Chairman Brian Idoine welcomed 63 members and 47 visitors to the November meeting, and after reminding everyone of the safety and refreshment arrangements, he gave the following notices:

a. Community Centre Raffle tickets were on sale instead of the usual society raffle.

b. Christmas Meal – Booking Forms to be returned with money during the evening.

c. He thanked all those who had provided bottles and jars for the society stall at the forthcoming Bazaar.

Brian then introduced John Pittwood whose talk was entitled ‘The real ‘Allo ‘Allo’. John told the story of his father’s eventful return to Britain from occupied France in the late stages of the Second World War. His father had been a navigator in a Lancaster bomber shot down by nightfighters after a raid on military installations at Mailly-le-Camp in the run-up to D-Day.

Of the crew of seven, five had parachuted clear. John’s father and one badly burned companion walked away from the scene of the crash. After a day or two of hiding by day and walking by night and in need of food, rest and medical attention, they knocked on doors for help, given with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the villagers. The more committed of these, at great personal risk, eventually made contact with the resistance, and a complex, circuitous route, mainly by rail, including a surprisingly sociable stay in Paris and often in close proximity to German troops, took them down to the Pyrenees where they joined other escaping Allied aircrew.

In bad weather they made a difficult 6-day crossing into Spain, guided by a Basque who disappeared before they made contact with Spanish soldiers. They were well treated, Spain being distinctly less-pro-Nazi by this stage of the war, and returned home, via a spell in Pamplona gaol, some six weeks after their crash.

John’s father, now with a potentially dangerous knowledge of the Resistance escape route should he ever be recaptured, was given a training role in the RAF until being invalided out after a flying accident.

The talk was fascinating in several respects: an extraordinary episode in the life of a young man from West Bromwich; the youth of the volunteer aircrews and the massive attrition rate among them; the complexity of the escape-route and the constant need to respond to the unexpected; the quiet and modest return to civilian life for the survivors; the depth of the friendships formed in those desperate times.

After the talk, John answered questions from the audience, and Brian thanked him for a most intriguing insight into the life of those young men who fought in WW2.

Brian also thanked the ladies who had provided the refreshments, said he looked forward to the next meeting which would be the Christmas Meal with entertainment by the Ukelele Man, and wished everyone a safe journey home. The first meeting of 2016 will take place on January 14 at 7.30pm in the Community Centre,

Wordsley Green, when Melvyn Thompson returns to give an illustrated talk entitled 'Mills & tall chimneys', referring to Kidderminster's rich heritage including a slide tour of a carpet factory at work and some unique historic pictures of the industry. New members welcome, also visitors at a cost of £2 including light refreshments.