His experience
of life was limited, being a country boy, but didn't stop him
turning the tables on June by charging her with insubordination to a
senior NCO - despite his hysterics at the time! June was not amused and
made it abundantly clear.
Basher finds her job both interesting and yet infinitely sad. The
knowledge that she was responsible for the first handling of classified
information. The amount of bombs in any given aircraft. Details of
the targets i.e. August 17th 1944 Brest Shipping in Port area. 18/19
Sterkrade (Essen) Synthentic oil plant. 25th Pas-De-Calais Flying Bomb
site. Information on weather conditions. The rendezvous with other
squadrons. Then came the sending of more than thirty telegrams
to loved one's telling them their sons and husbands had been either killed
or presumed missing. The unofficial telegram that Basher kept in her top
pocket advising a Navigator's wife of his ETA at Kings Cross station, and
memorising 'C' for Charley that he was flying in. Then the
heart-stopping experience of watching from her office window as each
aircraft touched down, and watching as 'C' for Charley's wheels touched
the tarmac only to find he had overshot the runway. Seconds later
a massive explosion, the aircraft blew up mid air - a telegram was sent
but not the good news.
|
