224684 W/O. Mervin Charles Westbrook Royal Air Force 196 squadron from:Honister, Fortunes Way, Bedhampton, Havant, Hants My father Mervin C. Westbrook served on Wellies & Stirlings of 196 Squadron. He talked about many, many supply trips over France and Holland; during one the flak so affected his aircraft that it lurched alarmingly just as he was dispatching a bicycle and other goodies to the Free French. How he escaped following it out of the plane he never knew! He was the Flight Engineer on the craft and was particularly friendly with his pilot Askew (who has a daughter Stella 10 days younger than myself) and Navigator MacFadyean (spelling?) who went to live at Westbrook End near Godalming of all places.
His flying stories were told matter of fact with no embroidery; everybody had a job to do and they just got on with it. He was particularly affected by the death of some of his friends who were in a plane that crashed in Norway. Routine early bombing missions were somewhat boring as his responsibilities amongst others were to wind the rear wheel up or down at take off and landing.
After the war he returned to his Civvy job with Portsmouth City Treasurer's Dept but each year he continued to serve in the Reserve; as a small child I recall being taken by relatives to a hilltop at a certain time and watched his flight fly over. He died in 1985 and now that my parents have both passed on to glory and I'm nearly 70 this is a very poignant memory and mental image for me.
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