Pulse 1 & sannatuu:
Sannatuu, I think we're dealing withe same man - one born in the Durham area on 18 June 1921 and who died towards the end of 1971 around Gosport. If your partner thinks that might be him, let's get together to see how much more we can establish together.
First of all, thank you all so much for your info regarding George Sproates..!
Secondly but most importantly – Pulse1, I am so terribly sorry to hear about Frank! It does sound like he was blessed with a brilliant neighbour and friend who could make sure his story was voiced.
To wrap up my enquiries about George I finally managed to talk to the rest of the family to get a few more bits of information. George did die in ’71 (my late ’60 was slightly off) and according to his daughters he had a close friend called Frank who was the godfather to his eldest daughter! The family lost contact after George died and were sad to hear of Frank’s passing. In terms of the info from Frank the only anomaly I could find was that George was based in Episkopi in Cyprus and not in Akrotiri. I think this is probably enough to say that we are talking about the same man.
George’s family have fond memories of that time in Cyprus, however they do not have much information or stories about his time training to be a navigator (with Frank) or during the war.
For this info I would be very grateful and welcome all you can find but I think my takeaway here is to grasp the opportunity to ask questions while there is still time..
Thank you again all !
Sanna