230164 P/O. Frederick William Pearce DFC.Royal Air Force 357 Sqdn. from:Essex Fred Pearce was part of 357 Squadron during 1944/45. Not only was he an amazing person, but an outstanding sportsman. During his career he played a multitude of different sports including athletics and fotball. He also kept many records and memorabilia from his service days including flights really order, which he had bound into books for safe keeping, his silk scarf, still folded, photos and stories.
One story we would love to confirm is that he was part of the crews who rescued the people from prisoner of war camps in Asia. His daughter-in-law's grandfather was one of these prisoners. We would like to try and marry up the records to see if Fred actually had John Henry Higginson on board during these missions.
Fred spent his entire life, apart from a few years as a police officer, in the service of the RAF, finally retiring as Squadron Leader in the 1970s. He spent his final days living in Woodhall Spa, closely associated with the Dam Busters, watching familiar aircraft flights from near by Coningsby Airfield.
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