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.