available to add more detail.

Having been essentially employed as a Police Constable in West Yorkshire in the early years of the war, he was not called up until 1943.

When he eventually joined the forces he was assigned to the RAF. After a period of basic training in the UK he was posted to the Flying School in Benoni, South Africa to be instructed in combat flying. My mother moved back with her parents in Keighley where she worked as a munitions girl.

As a child I remember the bed-time stories of the long cruise from Southampton to Durban via the Cape of Good Hope. On this voyage Dad said he learned to appreciate the music of Dvorjak and in particular the New World symphony. "Coming Home" was played constantly over the ships tannoy and as a result was his favourite.

He told me about flying fish and dolphins that raced alongside in the ship's bow in the warm South Atlantic ocean. He also told me of the terror of the ship being shadowed by a German U Boat for some of the time.

He told me of the emotional greeting from the Lady in White singing "Land of hope and Glory" on the dock-side when they disembarked in Durban. They transferred straight to Benoni and training began.

First he flew accompanied in two seater Tiger Moths doing 'circuits and bumps', gaining confidence in take off and landing technique. Eventually the triumphal day of the first solo flight arrived and he gained his 'wings' The achievement culminated in a parade and presentation ceremony of which he was very proud.

He graduated to flying the "relatively easy" Avro Anson and gained further experience in crew flying. From then on, the squadron graduated to flying Avro-Lancasters.

He was eventually promoted to Flight Sergeant and achieved the co-pilot's place in the Lancaster cockpit.

Thankfully, the war in Europe came to an end before he was called to combat duties and he returned home by air via Cairo in 1945. His essential UK pre-war experience in the Police served him well. He was demobbed and returned to the Force and was not called upon to fly again.

Sadly, many of this friends from Benon Flying school were not so lucky. Several of them went on to flying combat in the continuing campaigns in India and Burma and were killed in action before the war with Japan was over.

As can be seen from my own introduction, though I was born two years after this war-time experience, my father's love of South Africa must have still been in his blood and I too was drawn to experience that beautiful country for myself some thirty-seven years later.

Whilst we were living in South Africa in 1981, my mother and father came to visit us, but the fog of time obscured my dad's memories of Benoni and he never retraced his steps to the airfield.

World War 2 was a terrible experience for many, but for some of the lucky ones it was the most thrilling and rewarding experience of their lives.

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