J.E. Lydall Log Book No.2
Conclusion
Lydall first flies at the Parachute Training School Ringway in the Cheshire countryside on July 6 1942. In the next 8 months until this 2nd Log Book ends on Feb 28 1943 he flies 197 hours. The majority of these being flown in A. W. Whitley Mk. 5s, (80 hrs), D.H. Rapides, (51.15 Hrs) and A.W. Whitley MKs. 2 & 3 (40.40 hrs). The other 20-odd hours being flown in a random selection of whatever was lying around the aerodrome at the time. Bristol Bombay, Anson, H.P. Harrow, Lysander, Miles Mentor, Tiger, & Leopard Moths, plus a .40 P.2 trip in a Lancaster.
Parachute drops are short trips (15-20 mins) and on occasion he logs 12-14 such flights in a day, so while 197 hours in 8 months does not seem a lot of flying it does entail an awful lot of t/offs and a hopefully a matching number of landings.
One thing that stands out in his time with this unit is the reliability of these obsolete A/C compared to the catalogue of woes that he experienced in his Operational Squadrons. He records only 3 snags in the 8 months (2 minor problems just requiring adjustment and 1 engine shutdown on a Whitley, broken crankshaft).
What happened to Lydall after this Log Book ended 28 Feb '43 (1515.10 Total Time), I do not know. I hope that my precis of what kind of war he was given has done him justice and enlightened some of us to 'What it was like' back in the day. All this from a Log Book found on a stall at a junk fair by my old mum.
If, (long shot now) any relation of S/LDR Lydall does ever see this and wishes to claim it, I will, of course, oblige - meantime it will sit on the bookshelf alongside the WW2 Log Books of my father, step-father and godfather.
Ian BB