French John - Catalina over arctic oceans : anti-submarine and rescue flying in World War 2

CATALINA
OVER
ARCTIC OCEANS

CATALINA
OVER ARCTIC
OCEANS

Anti-Submarine and Rescue
Flying in World War 2

Wing Commander John French

OBE, DFC, AFC, AE

Edited by Anthony L. Dyer

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Anthony L. Dyer 2012

ISBN 978 1 78159 053 9

The right of Anthony L. Dyer to be identified as Author of this Work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

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I t is now almost twenty-five years since my Grandfather died. To us, his grandsons, he was known as Bandad (when children, we could not say Granddad!) and he was taken from us at far too young an age sixty-seven years old.

To me, he was my personal hero; an instructor teaching bomber pilots to fly, followed by operations on RAF Catalina flying boats. He was a quiet, modest man, a superb cook and a loving Grandfather. On the day he died, I was coming home from University and was met at the train station by my Dad. He never usually picked me up, usually it was Mum, and so I knew immediately something was wrong. Bandad suffered from a hole in his heart throughout his life. When the murmur was first found during a pre-war aircrew medical, the doctor simply asked if he ever got tired or puffed out, as he did not, nothing else was said. In the 1960s his medical condition was properly identified and he had to leave service flying, which was a terrible blow. The doctor suggested that he should not get too excited as Bandads life to that point had been full of excitement this did amuse him! In 1986, the condition caught up with him. Bandad is always in my thoughts and my memories and I feel his presence around.

Several years before he died, he had finished his memoirs, but they remained unpublished. I have always wanted to share his story and some of his extensive photograph collection with others. I have not changed his words, only edited them and added notes where an explanation may help the reader, or where details from his diary have been added.

I dedicate this book to Bandad, Beatrice (his first wife) and their lovely daughter Valerie (my Mum!) and Nana (his second wife).

I would like to thank the family for encouraging me and my friends for their support.

Like Bandad, I hope you enjoy his memoirs and learn about one of this countrys unsung heroes my hero!

Tony Dyer, July 2012.

T his is an account of some events of my life which may be of interest to others (typically modest nature of my bandad!). They cover mainly flying and Eastern Europe over the last fifty years or so. The reader should not expect anything extraordinary, anything deeply analytical, but I hope that as he or she goes along, it will be found that we have something to share and enjoy together.

A lot of the book is about my friends but by no means about all of them. There have been and are so many, men and women, young and old, different races, different colours, different creeds, different positions in life; some of them I did not even know their names. Others could not stand the sight of some of the others which presents a problem that must tax God himself, who loves all his creatures and creation, regardless of what they might think of one another.

With many of these friends I have lost touch some still and always very dear to me; others have or may have died; others are very much alive. It is to all of them that I dedicate this book with love, in the sure hope and belief that we shall all meet again. But if one out of the company is to be named to represent the rest, then it is Bill McGuinty.

John French, 1980