Owing to wind and rain

Owing to wind and rain

Four verse poem about life as aircrew and setting his aircraft on fire.

One page printed document mounted on an album page

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PSparkesW17010022

[underlined] OWING TO THE WIND AND RAIN [/underlined]

There was a time in ’43 I thought I had it made
Issue with an electric hat and flying boots of suede
A fair [sic] of sheets to sleep in and a “Sweater Aircrew, Whit”
Ten hours in my log boob, [sic] two of those at night.
Ten bob a day and all your grub a pretty decent screw
After fifteen months of training to show me what to do.
To climb aboard a Halibag [sic] and Leap into the sky
And waggle a couple of levers when the fuel tanks ran dry.

Now I was playing cards in the crew room, a pair of jacks in hand,
When in came my drivers airframe from wogga wogga land,
“Come on you Pommie Bastard grab your kit and come with me
We’re down to do an air test and firing to the sea.”
So off it was across the oggin feathering one and four,
Then it was “Fire off the colours Eng. When we cross the shore.”
In the dark behind my panel, mounted tight against the skin,
I found the Very pistol and shoved a cartridge in.

“OK Ned we’re overhead you better pull the trigger.”
This I did with a spurt of flame which suddenly grew bigger,
Then there beside my new suede boots a double green was taking root.
With Oxy bottles not far away a fir [sic] extinguisher came into play.
“OK Skip the fire’s out, there’s nothing left to fear.”
“What bloody fire is that then?” “The one I’ve had back here.”
An hour later on the ground, with all the crew gathered round
It was rhubarb, rhubarb, mutter, mutter, “Did you pull back this bleedin shutter?”

Next day I met the Wing CO in a rather formal way
He listened with amazement then had this to say,
“Look here young man, there is a plan if this War we are to win
Shoot down the kites with crosses on
Not the one you’re in!”

[Royal Air Force crest]

William Sparkes
June 2000