hi mate im currentley researching my fiancees grandfathers career as he was also in japan as groundcrew on 17sqd. the thing is after the weekend ive found out he was in 7132se as well so was really interested to hear about your dad serving there as well?
i would be interested in any pics or imformation you may have?
I just brought all my Dads photos back from the UK, I’ll scan and post them as soon as I can – sorry I have no info on 7132se, or history of 17sqd at the end of the war or after.
Unfortunately I only have one war story – my Dad didn’t get demobbed for several years, something he was always bitter about, priority wasn’t for ground crew to use up space on ships, and when he did get back no-one wanted to re-live the war, he kept everything bottled up.
My Dad told me about a time when he was working crew on a bomber. Supplies were always very short. He replaced one tyre, but thought that the other could get through one more trip. As they came back, he was getting more an more worried that the tyre wouldn’t hold up on landing, so as soon as the plane touched down he sprinted out to the field just as a tyre blew and the crate veered off the runway onto the grass. He got there first, opened the hatches and got everyone out, and everyone praised his getting there so quick. Fortunately there was no real emergency, they just had to tow the plane off the grass. When they did my Dad saw that the tyre that had blown was the brand new one, the old one was still intact!
Is your fiancees grandfather still alive? – what’s his name?
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