John Quaife - Battle over the Atlantic: Royal Australian Air Force in Coastal Command 1939-1945

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

You didnt have any of your gunners killed as a result of enemy fire on some of your flights?

No. Not my flights, but on some flights, yes.

So, you were fairly lucky then, werent you?

Yes

Is it because you didnt see that much combat? Is that why?

I saw as much as anybody else

... in your squadron?

Yes

The tone of his questions indicated the young researcher did not think much of Bob Askers World War II combat contribution. It is clear from Bobs reaction that he did not think much of the questionsparticularly the suggestion that he had not seen much combat.

There was a time when Bob first returned from Europe that he would have been much more aggrieved by these types of comments. Sixty years on, and at eighty-eight years old, Bob had mellowed. But it is clear from the recording that he was only just tolerating the interview process. His answers are short, his frustration barely concealed.

The interview with Bob was part of the University of New South Wales Australians at War Film Archive. Its one of dozens undertaken with Australian Coastal Command veterans as part of a broader project. The stories of fourteen of these remarkable veterans are explored in this work, along with five who were interviewed by the Australian War Memorial.

In many ways, Bob Asker was a typical World War II veteran: he did not talk much about his time with the Air Force. Perhaps he thought that participating in the Australians at War project would give him the chance to talk to someone who understood. Sadly, even when the discussion touched on a topic where it appears Bob was prepared to expand, his young interrogator would veer off in seemingly odd and less relevant directions, leaving Bob clearly bemused.