Chris volunteered for RAF air crew and was accepted at George St in Edinburgh, then sent to the Aircrew Receiving Centre in Lords Cricket Ground in London.

After rifle, marching and guard training he was sent to Initial Training Wing in Lincolnshire for 6 weeks, learning the rudiments of navigation including lots of mathematics, sextant work and aircraft recognition. Then off for further training at Cottesmore and Brighton before final training at ES Anstey, flying a Tiger Moth for over 10 hours as a pilot.

He was due to go to America for further training but then there was a change of plan – his whole course was retrained for the new role as Bomb Aimers for the Lancaster and Halifax planes. Once training was completed he joined 101 Squadron at Homing Spalding.

He completed his full 30 ops, with his final op over Berlin on 27 Jan 1944. 19 were with WO Groome as pilot. Groome then left the squadron and Chris continued as a spare air bomber and flew with different crews, five with WO Laurens DFM. Laurens’ crew and plane DV267 inc Chris is shown in two of the above photos. More on that crew below.

Chris then went to Wymsewold to train as and become a bombing instructor until 28 June 1944. He went to become part of a new crew, intended for Japan but fortunately this was cancelled and he moved to an office job until demobilisation on 31 July 1946 and civilian life.

Towards the end of the war Chris went to London with wife Irene and his mother to receive his Distinguished Flying Medal from King George VI at Buckingham Palace. Details of his medal are here.

Chris and Irene were married on 3 June 1944, 3 days before D-Day at Trininy Church, Loughborough.

Chris’s best man at his wedding was his brother George, who he hadn’t seen since George was conscripted in 1939.

They went on honeymoon to the seaside in Wales. There was no going on the beach though as it was mined and covered in barbed wire.

Jobs were in short supply but with the help of his father's contacts he got a job at at William Coton in Loughborough who made knitting machines. Their daughter Ann was born in July 1946 and the family moved to Manor Road in Shelthorpe.

Chris was successful in his job and after a small number of years moved to a competitor, SA Monk in Mansfield. His job saw him travel all over the country to install machines and then all over the world, to France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and New Zealand.

Latterly he became office manager at SA Monk in Mansfield.