AUTHOR’S PREFACE

Readers of this ‘Odyssey’ will learn early on that I’d always hoped that someday these WWII letters would be published as a book. The book I visualized would have been compiled primarily for the enjoyment of my immediate family in an attempt to answer the question "What did you do in the War, Dad?" But as work progressed, it became apparent that these descriptions of life in war-torn England might appeal to readers other than family. Accordingly, my scope was broadened to reach that wider audience.

I had forgotten the excitement of those days, I had forgotten how explicit these letters were in their descriptions of life in England during WWII, I had forgotten the details of the many adventures of a naive, brash Canadian teen-ager caught up - however peripherally, in great occasions amidst both famous and not so famous people. There is very little "Blood and Guts" in these letters, and two reasons for this omission. For the most part, these letters were written to my parents who had to be shielded from such realities. The second reason is more basic: I was always conscious of the presence of the censors whose dark visages hovered threateningly over my shoulder as I wrote. So there are no explicit descriptions of Army manoeuvres while I was in the Army, nor any descriptions of air operations over Europe once I reached the Squadron. However, the reader may be able to sense the darker undercurrents of the war in the letters and to realize that there WERE episodes which could be characterized as "SHEER TERROR", but these were few and far between and did little to disturb the even tenor of my days. In fact, as I have re-read these letters in the quiet of my retirement, I have come to realize how essentially peaceful was my war even though I served through it all - from Sept. `39 to VE Day and beyond: including three crossings of the wartime Atlantic and twenty-three air operations over Europe.

This book owes its existence solely to the perseverance of my younger daughter Suzanne. She it was who found-out about the letters - a legacy from her grandmother, my mother. "Thank God, they had been sorted as to dates!" But after taking over a month to simply read the first two years of letters she began to type them – even though some were barely legible, she re-typed the corrections, she chose and annotated the photographs, she contacted the publisher and awoke his interest, she compiled the press releases, she absolutely ‘mothered’ the book to its completion: t’was a monumental task and I owe her a great debt of gratitude. I know the publication of this book will give both her and myself great satisfaction: t’is a job "well-done!"

I would have the reader know that I have found great fulfilment in that my boyhood dream has become a reality in ‘the evening’ of my life. It has brought me joy to publicly acknowledge my great admiration and love for England and the English people. I wish you - the reader, that same joy when you reach the last page of my Odyssey. I hope you experience that ‘glow of happiness’ which comes at the end of a ‘good read’: for what more could an author ask?