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There was a time when I thought that if I let the world go by, it would have no call upon me, but now I realize differently. And the fact that I shall soon be a father makes me more conscious than ever of the future.
July 1944
On January 8, 1945, the Harris Crew was assigned to 550 Squadron at North Killingholme, England. For RCAF Flying Officer Bob Harris, RCAF Sergeant Tom Ditson, RCAF Sergeant Douglas Hicks, RAF Sergeant Gerard Kelleher, RCAF Flying Officer Gordon Nicol, RAF Sergeant Kenneth Smith and RCAF Flight Sergeant David Yemen, this move would signify the start of active service with RAF’s Bomber Command.
Though the Harris Crew’s tour would be a brief one, the crew would participate in some of the most controversial raids of World War II and go to battle against Germany’s top night fighter. Members of the crew would endure time as prisoners of war. For one, his injuries would lead him to become the youngest member of ‘The Guinea Pig Club’, a club airmen would hope never to join. For another member of the crew, his fate would be mired with a puzzling war crime.
Weaving together letters written home by Flying Officer Robert Harris and first-hand accounts written by Sergeant Douglas Hicks along with Squadron records and historical archives, the author has created a riveting snapshot of the remarkable Harris Crew and their short but harrowing time with 550 Squadron.
