This site came about through a strange
co-incidence. My wife, Yvonne, and I were visiting Edinburgh Castle.
At the top of the Castle, there is a War Memorial Hall with
"Rolls of Honour" in book form, accessable to the public. Yvonne
knew of the story of my Uncle Andrew, from my mother and I discussing
it on visits. So in we went. "I wonder if Andrew is in the books?" she
asked.
"Suppose so," was my reply. Walking forward to the volume containing
the "B"s, I flicked the book open ..... and straight to the page
containing Andrew's details! We looked at each other, and decided
this was a bit creepy, to say the least!
Later discussions led to more research on exactly what had happened
to Andrew. Initially the information was slow coming, but with
the help of relatives and Andrew's surviving siblings, I managed
to put together a fair bit.
My interest in computers led me to dive into the world of "On-line
Research" .... and what a revelation it was. In a short space of
time I had established Andrew's training history, postings and
first Squadron; the names of his crew, pictures and contact with
a German gentleman who had visited the crash site the day following.
His name was Richard Braun; an historian of Ludwigshafen
- Mannheim. He had also been researching the story behind the aircraft
which had been brought down so close to his childhood home.
The list of people who assisted in various ways grew rapidly. The
expert and detailed research of Errol Martin, a New Zealand historian
and author of two reference books, was made freely available to
me, to expand on the three New Zealand crew members. My brother,
John, helped out with the touching up of some very old photographs.
And a bonus. An old colleague, Andy Browne, kept in touch, and
was gracious enough to guide me thro' the minefield of web design.
My first efforts got the job done, but Andy's advice turned it
into a workable site. To these guys, the members on the 12 o Clock
High forum and
all the others who have guided my path, I say
Thank you.
Links and aknowledgements are credited on the "Links" page.
This site is © Alan Fraser, or as
assigned, All Rights Reserved.