This is the story of a wartime bomber, its crew and of a tantalizing
detective story unfolding over nearly a quarter of a century of
intensive research. It is also a story of courage, fortitude and
endurance and of one man's will to survive against seemingly
insurmountable odds.
Bomber Command's horrific loss rate during the Second World War cannot
be underestimated. Of the 120,000 young aircrew who served, 55,373 were
to perish, most of them losing their lives over the night skies of
Europe.
The Battle of the Ruhr, the campaign to destroy the industrial heartland
of Germany which raged between March and July 1943, was both savage in
intensity and costly in terms of aircrew. Prospects for survival for
anyone involved in operational flying with Bomber Command at that time
were particularly bleak. Young aircrew could expect a lifespan measured
in terms of weeks where seemingly only a fiery death in an exploding
aircraft or captivity as a Prisoner of War awaited. It is with this
period that the book is primarily concerned and, more specifically, with
the crew of Halifax JB869 of 102 Squadron, of which the author's father
was the navigator, and its loss on the night of 4 May 1943.
He survived baling out and, later, an attempted lynching on the ground
to become a Prisoner of War. But his escape from his shattered aircraft
was only the first of many episodes in his two and a half years of
captivity that would see him pushed to the limits of endurance and face
death more than once.
Like so many veterans the author's father chose not to speak about his
wartime experiences until quite late in his life and it was only after
his death and the chance discovery of an archive of letters, logbooks,
accounts and other material that the full story of his incredible series
of escapes came to light.
Through extensive research, including face-to-face interviews and
correspondence with a significant number of ex-aircrew, the author has
painstakingly pieced together the complete story of the crew of this
aircraft, identifying and contacting relatives of each crew member and,
for some, bringing closure after decades of not knowing how (or in some
cases where) their loved one had met their deaths.
