Heroes....amongst us and we just don't realize it!
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Re the first story of Googe. If you look at 428 Sqdn history it clearly states that they re-equipped with CANADIAN Lancasters in June 1944. The Halifax is a red herring. He actually flew Lancasters made in Canada.
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My Dad is 86 now, and still seems fitter than I am.
Since my hasty divorce I live 'back at home', a huge advantage of which is sitting at night prising stories out of him - he was a Leading Air Mechanic on Seafires at Salerno ( we have often discussed why the hell the Sea Hurricane wasn't more used, for its' more robust gear, Dad's carrier HMS Unicorn went from 30 to 6 Seafires in 2 days, all landing accidents ! ) then briefly from various Seafires he was on
Helllcats, and later was at D-Day, Lee On Solent, when 897 Squadron was sent U.S. Battleship Kingfisher Pilots to help spot fall of shot for the Warspite etc.
In the middle of the war Dad was posted to Escort carriers, the Stalker and Khedive.
One story I did manage to get out of him, was they tried fitting an early drop-tank on the Seafire, connected by a glass tube; the 'ground crew' ended up ankle deep in high octane fuel sloshing from side to side !
Small wonder that the first of class, HMS Dasher, blew up with the loss of almost all hands then.
Dad went on through Hunter times to become the top crew-chief on Exprimental Harriers, both Sea and Mark 2 /GR5 versions - his approach to early problems when stuck in West Freugh which theoretically required the wing off was shall we say surgically robust !
I worked as a guide at Tangmere last year, and by sheer chance met a delightful lady who contributes to the Imperial War Museum.
We ended up at her and her husband's house near Guildford with her interviewing Dad - Stan Lawson - on tape, and this will be available for anyone who cares to listen.
If anyone knows a similar veteran, I'd be very happy to pass on contact details.
Since my hasty divorce I live 'back at home', a huge advantage of which is sitting at night prising stories out of him - he was a Leading Air Mechanic on Seafires at Salerno ( we have often discussed why the hell the Sea Hurricane wasn't more used, for its' more robust gear, Dad's carrier HMS Unicorn went from 30 to 6 Seafires in 2 days, all landing accidents ! ) then briefly from various Seafires he was on
Helllcats, and later was at D-Day, Lee On Solent, when 897 Squadron was sent U.S. Battleship Kingfisher Pilots to help spot fall of shot for the Warspite etc.
In the middle of the war Dad was posted to Escort carriers, the Stalker and Khedive.
One story I did manage to get out of him, was they tried fitting an early drop-tank on the Seafire, connected by a glass tube; the 'ground crew' ended up ankle deep in high octane fuel sloshing from side to side !
Small wonder that the first of class, HMS Dasher, blew up with the loss of almost all hands then.
Dad went on through Hunter times to become the top crew-chief on Exprimental Harriers, both Sea and Mark 2 /GR5 versions - his approach to early problems when stuck in West Freugh which theoretically required the wing off was shall we say surgically robust !
I worked as a guide at Tangmere last year, and by sheer chance met a delightful lady who contributes to the Imperial War Museum.
We ended up at her and her husband's house near Guildford with her interviewing Dad - Stan Lawson - on tape, and this will be available for anyone who cares to listen.
If anyone knows a similar veteran, I'd be very happy to pass on contact details.
Last edited by Double Zero; 26th Aug 2010 at 13:11.
Please, please try and get these stories on paper before its too late. When in the ROC had the pleasure of drinking ! with an elderly gentleman whose job during WWII was to fix Spitfires the RAF could'nt. He worked at Supermarine and was sent all over the country to fix airframes the RAF thought were w/o. A fellow observer tried many years ago to get his stories down but he said no one will be interested. Andy you were very, very wrong. !
My Grandad
I have always been very close to my Grandparents (both still alive thankfully) and have always seen them on a very regular basis. With this in mind it came as some surprise to me at the age of 25 when my Grandad casually mentioned how he and his younger brother helped their Dad dig the family out of their garden after some nasty German dropped a bomb on their house!
They lived in Sheffield during the war and after that fateful night had to live elsewhere until the government saw fit to rebuild their house. He then spent a couple of years (with no R&R) sailing around the Med on an Escort Carrier.
The bombing was so commonplace in those days that it didn't seem exceptional to him. So much so that he didn't mention it until I happened to be asking him about the war.
Nowadays someone gets a 6 figure book deal to talk about the time they were stung by a wasp! Makes you think.
BV
They lived in Sheffield during the war and after that fateful night had to live elsewhere until the government saw fit to rebuild their house. He then spent a couple of years (with no R&R) sailing around the Med on an Escort Carrier.
The bombing was so commonplace in those days that it didn't seem exceptional to him. So much so that he didn't mention it until I happened to be asking him about the war.
Nowadays someone gets a 6 figure book deal to talk about the time they were stung by a wasp! Makes you think.
BV
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Wander00,
As I'm ****** unlikey to get a world speed record (except for my escape process from that marriage ) , I'll take what's going !
I was very lucky to work with quite a few veterans; rest assured they were and are appreciated, even by relatively young idiots like me and my chums, and I am not alone in trying to teach the earlier generation of schoolchildren ( who are surprisingly interested ) .
I am trying to write a few true tales down; I feel it would be wrong to try and make a profit out of other people's do or die efforts, so intend to publish them for free, or at least covering publishers'costs; I've dealt with them before and wasn't impressed.
Please feel free to PM or e-mail me.
Andy, DZ
As I'm ****** unlikey to get a world speed record (except for my escape process from that marriage ) , I'll take what's going !
I was very lucky to work with quite a few veterans; rest assured they were and are appreciated, even by relatively young idiots like me and my chums, and I am not alone in trying to teach the earlier generation of schoolchildren ( who are surprisingly interested ) .
I am trying to write a few true tales down; I feel it would be wrong to try and make a profit out of other people's do or die efforts, so intend to publish them for free, or at least covering publishers'costs; I've dealt with them before and wasn't impressed.
Please feel free to PM or e-mail me.
Andy, DZ
Last edited by Double Zero; 26th Aug 2010 at 18:43.
DZ - I'm with you on recording veterans' experiences, Indeed I am hoping to add another to the site shortly. "Boomerang kids" is the expression for (usually) youngsters who leave home for uni or marriage, finish the course (in either sense) and then return to the parents' home. You seem to have achieved that state rather later than is usual.
Thread Starter
9,000 Americans joined the RCAF during the War....379 died in Bomber Command. Well over 2,000 remained in the RCAF until the end of the war....while the rest transferred to the American Military at some point.
Americans in the RCAF
Americans in the RCAF
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Boomerang kid
Wander00,
I'm familiar with the term...
Back to topic, I was lucky enough to work with quite a few heroes; as a photographer I sometimes only found out about their accomplishments when I took their retirement pictures, and wished I'd known earlier.
I remember JF doing Ted Fittons' farewell speech, " This is the only person I know who survived an engine failure on take-off in a Mosquito ! "
Ted was an unassuming clerk -like figure, little did I know !
While he was not an aviator, I wish I'd had more time with my uncle, Jim Evans.
He was in the Infantry, captured in Crete. When I knew him he was very deaf - courtesy of being badly beaten with a German rifle for attempting escape; on his 3rd try he made it, as everyone was a lot more scared of the approaching Russians !
I was once on a train back from Victoria, when I found myself sitting opposite a chap wearing a lot of medals, some of which even I recognized.
I said " if I had a hat I'd take it off to you Sir " and we got chatting.
He'd been in Singapore when it was over-run, and a group of British nurses were marched into the sea then machine gunned in the back; and people wonder why I won't have a German or Japanese car...
I'm familiar with the term...
Back to topic, I was lucky enough to work with quite a few heroes; as a photographer I sometimes only found out about their accomplishments when I took their retirement pictures, and wished I'd known earlier.
I remember JF doing Ted Fittons' farewell speech, " This is the only person I know who survived an engine failure on take-off in a Mosquito ! "
Ted was an unassuming clerk -like figure, little did I know !
While he was not an aviator, I wish I'd had more time with my uncle, Jim Evans.
He was in the Infantry, captured in Crete. When I knew him he was very deaf - courtesy of being badly beaten with a German rifle for attempting escape; on his 3rd try he made it, as everyone was a lot more scared of the approaching Russians !
I was once on a train back from Victoria, when I found myself sitting opposite a chap wearing a lot of medals, some of which even I recognized.
I said " if I had a hat I'd take it off to you Sir " and we got chatting.
He'd been in Singapore when it was over-run, and a group of British nurses were marched into the sea then machine gunned in the back; and people wonder why I won't have a German or Japanese car...
Last edited by Double Zero; 27th Aug 2010 at 13:14.
DZ - interesting about your uncle in Crete. My grandfather was there but was lucky enough to escape sailing on a landing ship with a Major Garret and 135 others to North Africa using blankets for sails as they had no fuel! This was something I only found out when discussing an item in a Victor annual I received as I child for Christmas and on discussing this with my father he told me that my grandfather was one of those involved.
Although I regretfully never had the chance to discuss the war with him (I always thought there would be the time) for what I can tell he had an interesting war. In the Royal Marines and then Comando's before helping out with the LRDG in North Africa blowing up airfields and the like. During the Italian landings he was sunk three times in as many hours - something my father tells me he was loathe to talk about as his abiding memory was of the screams of those trapped below and the smell of burning flesh. After being captured by the Italians (and escaping) he was off to the Far East - noone knows what he was up to but he would never have anything Japenese in the house so we can only presume it was not good.
Such a great opportunity missed and one that I will always regret. Brave (and modest) men indeed.
Although I regretfully never had the chance to discuss the war with him (I always thought there would be the time) for what I can tell he had an interesting war. In the Royal Marines and then Comando's before helping out with the LRDG in North Africa blowing up airfields and the like. During the Italian landings he was sunk three times in as many hours - something my father tells me he was loathe to talk about as his abiding memory was of the screams of those trapped below and the smell of burning flesh. After being captured by the Italians (and escaping) he was off to the Far East - noone knows what he was up to but he would never have anything Japenese in the house so we can only presume it was not good.
Such a great opportunity missed and one that I will always regret. Brave (and modest) men indeed.
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Many year's ago (pre 9/11) I was jump seat riding on a 767 from Mel to Singapore working for a large UK charter. As it was the custom in those days,, passengers were allowed to visit the F/Deck to have a look see. Enter an old gentleman. As the crew were busy doing "things" I had the task of explaining the various bits at the front end to the gentleman. His first comment was that it had been many years since he had flown and when I asked why he was "blighty" bound, he said that he was going back to look for his crew. With that, he pulled out of his pocket a tattered bit of paper with the names of his crew. He asked where he should start, and being ex RAF, I explained the various organisations that may help. Also falling out of his wallet was a little card that described him as a member of the Catterpiller Club (which I believe is issued to aircrew that have used Irving parachutes). When I asked him when he last saw his crew he stated "over Holland , 1944, at 2000ft in a burning Lanc". By this time he had the full attention of th guys up front !! They all got out and he was picked up by the Dutch resistance and spent the next 50 years back in OZ as a sheep farmer and never flew again, except for this trip. Never did find out if he found them all, I hope so for his sake, a true gentleman.
