MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

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Bill Ison first flew in a Gipsy Moth at the age of 10, in 1931 from Marshall’s Aerodrome. In 1938, he joined the RAF as an apprentice Engine Fitter. Having completed training, his first posting in 1940 was to Coastal Command. He volunteered to become an Air Gunner and by July 1940 was flying coastal patrols in Ansons. In January 1941, he was posted to North Africa in the Western Desert as an Air Gunner / Fitter on Blenheims. After El Alamein, he was posted to Rhodesia for Pilot Training and returned to the Western Desert as a pilot on Blenheims in June 1943. He returned to the UK in 1944 and flew Lancasters, bombing rocket bases in France and participating in operation 'Manna', d...Bill Ison first flew in a Gipsy Moth at the age of 10, in 1931 from Marshall’s Aerodrome. In 1938, he joined the RAF as an apprentice Engine Fitter. Having completed training, his first posting in 1940 was to Coastal Command. He volunteered to become an Air Gunner and by July 1940 was flying coastal patrols in Ansons. In January 1941, he was posted to North Africa in the Western Desert as an Air Gunner / Fitter on Blenheims. After El Alamein, he was posted to Rhodesia for Pilot Training and returned to the Western Desert as a pilot on Blenheims in June 1943. He returned to the UK in 1944 and flew Lancasters, bombing rocket bases in France and participating in operation 'Manna', dropping supplies to the Dutch. After the War, he transferred to the RAFVR. In 1949, he became a flying instructor. In 1953, the Cambridge RAF Reserve closed and Bill was appointed C.F.I. of the Cambridge Private Flying Group. He was awarded the Lennox Boyd trophy by AOPA in 1980, and the Pike Trophy by the Guild of Air Pilots in 2005. He continued training pilots to fly in Tiger Moths through to 2010. Bill’s active flying career spanned some 70 years, of which 60 were as an instructor. (more)

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David Lewis

This book is a compendium of stories and anecdotes written by Bill Ison for the ‘Wind in the Wires’, the periodical of the Cambridge Flying Group.

It is, in general, a story of his life whilst serving in the RAF throughout WWII and later in the RAF Reserve – a period of some 16 years. Some of the stories have a sad ring to them, but most are to some degree amusing and illustrate the vagaries of war service.

The book also spans the period from 1953 to 2010, in his role as the Chief Flying Instructor of the Cambridge Flying Group.

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Books: MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS - Bill Ison

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