'Up over here' where memories of the blitz have not entirely faded it is difficult to remember that Australia, that far flung and, in the distant days of wartime, apparently safe haven, was also subject to heavy aerial bombardment, particularly the city of Darwin. I am reminded of it by the obituary in The Telegraph of Wing Commander Bob Foster RAF and in view of my Aussie readership I thought it was worth a mention.
W/Cdr Foster was a brave airman and an excellent fighter pilot who flew Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain. Later, he was transferred to Australia and flew Spitfires in defence of Darwin against Japanese air raids.
As is well known, Australia volunteered huge numbers of men to defend Britain and its empire during WWII so it's good to hear that the 'mother country' returned the gesture by sending fighter pilots to defend the Australian mainland during their moment of high peril.
There is one slightly poignant event in W/Cdr Stone's life which is worth mentioning:
In 2004 he was reunited with the Hurricane he had flown during the Battle of Britain. The aircraft, R 4118, had been rescued as a wreck in India by the printer and publisher of academic journals Peter Vacher, who brought it back to Britain in 2002 and had it restored to full flying condition. The aircraft now flies regularly as the only surviving Battle of Britain Hurricane and is the subject of a book by Vacher, 'Hurricane R 4118'.
Stone, himself, dedicated an enormous amount of his time later in life helping to establish the monument and museum to the Battle of Britain situated at Capel-le-Ferne on the Kent coast. I salute the memory of a gallant airman.
