Cliff, I don't think that the twelve second pilots were all aboard together
Indeed - it was
one extra 'bod' in 10 of Dad's last 12 ops (so 10 people in total, one on each op). Sorry to have caused confusion! Dad's last op was to Stuttgart on 20 Feb 44 from Woodhall Spa with 619 squadron (see 619 The History of a Forgotten Squadron by Bryan Clark).
One thing Dad has often talked about is the very mixed feelings at the end of a tour. He said in a letter home
'it was certainly a relief to get off operating for a bit, but there is an unhappy side to it too. All my crew finished with me, and before you could bat an eyelid we were scattered to the four winds....You probably won't realise what it means to have your crew split up. We had been living, eating, and working together for so long, and we had gone through so much together with each man's life depending on the other one. I feel quite lost on my own now'.