We Kept ‘Em Flying - the Support Personnel of the Wartime RAF

As the narratives in this book show, although the aircrew faced opposition each time they flew, it was far from common for supporting personnel too to find themselves enduring direct enemy fire. The narratives also reflect the diversity of roles undertaken by ground personnel, not only in the beleaguered United Kingdom and later in wartorn Europe, but also in the desert and jungle campaigns of the Middle- and Far-Eastern theatres. There are glimpses too of the world outside the Service, with a schoolgirl recalling the warmth between her family and the exiled foreign flier billeted upon them; and another woman visiting operational stations as a civilian aircraft-repair worker. What all the narratives show is that it is the ground personnel who underpin RAF formations. This book then, is a tribute to the supporting and non-operational personnel of the World War Two RAF.