No Cousin of Mine

The incidents described in this book, however improbable or implausible they may appear to be, are all completely true and have needed little or no embellishment on the part of the author. They all took place during a two year period between 1952 and 1954, and helped to transform a callow, naive, possibly diffident youth, into a tougher, more worldly, self confident young man, teaching him along the way, the importance of discipline, self-reliance and loyalty. For readers who remember this time, hopefully the book will re-kindle memories of their own experiences during this era. For readers for whom these years are part of an ancient history, perhaps it will give them some idea of what it was like to be taken from your family, friends, and familiar surroundings, and to be sent to a foreign land long before the advent of television, phones in homes, mobile phones, computers or any of the means of communication taken for granted today. Whichever generation you belong to, take a journey through these stories, some of which are happy, some of which are sad, some of which are slightly strange and some of which are just plain mad. Read on! The foreword to this book has been written by John Noakes, probably the most famous of all the presenters of the Blue Peter programme. He and the author were part of a close group of friends who formed part of the ground crew of Number 256 Royal Air Force night-fighter squadron serving as part of the Second Tactical Air Force in Western Germany and share many memories of that period.