Danny
I knew you'd do that... assume all blame and apologise sincerely! But then you are, as all would acknowledge, a true gentleman and a 'knight gallante'. In fact many get to feel the lash of my mother's tongue from time to time, but to her credit, she blows her top, then half an hour later she's right back to being her usual self, as if nothing had ever happened! (I'll try your Quetta tale on her after a suitable interval!)
To move on, a couple of shots from 84 Squadron in North Africa. Pilot: Flt Lt John Wyllie and his Nav/Bomb Aimer. They are, of course, in a Blenheim MkIV. In a Squadron team photo, four of the aircrew sport beards, which is interesting. But then, there was a serious lack of water when operating from forward Landing Grounds. This was because all the wells had been either contaminated or destroyed by the treating enemy. The ration was 2 pts (1 litre) per day and it was both brackish and heavily chlorinated, making the tea taste foul. The Squadron, however, was clear about genuine necessities. It had a couple of 3-tonners, plying between the main forward supply depot and the operational base, delivering (among other items) a ready supply of bottled liquids. While these were excellent for morale when off duty, none of course, were suitable for shaving stubble.
The bearded, Wyllie later did sterling work with the Squadron after it moved to the Far East, including the destruction of a Japanese ship. A couple of months after this picture was taken, he was captured by the Japanese. However this was not before he tried to take-off as the Japanese attacked their airfield at Kalidjati, Java. Starting the engines, fire from a Japanese tank came in, hitting the windscreen and persuading him and the crew to abandon the attempt. He then Jumped into a car driven by the Squadron CO, and, everyone firing Tommy-guns from the windows, sped off the airfield under the noses of the Japanese soldiery. Unfortunately he was taken prisoner before he could effect an escape from the island, and spent the rest of the war interred in Singapore.