'After our last op I kissed the ground' - Book tells of Stan's wartime hell AT the age of just 19, Stan Bradford watched as an exploding flash of light signalled that a British RAF plane had been shot down - and the German fighter responsible had his Lancaster bomber in its sights next.

The teenager, on his first bombing mission, managed to keep his nerve and took fire. The direct hit which struck the enemy plane's engine almost certainly saved his bomber and the lives of its crew.

The rookie mid-upper gunner went on to take part in 30 bombing missions as part of the RAF's 57 Squadron, shooting down five more enemy planes.

Now, Stan, who was awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) for his service, has had his dramatic tales recounted in a new book by Mel Rolfe about Second World War heroes called To Hell And Back.

The 74-year-old, of Brode Close, Abingdon, sharpened his shooting skills by gunning down clay pigeons in his spare time.

The book tells how his first bombing mission, to Nuremburg on August 27, 1943, was also very nearly his last.

Stan said of the mission: "Seeing other lads going down was one of the things that really got to you. Sometimes you saw them at the end of a parachute and you thought: 'Oh God' and hoped they would make it. Fighters were coming in and picking them off."

Stan and his team were also sent on bombing missions to Berlin 13 times during the course of the war - the most fiercely defended city in Germany.

He survived, though, and was told that his 30th and final mission would be to Nuremburg again. It was the raid in which Bomber Command suffered its heaviest losses of the war - with 95 bombers failing to return. The young Stan once again managed to returned to England unharmed and recalled the relief he felt. He said: "We bombed, went through Nuremburg and were away. Behind us we saw the fires of many bombers going down, but we made it safely home.

"We knew it was our last op and when we got back to East Kirkby (Lincolnshire) I kissed the ground and we all had a fag."

Soon afterwards, he was awarded the DFM. Part of the citation to his medal describes him as "a cool and courageous gunner" and "an efficient member of his crew". Stan, who lives with his wife Beryl, is intensely proud of the medal - and determined not to sell it at any cost.

He said: "They no longer issue that particular medal so it has got antique value. I get phone calls from time to time from people offering me money for it but I wouldn't sell it.

"It means a lot to me and, When I go, it will be passed onto my wife, then my daughter and hopefully will stay in the family."

He met his future wife after the bombing missions were over, and she recalls him being modest about the part he had to play.

Beryl, 70, said: "In those days, all the young men just took it in their stride. They just accepted it all as part of their duties. It wasn't the thing to brag or boast.

"I reckon the teenagers these days would all run to the Cheddar Caves and hide if they had to go to War!"

Nowadays, the pensioner, who has one daughter and triplet grandsons, is very much involved with Abingdon's Poppy Appeal.

He said: "That is very important to me. I am one of the people involved with getting the collections all ready. We are aiming this year to beat last year's Abingdon total, which was £11,700."

Mr Rolfe's book is published by Grub Street of London, at £17.99.

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