大象传媒

I JOINED THE TA in March 1939 because I could see that war was coming. I was in an anti-aircraft unit based initially just outside Grimsby where I lived at the time. In August 1939, I was called up for a month's training and war broke out on 3 Sept 1939 and so I was still in uniform. I moved to be near Scunthorpe in the AA unit and then to South Shields in Northumberland. I was 20 at the time.

I was getting very fed-up with the army and just after the Battle of Britain, the RAF were looking for recruits including army personnel for air-crew duties and I volunteered to learn to fly as a pilot.

I didn't hear anything until May 1941 when I saw a photograph in the Daily Mail of former soldiers in RAF uniform with a white flash in their hats so I knew they'd been accepted for air-crew. About a fortnight later, I was called up by the air force to RAF Padgate, near Manchester, to be interviewed and medically examined. I passed both examinations and had been accepted by the RAF for pilot training.

I joined the RAF in the Long Room of Lords cricket ground in July 1941 and was kitted out with uniform. I was billeted in flats opposite London Zoo in Regent's Park. After a fortnight in London I transferred to Newquay in Cornwall for ground training including the theory of flight, RAF drill (although I done plenty of square bashing before!). I was at Newquay for about 8 weeks and it was really like returning to school for lectures.

Following a week's leave I moved to the elementary flying training school at Clyffe-Pypard, near Wooton Bassett, where for the first time in my life I left the ground. Eight and a half hours later I flew the Tiger Moth solo for the first time. The second ex-soldier in my course to fly solo. I was awarded my wings in April 1942 and became a flying instructor.

For a time I was teaching the soldiers to fly on powered aircraft before they went onto gliders (they had to log up 100 hours). Shortly afterwards, the RAF introduced a grading system for pilots in which they did about 11 hours flying and were tested between the 7th and 8th hour and between the 9th and 10th hour and as a consequence of the tests it was decided whether they would become pilots, navigators, or bomb aimers.

The endless round of circuits and landings was getting me down so I saw the chief flying instructor and told him that I had not joined the airforce to teach people to fly but I wanted to see some action.

He asked me whether I wished to join fighter command or bomber command. I explained that most of my flying had been on single engine aircraft and that I would like to join a bomber squadron. I had some refresher flying in twin-engine Oxfords and was then posted to Upper Heyford and Barford St John, where I met my crew and learned to fly Wellington bombers. In the summer of 1944 I moved to Wigsley near Lincoln with my crew and learned to fly four engine Stirling aircraft.

In September 1944, I converted onto four-engine Lancasters and in October 1944 I joined 619 Squadron at RAF Strubby, five miles south west of Mablethorpe in Lincs. Before I was allowed to fly on my first operation with my crew I had to have completed one operation with an experienced bomber crew. I completed a tour of 30 operations, with Bomber Command, flying over Norway, Sweden, Poland, Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark and I always got back to base.

After the war, when I was tour-expired I joined 187 Squadron on DC 3 Dakota aircraft, flying to India with National Service passengers and returning with tour-expired soldiers. I was demobilised in June 1946 and I was invited to join the RAF reserve, in which I enlisted in June 1947. As a qualified flying instructor I was giving instruction on Tiger Moths and Chipmunk aircraft.

I had been married 4 weeks when I was recalled to the RAF for 18 months as one of 200 reserve flying instructors at the time of the Korean War and I was based again at RAF Sizeton where I had learned to fly Lancasters! My reserve service ended in June 1957.

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