Eastbourne RAF hero remembers his part in daring bomber raids

Jack, from Eastbourne, flew on 77 operations over enemy territory, in nearly four tours of duty as one of the Pathfinders.

These were the first bombers in to mark enemy targets with flares before having to brave enemy flack on a second bombing run.

He trained on Lancaster bombers but went on to fly Wellington and Halifax bombers, having to learn new operating systems while in the air during missions.

After training, he and his fellow airmen had just turned 20 years old.

It was a dangerous job, with one of three planes being lost and many of the bombing raids were eight hour flights.

Jack recalls when on a bombing run over Germany, his plane being caught in searchlights, causing the pilot to take evasive actions by diving from 18,000ft to 6,000ft. The rapid descent caused Jack to be tossed around the aircraft like a rag-doll. Luckily he was unhurt.

On another operation he recalls looking through an observation dome only to see another RAF plane immediately above his and starting to open its bomb doors. He said: “I tapped the pilot on the shoulder to make him aware and he was able to dive out of the way.”

On one mission, he remembers a gunner saving the plane after an enemy fighter swooped in out of nowhere above Stuttgart.

Of his 77 operations, 52 took place over an intense 15 month period without a break.

Jack said: “I am not sure how, but somehow I knew I wouldn’t die.”

Jack has many medals but the one he is most proud of is the Pathfinder Badge.

He said: “They were not easy to get. You had to have flown on at least two tours of duty or be killed to get awarded one.”

Jack has received help from the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, a charity which provides a range of support to RAF veterans and their families.

The Fund found Jack through its Join The Search. Change A Life campaign calling on the public to refer RAF veterans and their families in need. It was then able to provide Jack with a refurbished kitchen to enable him to live independently.

Jack said: “My kitchen was falling apart. Now I have an eye-level oven, which makes things much easier. It has made a real difference.”

Air Vice Marshal Chris Elliot, from the charity, said: “Our aim is to encourage veterans and the wider public to join us in commemorating the heroic Bomber Command members and ensure that even in these challenging times, they are not forgotten.”

In total, 55,573 young men flying with Bomber Command lost their lives in the Second World War.

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