Roy Eastel Kurn

My Father started his time with the RAF in August 1941 at Number 2 recruitment centre RAF Cardington in Bedfordshire, by September he was at Number One School of Technical Training at RAF Holton. That would prove to be a fateful posting, whilst at Holton he would meet a young lady from Manchester who was working with the Land Army at a nearby farm.

Training complete acting Corporal Kurn spends a month at 18 Recruit centre in Redcar Yorkshire. Before being posted to 8 Air Gunnery School at RAF Evanton, Rosshire in March 1942.

Dad would spend nearly two years at Evanton, a cold and remote location along the North side of the Cromarty Firth near Dingwall. He never talked about his time in Scotland but after he passed away Mum said that he wanted to be with an operational Squadron, whether he requested a move or it just happened I have no idea, but in November 1943 he was posted to 100 Squadron which had been reformed and become operational at RAF Grimsby, known to all as Waltham.

Dad spent the remainder of the war with the Squadron, ultimately moving with them to Elsham Wolds in April 1945 before being demobbed in 1946.

Three weeks after he left the RAF he married the young woman he had first met in 1941 whilst posted for training at Holton.

Sadly my brothers and I never really asked him about his time during the war, he never spoke about it, I do remember spending a holiday in Scotland near Inverness, the closest notable place to Evanton, maybe we visited the airfield, I do not recall. I certainly remember him trying to see the old airfield at Waltham on a different occasion, but being young I had no idea what it all meant until years later.

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