EDWARD W. POPPLEWELL, born 29th, January, 1922. England. PRE War; Educated at Technical High School, Manchester taking a course in Industrial Chemistry and subsequently employed in this field with Dunlop Ltd. in Manchester for a little over a year prior to the outbreak of the war and enlistment in the Royal Air Force in December 1940. R.A.F. Service.

Initial training and £lying training to first solo with the R.A.F. in England during the early part of 1941. At this stage I was posted (drafted) to the U.S.A. to complete flying training at No.3 B.F.T.S. (British Flying Training School) at Miami, Oklahoma.

Our instructors were all American civilians at this time, and one of my flying instructors, a Mr. Rockwell is well remembered. At completion of training on Fairchilds and A.T.-6s, I was awarded my R.A.F. wings in August 1942.

We embarked immediately in Canada for the U.K.' but in collision resulting from a U-Boat attack during the first night out, we collected a fifteen foot hole in the bows and had to limp back to Halifax, N.B. and entrained for New York. Here we boarded the Queen Mary along with what seemed to be the entire U.S. Army, and in a couple of days or so I was back in England.

Now it was operational training on Hurricane and Spitfires, followed by a short spell with a night intruder squadron flying Hurricane Is.

Early in 1943 it was 'en bateau' again, and this time I was headed for India and the Japanese. Following some acclimatization £lying on Hurricane llc (four 20mm cannon) I joined No. 34 Squadron R.A.F. (motto. Lupus vult, Lupus volat.), in Madras and from there we flew a new set of aircraft up to a base in Assam and so to North Burma.

I was now engaged in daily operational flying, mostly in a fighter/bomber role against troops and ground installations, and this bomb and strafe role remained the job throughout the rest of 1943 and 1944, and I presume, must have steadily discouraged the Japanese. As I recall we didn't seem to get a lot of time off!

In February 1945, the squadron was withdrawn to re-equip with the P-47 Thunderbolts. The eight point fives and heavier bomb capability and endurance were well suited to our job, notwithstanding the high altitude performance. Now, formidably armed, we returned to the fray and I was kept busy until near the end, completing some 250 combat trips INCIDENTS Flew as escort to Lord Louis Mountbatten who was then the Supreme Commander in S.E.A.C. and attended the Victory parade in Rangoon.

I had to put my T, Bolt down in the jungle at one stage, not having enough fuel to make it home. This bent the wings rather a lot and my head a little, and I then did get a little time off before resuming.

Finally to Egypt as a P-47 instructor, but the A bomb cut it short. Home, via France, and eventual return to civilian life and college and the world of education for a year or so and then recalled, as an R.A.F. reservist, to full time service in 1951 for Korea.

After several months of Spitfires again and the new fangled jets, Vampire and Meteor, it was back to the academic life of a technical college, and there I still am. For a year or two more maybe anyway, and then, perhaps, I may go again to hear the temple bells of Mandalay.

I hear that our former Nipponese opponents do this regularly!!, but it seems they can afford it!