"What did you do in the War Grandad?"

Fighting Fascism, not for the King.

Wing Commander Howard Charles Kelsey DSO DFC & Bar

 

My Grandfather was an Officer in the R.A.F. during World War 2 and remained in the service until the mid 1960's. He volunteered at the age of nineteen and commanded his first squadron at the age of twenty-three. This may not seem all that remarkable, until I point out how politically motivated he was. He was a very proud Socialist and regarded politics as the most important aspect of his life.

I did not know much about his wartime heroics until I started to do some research after his death. He didn't want to talk about those memories and was always very anti the military and a member of C.N.D! If you asked him about the War, he'd say "Oh, I've got my Log Books somewhere", exchange a sheepish glance with my Grandmother, and very quickly change the subject. So not the usual picture of an Officer in the RAF. I intend to post some extracts from his Log Books and hope to find out more about what he got up to all those years ago.