226212 Sgt. James Samuel Sargent DFM.Royal Air Force 82 Squadron from:Godmanchester James Sargent is my father but, as I was not born until 1945, I don't know too much about his time at RAF Watton except that he was a member of 82 Squadron, flying Blenheim bombers. He was a navigator and flew with Taff Watkins (pilot) and Eric Chandler (gunner). Later, when 82 sqn. was sent to Malta, his aircraft was badly damaged by flak and the pilot (Taff Watkins)was badly wounded in the legs. Although not trained as a pilot, my dad managed to fly the aircraft back to base (Luqa)and Taff Watkins regained enough consciousness to land safely. For this, he was awarded the DSO and Eric Chandler and my father were both awarded the DFM.
My dad continued to fly throughout the war and had a long career in the RAF, retiring as a Sqn. Ldr. Taff, Eric and my dad remained lifelong and both Taff and Eric were my godfathers.
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