I was 9 when the war started and was the eldest of 5 brothers. We lived in the village of Sandhurst which was very rural then. We used to go through the woods to Blackbushe Airfield to watch the squadrons of Mosquitos taking off for the sortees. Only a few used to return and were mostly badly damaged.
When I started work as an apprentice mechanic for Whites of Cambereley in 1944, Douglas Bader would have his MG sports car serviced there and I used to have the job of 'servicing' his new legs.
It was a long time ago but the memories are still very vivid.
John Atkinson
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