Which reminds me. My Uncle Arthur was a Lancaster gunner with 630 Squadron out of East Kirkby; 32 Ops, 216 operational hours. Anyway, a few years after the war ended he and his brother, my Dad, were shooting the ‘breeze’ and I have a memory of one story from Arthur.
When 617’s first bombs were delivered to Lincolnshire they’d been transported in very substantial hard-wood cases. I seem to remember teak being mentioned. The intention was that the empty cases would be sent back to Vickers for more bombs. When nothing had arrived back Vickers telephoned to ask why.
The reason – some enterprising Scampton armourers had rapidly converted bits of Oriental rain forest into a new bar for the Sergeants’ Mess.
True? It is for me.