At 17 I took a job as an office boy on the London Stock Exchange, earning 30 shillings a week. As war was looming and commissions in the RAF were available, and I met the required standards, I was accepted for ground duties in January 1939. I trained at Halton and in April was posted to RAF Station Thorney Island and was there at the outbreak of the war. Thereafter, I had numerous postings in the UK, including in 1941/42 to Australia House seconded to the RAAF. I was in London through the blitz and experienced many sleepless nights, though admittedly, most of these were due to pub-crawls between The Dorchester, The Ritz, Piccadilly, The Embassy and Le Suivi. My drinking partner was Gerald, a Captain in bomb disposal who was always on call and had to leave a phone number wherever he was!

My experiences of this time are very mixed, some good and others frightening. I moved around with a loaded revolver in case I came across a jerry parachutist. This was Battle of Britain time and I occasionally visited my brother at RAF station Tangmere where he flew Spitfires in Douglas Baders wing and survived - though many didn’t. David was
awarded the DFC.