I wish to express my appreciation and thanks to all colleagues who sent me cards and expressions of goodwill over the Christmas period. Two operations in six days during December left me in no condition to write to you individually, so please accept this poor substitute.

"After reading AD l.IB 6 . I feel I should enter into the spirit of things by contributing some of the things that I recall - trusting that my memory does not fail me.

"Geoff Wyle (AD LIB 6) is right to say that all normal servicing was done on tire turning areas/bays at Minneriya. Even extra fuel tanks were fitted in the bomb bays, and replacement tanks in the main plane. l think that you will find that all major services were carried out at Colombo.

I joined 160 Squadron at K.K.S. some little while before it moved to Minneriya, and was assigned to the ground crew of the team servicing "Y" for Yoga (Squadron Leader Joy's Liberator). As new boys, a few of us were filled-in with all the up-to-date gen and of our young Wing Commander CO., who seemed to. have the ability to boost moral in both air and ground crews and for creating team work second to none. Well, nearly! I renumber when the Transport Officer relieved the C.O. of his jeep after hearing that he had been on the runway with more than a full load of bods and attempting 'takeoff'

"Returning to ground crew duties, "Y" for Yoga was due for a fuel tank replacement in the wing. Being 5' 2" and about 6 1/2 stone, I was told that I had volunteered to get into the wing to deflate the fuel tank. This I did, after returning to my hut to change my shorts for swimming trunks.

"In April 1945, "Y" for Yoga was due for a major service and was flown to Colombo with the ground crew team.

We were all on board, engines running, when, to our surprise, Wing Commander Stacey arrived to take the controls. The flight was uneventful. The take-off - WOW!!

'It was while we were at Colombo that we received the sad news of the loss of Squadron Leader Joy and some of his crew. With our service on "Y" completed, we were due to return to Minneriya within the next couple of days. Who knows, if they had waited for their own Liberator they may have completed their tour of operations and returned home."

"A squadron song was written at Thurleigh, believed by the M.T. Section. The tune was "It's Foolish but its Fun" and one verse went as follows:

We paraded at eight thirty, down by the Miners sign,

And old Joe Cook would come along and start to shoot a line.

Then to the hangars we would go, with some stupid N.C.O.

And get detailed to shovel snow.

It's foolish, but its fun.

"Can anyone add more verses?" (Frank Green)

'Towards the end of our war a Lib on ops was blown off course and had to make a landing on enemy occupied land. I'm not sure - but it could have been Penang.. The story goes that the Japs thought the aircraft and crew were an advance party. and crew went along with this thinking. They were taken to a Hotel and wined and dined, etc. Hours later they found themselves walking into a P.O.W. camp with over 200, mostly Australian, nurses. The aircrew could not believe what they saw; it really sickened all of them.

"Before the Lib left Penang, the Flight Engineer asked the Japs for some fuel to get them back. Not trusting them, he had the outer ranks filled up. Its a good job he did He also put some Jap fuel in the auxiliary engine, which would not start on it. The next thing, it wouldn't burn! So the aircraft taxied out to a remote spot and drained the outer tanks.

"Anyway, the aircraft returned to base after this traumatic journey and the crew were sworn to secrecy not to talk about their findings. I believe it was brought to notice years later.

Jack Burgess has supplied the compiler with a listing of 160 Squadron Liberators which shows for each - Serial No.; Units on which previously used; Mark No. and Disposal (including losses). The list covers 86 different Libs. Source was AIR BRITAIN via the Internet.

When our ground crew were transferred from squadron control to become part of 7160 Servicing Echelon?

Which, if any, of our aircraft carried 'nose art' as did "C" 'Crusader'? Which were they - and what was it?

Next we found the toilets; they need a paragraph on their own. A long plank approximately eighteen inches wide, with eke necessary apertures. Underneath a trough twelve inches wide and the same in depth, with a constant flow of sea-water being pumped along it in one direction only. About six feet opposite to this, and running parallel, was a duplicate appliance. In calm weather, quite efficient, but later on when we met rougher seas, and the ship pitched and tossed violently, it was a different story. Water being pumped in one direction in the trough, and the natural flow of the same water trying to flow back in the opposite direction, caused quite a few problems for the sitters. As a matter of fact, it created a scene very similar to the Mexican Wave of the present day as bods, one after the other raised themselves off the seat to avoid getting a wet bottom. Also, Wellington boots would have been a welcome addition to our kit issue.

I and my friend, Peter Stenbridge, who became a ,flight commander on 8 Squadron, had done sessions as instructors on 3 (C) O.T.U. and being promised half-rings if we came and helped with starting up 78 O.T.U. in Palestine, found. ourselves in the Transit Camp at Aden with the Wellington crews we had picked up as chaps timed to return to squadron duty. We were in the transit camp as 8 Squadron was about to reform in Ceylon and 244 to which I had been posted was disbanded whilst en route!!

My Navigator, Jock Farrell, was a vet who had joined the RAF rather than look after animals for the duration of the war. The C.O. of the camp was a Cavalry type and over the odd drink in the mess complained that one of his polo ponies was lame. Jock volunteered his services, inspected the pony and prescribed the correct treatment.

Two days later, l was summoned to appear before the A.O.C., Aden, who asked if I did have a vet in my crew. I said that I had, whereupon he sympathised with my lost Flight Commander job on 244 and indicated that the C.O.'s job in the Aden Communications Flight was shortly to become vacant and if Jock stayed with me the job was mine as at that time there was no qualified vet in the Colony. I told the C.O. that I must have a crew meeting and as a result told him we would take our chance elsewhere which was the H.C.U. on Liberators in Egypt and a posting to 160 where I got my Flight Commander job and Jock demonstrated how hard it was to shoot a pig with a .38 in the styes at K.K.S. no humane killer being available. (Peter Gay)

"Hearing a crackling sound across the road from our billet at Minneriya in September, 1945, I dashed out to find the Station Hospital ablaze, with patients and staff throwing out their belongings. About the same time the oils stores were set ablaze. A spate of thieving also erupted about this time, when dark arms and legs were coated with grease, to avoid being held, as shadowy figures moved quickly along the attic space from room to room. Aircrews firing off revolvers, to scare these intruders, reminded me of the Wild West. Were we witnessing the beginning of operations for the Tamil Tigers? (Jack Burgess)

All who were stationed in Ceylon will be familiar with the CADJAN construction of the huts at our airfields. A concrete slab was laid, to which wooden upright poles were attached to form the skeleton and cadjan panels, consisting of interwoven palm leaves, were tied to the poles with hemp rope. (No, you couldn't smoke it!)

This was a quick acrd economical method of construction which kept the rooms cool and the monsoon rains out. However, cadjan had one serious fault - it was prone to accident damage, as indicated by the tale which follows.

The Adjutant, F/Lt Dicky' Dixon, used to drive his Jeep down to the flights at lunchtime so offer a few of us a lift back to the mess which was about fifty yards away along a winding path between the trees.

To add a little spice to what was a boring jungle existence, he developed a novel method of driving his Jeep by folding down the windscreen on to the bonnet and sitting his ample eighteen stone frame on the bonnet facing the rear with the steering wheel between his legs and his feet tucked underneath on the pedals.

I sat next to him on the bonnet, also facing the rear, and we co-opted two volunteers to kneel on the back seats and face backwards.

This ensemble then moved forwards with the four occupants facing backwards. Dickie skillfully manouvered the

Jeep between the trees and emerged on to the clearing in front of the mess, to a chorus of cheers and jeers from the

assembled mob.

(I have to confess that as a consequence of a series of rather nasty indispositions (or sheer carelessness!) I have either mislaid, or inadvertently destroyed, the remainder of the above story and two others that accompanied it. Will the author please forgive me and supply a further copy? Bill Cooper)