Every family should have a family historian, I elected myself to be just that, so, after recent life changing events, I decided I would turn something negative into a positive before time overtook me so I put pen to paper. Having lived abroad for too many years to remember, I lacked the opportunity to ‘rummage’ through the cupboards at the family home and question my finds, once the opportunity did arise following my parent’s deaths, sadly there was no one left to ask. Intrigued by our unexpected find in a dark corner of the loft, I felt the need to delve deeper and write about my father’s war years, war years we as a family knew very little about. My intention was to write a short pamphlet for the 610 (County of Chester) Squadron, under whom my father proudly served, but the deeper I delved through all the memorabilia left behind the more numerous the questions raised. What was going to be a pamphlet became a book. I am proud to say that my father, Roy Albert Blackburne was involved in two of the wars most defining moments, The Battle of Britain and The Burma Campaign.
As a family, we knew very little of our father’s World War II years, except that he had served with the RAF and had been deployed to India and Burma. Not only his family but sadly none of his dear friends or neighbours, who had known him for many years, had any idea that he had worked as ground crew with the 610 (County of Chester) Squadron during the Battle of Britain, had worked tirelessly in India and was involved in the Burma Campaign. He had preferred never to burden others with his experiences. It wasn’t until the day of his funeral when solemnly entering the church they saw an RAF flag draped across his coffin. In the congregation, paying their respects were members of 610 (County of Chester) Squadron Association some of whom had served with him, one standing proudly at the front of the church holding the RAF standard. As WW II came to an end, my father Roy was told by a senior officer to, ‘Forget everything you have seen or you will go mad.’ Like many heroic men of his generation, he took that advice.