Aviation was a passion of Tony’s from a very young age. He was always keen on joining the RAF and enlisted with the volunteer reserve. He has happy memories of the training and the thrill of flying, especially his first time in a Spitfire. Tony recalls in tense detail his first encounter with the Luftwaffe and how he survived a miraculous landing in the sea, something for which he was never trained. At the age of 21 Tony travelled to Durban to become a flight instructor. He remembers this time of adventure in a new country with great fondness although it comes to a somewhat sticky end when Tony is lucky to escape a court martial for crashing a Tiger Moth. More luck is on Tony’s side when his restlessness at being sent back to the UK threatens to see him in trouble again but an amenable Station Commander looks out for him and recommends Tony join the Bomber Command. Tony does so and volunteers for 617 Squadron, aka The Dambusters. Tony was well aware of the squadron’s reputation and, seeing it as a great honour to join, works incredibly hard to maintain those standards. He talks in detail about his training and the mission to take out the German Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz. Tony dedicates this interview to Bomber Command and reflects on the airmen whose lost lives are now commemorated with a memorial in London, a fitting tribute which means the cost of war should not be forgotten.

Stuart Holmes joined the RAF as soon as he was 17 ½ years old in 1949 and was soon sent to Southern Rhodesia for pilot training, travelling there in some style aboard RMV Stirling Castle. After 18 months he returned to the UK as a sergeant pilot and converted to Sunderland flying boats. In 1951 he was posted to Singapore, which was a permanent RAF base from which detachments of three or four Sunderlands were forward-based in Japan to support operations in Korea. He completed two detachments over Korea and was commissioned during his time there. He describes in some detail the operations he flew: patrolled the coast to spot any Chinese or Russian ships interfering; prevent the Chinese from inserting agents by sea; bombing designated patches of jungle before ethe army moved in; gathering accurate weather information for allied forces as the Chinese had stopped weather reporting. He highlights the challenges and excitement of learning to fly Sunderlands, including weapon training and adapting to different flying conditions.

Content warning// This interview contains discussions of sensitive topics such as PTSD, suicidal thoughts and vivid flashback description which some viewers may find distressing. If you are affected by these topics, please consider seeking support from a trusted person or organisation.   Kate was training to be a nurse with the RAF when she met her husband-to-be, John, an RAF Police Officer. They both completed tours of Iraq and John went on to complete one more and also two tours of Afghanistan. Each time John returned, Kate started to notice slight differences in his character, such as an increase in drinking and frequent nightmares. She was grateful of both her RAF and medical training as it helped her understand the mental shift between home and work that John was having to manage. John sought help but was told there was nothing medically wrong and he was to carry on as usual, which he did. It was the birth of their son that Kate thinks caused John’s nightmares and flashbacks to intensify. He sought help again and this time was diagnosed with severe PTSD and signed off work, but without his job to provide a sense of purpose John struggled to function. John tried both CBT and EMDR therapies but Kate feels they both made the situation worse. John is now on a medication pathway. Kate describes this as an incredibly isolating time as no one knew what she was going through. She felt she could hardly leave John alone, especially when he started having suicidal thoughts. However, when she joined Band of Sisters she found a supportive group of women with shared experiences. She even managed to attend a weekend away which really helped her realise how stressed she was. She describes finding Band of Sisters as a real turning point which helped her realise she needed to take care of herself too. John has also found help through Help for Heroes and has attended a few courses and is now a qualified bushcraft and survival instructor. John has recently had a cancer diagnosis and Kate reflects that, sadly, the cancer process has been much smoother than the PTSD. Kate feels it is incredibly important for others to hear their story so they know they are not alone. She is even compiling a book.