Of Stirlings and Stalags: an air-gunner's tale

When William ‘Bill’ Goodman died in 2002 little did his daughters know the extent of the memoirs he had been writing in the few years before his death.

Bill’s life, from joining the RAF in 1941 at the age of 18 to his demob in 1948, was fraught with adventure. He describes his service with 7 Squadron at Oakington; he then highlights the terrifying events of the night their Stirling was shot down over Holland, his subsequent incarceration at Stalag Luft 3, periods in other camps and, finally, the long debilitating march back home.

All this with fascinating commentary, vivid description and the intimacy of his experience. The reader will meet his fellow airmen and POWs, the man who shot down their Stirling on that eventful night, the heroes of the Dutch resistance and, surprisingly, a kindly and caring guard in Stalag Luft 3!

A fascinating first-hand account of a young man’s wartime experience.