Roll out the Barrel - Charles Kearey
I do believe that it was in fact Charles Kearey who was the pilot. My father was at school with Chas Kearey, at university with him in Durban, they learnt to fly together prior to him going overseas to the RAF. He then joined Imperial Airways (?) and at start of WW2 was called up by the RAF. He shortly thereafter had himself transferred /seconded to SAAF. He married 30 min after my parents, same church and same minister in June 1940. If he and my father were not getting married at same time they would have been each others best man. This story came out in a British boys mag e.g. LION in about 1959/60. Family queried it and we had the story first hand. He was the pilot. I attended his funeral mid 1980's. His grandson Mark is a commercial pilot flying medical emergency flights in Africa. Saw him in December 2010 in RSA. Hope this helps you and clarifies matters. Much more detail in yours. Carel Birkby and Charles Kearey co-authored 2 books with a third book written by Chas solo.