Brave hero - NOT amateur radio

During WW2 my dad was a Pathfinder flying Lancasters. Pathfinders were considered the elite and many did not survive the war. My  dad did survive and died in 1987. He hated the war. 

He dropped food over Holland and repatriated PoWs from Lubeck (see top right), "stealing" officers' newspapers to give to the PoWs! 

He  talked little about the war. He was very brave and must have been so frightened every night.

Pathfinders - NOT amateur radio

I have just finished reading a book about the RAF Pathfinders. My dad was one in WW2. I had no idea how brave they were. On every mission they must have been terrified. No wonder my dad did not want to talk about his wartime that much.

My dad died in 1987. I think his wartime experiences haunted him. Overall, he was a peace loving man who enjoyed his quiet life. What a pity he died before I really understood. RIP dad.

The book by Will Iredale is available on Amazon and I expect it may be ordered by most bookshops.

Most wars serve no good.

Pathfinders - NOT amateur radio

My dad died in 1987, long after WW2. He lived a quiet life in the years before he died. In his life he rarely talked about his experiences in the war and my biggest regret was not trying to understand just how frightening this must have been.

I am pretty sure he did not like the war. However, he became a pathfinder flying night raids over Germany in Lancasters. In recent years I have found out just how brave these elite airmen were. Night after night they flew not knowing if they would be killed or captured. After the war the knowledge that many innocent men, women and children just like him must have died as a result must have haunted him. No wonder he did not want to talk about those dark days!

Recently I have been introduced to a book called "The Pathfinders" by Will Iredale that shows the story behind the formation of this group.The book is available from Amazon and other booksellers.

Wars achieve very little for most ordinary folk who just want to live in peace. I am pretty sure this was how my dad felt, but he had no choice.

Pathfinder - NOT amateur radio

My dad was a Pathfinder in Lancaster bombers in WW2 . He hated the war and rarely talked about those scary night raids over Germany. I am sure that those bombs would have killed or maimed innocent people just like him. This would have always haunted him all his life. Wars are so cruel.

He died in 1987 and loved his quiet life in Devon after the war. He must have been so brave and so scared knowing that on each trip he could have been killed or maimed.

War - NOT amateur radio

In my view, wars solve little. One wonders how many wars in history would not have happened had women been in charge. 

During WW2, my dad was a Pathfinder. These were the bravest of airmen, the elite.  He survived the war, but rarely wanted to speak about those times. He was lucky to have survived as many did not. One of my greatest regrets was not talking with him before he died in 1987 about those dark days . 

He must have been so brave as were people who have fought in wars from the dawn of history.

75 years ago - NOT amateur radio

Already I have mentioned that my dad was an RAF Pathfinder. These were elite flyers, many of whom died.  75 years ago, at the end of the war, he was getting prisoners of war back home and dropping food on the starving people of Holland.

When he went on the Lubeck trip he requisitioned all the newspapers in the mess destined for officers and gave them out to the PoWs. Of course, some had not seen UK newspapers for years!

See https://raf-pathfinders.com/pows-brought-back-from-lubeck-may-1945/

Pathfinders - NOT amateur radio

During WW2 my dad was an RAF Pathfinder. Like many, he rarely talked about those dark days: I suspect they made a deep impact on him and those around him. My great regret was not finding out more from him about what it was really like. It must have been so frightening.  He died in 1987.

At heart, he was a simple man, who hated hurting anyone. I suspect he had deep sadness that innocent men, women and children were killed as a result of his actions. On one occasion he crash-landed in Kent on the way back from a night raid over Germany. In his heart he did not want to hurt a fly. This was wartime and things were so very different.

It is perhaps not surprising that so many who lived through WW2 never wanted to share these dark days. I guess it must have been strange to know that every flight had the very real danger of death, burning or capture. Looking back, I don't know how they did it again and again.

These days we are friends with people in Germany and WW2 seems a long time in the past. May peace continue. There is no place for hate in our world.

D-Day anniversary - NOT amateur radio

My father was a Pathfinder. He flew night raids over Germany in WW2 in Lancaster bombers. He rarely spoke of these days. I am sure my dad , and many others, was badly affected by the horrors of war.

With the anniversary this week of the D-Day landings I think the fear these brave people had must have been truly, almost unimaginably, horrific. As they landed on those beaches they must have known there was a high chance of being killed or wounded. No, these were very brave people and it is little surprise these horrors were too much for many to talk about.

Every night that my dad flew over Germany, my mother and grandmother must have been terrified. No wonder he loved his golf on the Devon clifftops.

Dad - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday would have been my dad's birthday. He would have been 98 although sadly he died in his late 60s in 1987 from a heart attack. I can't imagine him being 98. He died young but he was otherwise healthy to his end.

I regret not speaking to him about his Pathfinder years in the RAF. There were brave young men on both sides in WW2. Dad did not like to speak about those days. Looking back he was very very brave.

The war years impacted him greatly and he was happy not to be reminded of them. The funny thing is if he walked in the door now it would seem so natural. There is so much I'd want to talk with him about.

If your parents are still alive ask them the questions before it is too late.