大象传媒

My RAF life
By Ossie Evans

PROLOGUE
___________

I was born on the first of May 1923 the only child of Emma Alice ( nee Johnson) and Wilfred James Evans and our home was No.10 Woodland Road,Chelmsford, Essex.
I was educated at Kings Road primary, infant and junior school and at the age of eleven " passed the scholarship" to King Edward VI Grammar, all in Chelmsford.
My favourite reading were the adventures of Wharton , Tom Merry and el al, the creations of Frank Richards in "The Magnet" and I joined everything that was going. All the clubs and competitions, I even tried the Cadet Corps band where at the audition I failed to make any noise at all with the bugle and couldn't do any sort off roll with the drum sticks. This caused my mother to seek an interview with the Headmaster to express her concern but she was reassured that comic books were better than no reading at all. Similarly I was the salt of the earth to anybody who wanted to start anything at the
school as they were always assured of one recruit. In 1939 I passed my School Certificate with Matriculation exemption and was destined for the sixth form when the outbreak of war intervened. The aforesaid Headmaster recommended me to the local bank and I got the job. With the same neurosis I joined the air raid wardens, the home guard and all the old boys clubs. In May, at seventeen, I tried to join the R.A.F but was turned downbecause I couldn't hold up the mercury for sufficient time in the breathing test.
In the bank I held my own although one dear old lady on the staff remarked she thought the bank was on the slide with having to employ scholarship boys. Fortunately the Manager didn't have this problem and entrusted me with letting a young lady into his office after the bank had closed for customers and taking his dog for a walk in the park.
In the October I tried again to be a pilot, and this time at the aircrew selection board in Uxbridge I was successful and I can now tell my story.