Lesley Catling mailed me on January 31st 2018 to say that her mother and father were married at Kasfareet in 1950 and that she had an eclectic album of pictures covering her father`s RAF career. Was I interested !
Her father Wilfrid James Gooch enlisted in 1937 with 540812 as his service number. He was stationed in Canada between 1941 to 1944 at 39 S.F.T.S. Swift Current in Saskatchewan. He was a sergeant trainer and for some of his time there he was training the airmen how to pack their parachutes.
Before going to Canada her father was one of twelve airmen manning a bombing range on Otmoor from 1937-1939 where later airmen practised before going off on D Day Operation Overlord on June 6th 1944.
Not too much is known of his time at Kasfareet 1947 - 1950 but he spent time training airmen to shoot and one of these pictures shows a typical NAAFI tea break where her father is carrying a rifle. Lesley says that her father was an experienced marksman.
Her father sadly passed away on Nov 30th 2005 at the age of 86.. Lesley is shortly visiting a friend she made 30 years ago whose Canadian father also spent wartime service with the RAF. He was born close to Swift Current and the airfield is still in use and have the beginnings of a wartime museum to which she may visit and possibly donate her fathers photographs that relate to that station.
Her father Wilfrid James Gooch enlisted in 1937 with 540812 as his service number. He was stationed in Canada between 1941 to 1944 at 39 S.F.T.S. Swift Current in Saskatchewan. He was a sergeant trainer and for some of his time there he was training the airmen how to pack their parachutes.
Before going to Canada her father was one of twelve airmen manning a bombing range on Otmoor from 1937-1939 where later airmen practised before going off on D Day Operation Overlord on June 6th 1944.
Not too much is known of his time at Kasfareet 1947 - 1950 but he spent time training airmen to shoot and one of these pictures shows a typical NAAFI tea break where her father is carrying a rifle. Lesley says that her father was an experienced marksman.
Her father sadly passed away on Nov 30th 2005 at the age of 86.. Lesley is shortly visiting a friend she made 30 years ago whose Canadian father also spent wartime service with the RAF. He was born close to Swift Current and the airfield is still in use and have the beginnings of a wartime museum to which she may visit and possibly donate her fathers photographs that relate to that station.
Under the title of Training
Uxbridge August 24th 1937. Dad is in front row on riight
- This is the back of the group photograph identifying everyone ! Not sure whether this is Aug 24 1937 , at the top or Sept 1 1937 at the bottom. Maybe that was when he filled in the names ? What has fascinated me on this journey of exploration is that my dad often wrote the date and often the place on the back of most of his photo1s. He often sent photo1s back to his father in Norwich who then wrote the day he had received it on. Posting from Canada and Egypt many of these arrived far quicker than post we send first class internally today !!!