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The war with Germany commenced in September 1939 when I was only 18 years of age and worked for Vickers Armstrong, a munitions factory.
On my 20th birthday{24th September 1941} I had been accepted to train as aircrew and was on my way to Padgate where I remained for two days and was issued with my uniform etc.
Then I transferred to Blackpool where with hundreds of other recruits went through a disciplinary course{drill etc} and was taught the Morse Code up to 12 words per minute.After about 3 months I was posted to Yatesbury in Wiltshire and brought my Morse speed to 18 words per minute and was given a full course on wireless transmitters and receivers.
In January 1943 I started my flying training at Madley{Number 4 Radio School} on Donuniers and Proctor Aircraft {a total of 26 hours}.
I was then posted to Mona { Number 3 Air Gunnery School} Anglesey and qualified as an air gunner as well as a wireless operator. I received my A.G.wing and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Then to Hooton Park in the Wirral where I was trained as a radar operator. By this time I had 58 hours flying training and was now fully trained as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. In July 1943 I went to Operational Training Unit { Haverfordwest} where I teamed up with 3 Canadian Officers {2 pilots and navigator} and another two Wireless Ops/Air Gunners who had trained with me.We trained as a bomber crew for a month and then joined the war for real. We joined 407 {Royal Canadian Air Force} Squadron and flew in Wellington {MK14} bombers on Coastal Command. Our main task was anti-sub patrols covering the Atlantic, North Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, North Sea and Norwegian waters hunting for U-boats. I completed 46 operational flights by November 1944, each flight worked out at just over 10 hours each flight.
In the early hours of 14th June 1944 we were on the way back to Chivenor when I picked up a blip on the radar {56 miles away} in the Bay of Biscay.It turned out to be a U-boat which we attacked with 6 depth charges. I was promoted to Pilot Officer on the same day.
We carried two homing pigeons on our aircraft and were in tin containers { each pigeon had a name}. About 50 miles from the airfield on our way home we threw them down the flare chute and normally found their way home before we did.
One morning coming home after patrol in the Bay of Biscay we passed west of Brest in France where German fighters were based. Three aircraft from our Squadron were shot down and we were lucky to escape the same fate. Only once did we have engine failure on take off with 6 depth charges under us and full petrol tanks. We dropped the depth charges in the Irish Sea, got rid of some of the fuel and landed safely after 45 minutes.
One night we were on the end of the runway for take-off and the Wellington taking off in front of us got up a few hundred feet then crashed and exploded. It was not a nice thing to take off and fly through the flames and smoke and knowing the crew members who had crashed.
After finishing my operational flying I was sent to Killadear, near Enniskillen in Northern Ireland and was an air gunnery instructor on Catalina flying boats for a short period of 2 months.{ the war was almost finished}.
I was then posted to Kinloss, Morayshire and had a rest from flying as a ground instructor on radar.
I came out of the Air Force for a short period but was asked to come back for a period of 5 years plus a number of years on the reserve of officers. During this period I flew in Lancaster bombers, Dakotas and finished with in Shackletons.
I retired in August 1952 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. I have flown 13 times in the only Lancaster flying with the Battle of Britain memorial Flight. {PA474}. I took it out to West Africa in 1948.

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