223036 Flt.Sgt. John Bertram Farrell Royal Air Force 38 Squadron from:Vowchurch, Hereford. My father, John Farrell, probably known as Jack, joined the RAF and told me only because he knew morse code methods. He was married, and had a couple of babies. (six more later). A busy man one could say! That was in 1942 -45.
He trained, we believe, at Tumbury, and Walney and other places but after passing his exams and he became a gunner on lots of different planes and more often than not flew with a pilot called, Flight Officer Adams. On such a flight, in a Wellington; on the 7th of November 1943. They were targeting a 3,000 ton ship, (mentioned in his log book), the plane ditched in the waters around or near Nexos. Dad said they were in the sea for several hours. Not known to us for sure but a man was lost I believe; the pigeons upset us all too as he wasn't sure of what happened to them and we had many pets now we were living in the country in Herefordshire. Dad said he and the rest of the crew were saved by some Greek men and they helped them get back to safety. Now whether the men went back to Cairo or not is unknown as Dad said he went back to Cairo, but mum said they having been bombed down would have had to go back to England, he was getting on a bit then, he never really talked about the years in the war, he did mention doing some navigating and was a bit naughty, and flew around the house to let mum no he was back home and other stuff which was never specified by either of them? The sad thing is that we can not find those men who saved that crew as we can not find anything about that flight. Dad ditched on the 7th of November 1943, mum knew he was still alive, she told us, 'I just knew he was.' and on the 22nd of December 1943, he came home. I was one week old? Premature? He was probably sent to Madly, Credenhill, Hereford, or Portreth. He later came out of the Air Force and worked in the post office again. My brother and me would have loved to have thanked those Greek men for saving our dads but one doesn't hear much about the men
who did the war behind, the behinders ,one could say?
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