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As I was born in 1935, my memories of the early days of WW2 are a mixture of what little one can recall from age four, and what others have told me since. We were living in Harringay in North London until the blitz started in earnest. My father was a Master Builder, so although he was passed as A1, he was not 'called up', as his services were needed every morning in London after an air-raid. As a consequence, I was evacuated, as were so many others; but in my case, presumably so that my father could vist us when he had a chance to rest, my mother and I were sent to Hitchin in Hertforshire, and were boarded with a family there. With such a large influx of evacuees, they re-opened the British Schools in Hitchin that had closed in 1927; my early recollections of school were based on my experiences there. When an Uncle was declared missing in Tobruk, we moved in with my Aunt in Watford. Then another uncle was reported as missing...and that is the subject of the remainder of this content.
No.525661 AC Thomas Albert Davies was my Uncle; he served with 208 Squadron in Greece, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Lybia and Trans Jordan from 1939 until 20th December 1942, when his family was told that he had disappeared overboard from a troop ship returning to England via Durban, South Africa (said ship later identified by the Air Ministry as HMT California, although there is no record of it ever having arrived in the UK), in circumstances that have never been explained fully. I, as his nephew, am anxious to contact anyone who may have served with him, from his early days in 1933-37, at Uxbridge, through 1937 at Tangmere, and 1937-39 with 72(F) Sqd. at Church Fenton, and then 208 Sqd. overseas. He was an avid sportsman - footballer, boxer and swimmer - and I have numerous photographs of his service mates, etc., and some letters, that were returned to my Grandmother with his belongings, but that is all. I would dearly like to contact others who may have known him or had some knowledge of the squadron's activities during those war years, so that I can pass on as much information as I can to my own family and their descendents; and perhaps also throw some light on the circumstances that surrounded his disappearance.
This entry is dated May 28th 2005; I'll change this date each time I add to this content.