looking for dad serving in the RAF during WW2

april 28 2008

I don't know why, but I've spend quite some time trying to find out in which squadron my father was serving in WW2.

I still haven't found out.

It's good I have been to England. I've met the people he stayed with, so no one can tell me he hasn't served in the RAF.
But that's long ago and the people there who knew have died.

I know some of his stories.
Just a few.
The rest he kept to himself.

I also know some things from his chaplain. Not much. But enough to follow some lines.
They didn't lead to my dad, yet.

Maybe they didn't serve in the same squardron at the time, but met later, earlier, or on a base where their squadrons were together.

He was trained as a radio operator and became a flying engineer.

Because he was young he had to stay overbight at a family near the base.
As far as I know he stayed in High Wycombe with an elderly lady somewhere between 1941 and 1943. She was very kind and caring.
Her daughter, Lillian, went to Rhodesia with her husband.

He also stayed in Wolverhampton, where I've met the family.
It's a pity my mother managed to loose the address.
Those people were very kind, and I would have loved to have stayed in contact.

Once my father mentioned he'd been in Nova Scotia, but as soon as I started to ask questions he stopped talking. he never wanted to talk about it again.

His photos were kept in an old shoebox.
I remember him sitting in a Lancaster.
He often told about airplanes like the spitfires, mosquitos and the flying fortress.

One of the most amazing experiences was being with him in France.
He'd always said he'd never been there, but he knew his way there quite well.
No surprise, considering many Dutch young men went through France to go to England.

On the other hand, our family was in the resistance and he might have helped pilots escape.

The last days I've spend hours with a magnifying glass looking at old pictures online.

But why, why can't I find him?
And why can't I find his name, nor that of the chaplain?

Requesting information from the army archives is impossible.
My mom is next of kin and she was so traumatized in the war that she doesn't want to have anything to do with it.
She won't give her consent, so I have to wait untill she dies.

I hope that one day, I'll find out more.


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