Hi,
A little late. My brother and keeper of the Bird archives sent me some photographs. Our Uncle Tom (his cabin was a little larger) at the beginning of WW2 was a member of the Air Training Corps and was sent along with many others to the States to learn to fly.
A cutting from the Arizona Gazette 8-11-41.
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They were greeted as sons of the British Aristocracy possible helped by photographs of our Uncle Tom's cabin where he spent all of his life before the war.
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I am sure that as a British Gentleman he would tell the local young ladies the truth which was that his mother was the cook and his father the garden. Apparently being 6 foot 2 inches tall and blonde along with his cute accent he got on quite well with the locals.
On returning to the UK he did anti submarine patrols in Beaufighters over the North Sea and Atlantic. He was then posted to Burma where he did two tours. He used to tell a story when many years after the War he along with our father they were landing at Gibraltar and Tom commented that the last time he was there he was piloting the plane and a fight attendant asked 'What airline'; he had been ferrying his plane to India!
A newspaper cutting from near the end of the war.
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The photograph bought by his parents from the news paper.
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His Blood Chit or as the fight crews called them Goolie Chits which was supposed to be worn on his back.
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Hope this was found interesting.
Take care and stay safe.
Tony.
Fascinating actually. Thank you for posting this Tony ... and for honoring the date!!!
Hi Daniel,
It is as well to remember, but it still hasn't stopping similar happenings again.
Our father like Tom was in the war from day one, it might be a little odd two sons both motor mechanics working for the same firm should be in at the beginning but their Dad before being a gardener was a professional soldier; first in the Boar War and later in the RFC in France he even served in the Home Guard in WW2 so there might have been not much of an objection. Our Dad joined the Fleet Air Arm as an Engineer Office, he was first stationed in Scotland on Air/Sea Rescue in much the same area as Tom patrolled on anti- submarine duties later, then he went to the States before they entered the war. He travelled by troop ship to Canada then after changing out of uniform a train to New York then a cruise ship to Jamaica, his job was to supervise the assembly of aircraft to go with the convoys as protection. This job didn't last long as not many aircraft arrived the ships having been sunk but the States had entered the war and he ended up on an American patrol boat working between Cuba and Trinidad. He was then transferred to a Mediterranean based carrier force: it later transpired he was in Cairo the day after Tom who was on his way to India. They both survived the war but Tom didn't get back to the UK until well into 1946.
Our Dad on the left.
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And in uniform on a Carrier.
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And recently turned up a letter from our Mother to Tom. I was born a few days after VE day.
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Take care.
Tony.
There still hasn't been anything even remotely like WWII in the intervening years, and I suspect in the deep future this 75 year span will be considered as one of a uniquely peaceful era in human history. We just now know about every little blip because of information technology such as it has never been before.
Cheers to your Dad and Uncle, and their service for us all. So glad you got them both back. I lost a couple of Uncles, along with one who came home, but you dare not walk up behind him unannounced, back while I was young.