We have ways of making you talk presents One Man's Window, an illustrated account of

10 weeks of war, multi-April 13th to June 21st, 1942 by Dennis Barnum.

Chapter 13 Rescue Boat

Earlier today, anxious to put up a good performance after having a whole day off, I sat beside him

on top of the sandbags as we waited for our turn to fly.

At 22, I felt such an old man compared with him, he looked so very young.

He confessed it with a shy smile, he too was married.

He had been married a fortnight just a few days before leaving England.

Sitting in his cabin in the aircraft carrier, bringing our recent reinforcements to us, he

must have looked at his wife's photograph and gazed back over the wake of the ship just

as I did last April.

Three days ago, after delivering his Spitfire, this young pilot officer jumped down onto

the multi-dust for the first time.

I remember his happy face that was real achievement in his eyes.

The fact that his expression changed to utter bewilderment when he realised that a battle

was taking place around the aerodrome circuit was only natural for he had never seen enemy

planes before.

Nevertheless, I was impressed this morning as I gave him my distilled experience of the

enemy here and explained the formation and tactics we use.

He seemed to grasp the essentials at once.

I do not know what he was thinking as we listen to the moan of planes battling high above

us.

...