Why I am intersted in WW2 ?
My father was one of four brothers from Londonderry who enlisted , two (John and Jimmy) joined the RAF , Donald* and Robert ( My father) joined the Royal Navy.
*( Donald joined as a "Boy Seaman in 1938).
John was an electrical engineer with Coastal Command.
Jimmy eventually became and Air Gunner with 158 Squadron , based at Lisset near Bridlington.
"Bob" , he spent most of his war between the Med. and Cosatal Forces on Gun Boats operating in the Channel and off the Dutch Coast.
Donald , the eldest was posted to the far east and became a POW when Hong Kong fell.
Off these four young men two , Donald and Jimmy never came home.
Jimmy was lost with his crewmates when their Halifax was shot down by flak over the Dutch Coast.
Jimmy's body was cast ashore on Ameland - the only trace of the aircraft or crew to be found.
Donald , he surived the sinking of the Lisbon Maru and endured Japanese captivity until his death of Pneumonia in April 1944.
These few words illustrate how from the age of eight I have been intersted in the "last war" and the loss of my father's two brothers.
My mother came rom County Fermangh and as a young girl saw the daily passage of Sunderland and catalinas over her family home - my grandfather told me about aircraft lost around the County , all had some truth but contained a mixture of local beliefs and what people " knew to be true".
I spent about 8 years sorting the fact from the fiction in researching Coastal ops rom Lough Erne as well as finding out exactly what happened to Sgt. A/Gunner J.D. Stewart and his crewmates.
Hope this might give some insight into my "roots" regarding WW2.
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