Cliff, just happened on this thread. It is amazing!
So far I have only got as far as post #80, and am really looking forward to reading the rest - a truly 'rich seam'. Very well done to you and the other contributors for spending the time and effort to post.
As an aside, my dad was in the first RAF Regiment as an LAC Gunner. He joined in August 1941 and was captured on Kos in the Dodecanese in 1943 when the Germans assaulted it with paratroopers and took the island. I think it had a small Spitfire squadron there. He spent the rest of the war in Germany as a POW. He rarely spoke of his experiences, which is not unusual. However one day in the 60s when mum was at work, he cooked for me what was a 'special treat' in the camps - a spam fritter ie a slice of spam fried in lard! So one can gather that things weren't that great in the camps. I still have his old 'Service and Release Book' showing he was demobbed in Jan 1946. If he were still alive he would be 86, and he would have LOVED this thread.
I notice you were demobbed at Burtonwood. I live nearby, in a little hamlet known as Prescot. Apparently the M62 motorway runs directly over the old 09/27 runway. Sadly, as you may be aware, the huge old hangers were recently demolished.
Once again, thanks for a fantastic thread.
