Part One – Preparatory
The Mob: Eight Gunners (of the original thirty-two trained at Winters)
Aub ‘Gunner’ Aarons: ‘dark-haired … a bubbling sense of humour and fund of witticisms’
John ‘Johnny’ Beede: based on John Bede Cusack, ‘the eighth member’, the author
Arthur Hally: The Mob’s leader; ‘a 16 stone block of a man … the strongest man I ever met’
Fred ‘Happy’ Henderson: ‘chief bitcher, political propagandist and bush lawyer of the group, who knew his King’s Regulations backwards’
Blondie Henschell: ‘Hally’s cobber … 6 feet, 14 stone, with an aggressive jaw and a deep, rasping voice, the unlikeliest bank clerk ever’
Harry ‘Smiler’ ‘Mac’ Macdonald: ‘an insurance clerk, whose pendulous jowl reminded you of a sad-looking bloodhound … could see nothing happy in anything, but relieved his griping with an unconscious dry humour’
Norman ‘Bourke’ Malloy: ‘ex-Brisbanite, the best-equipped man in matters that keep the weaker sex happy that any of us had ever met; a perpetual female chaser’
Bryan ‘Smithy’ Smith: ‘handsome … with the crinkly brown hair and irresistible smile, who hailed from the Clarence River’
Allied to The Mob
Bill Driscoll: ‘a tall and good-looking chap from Sydney with a flashing smile’
Tom Hedge: ‘a South Australian farmer’
Sid Pascoe: ‘a natural comedian’
Peter Poast: ‘a nineteen-year-old Sydneyite with a cherubic face’
Jimmy Sullivan: ‘ex-naval type … who had transferred to the air force and, having failed honourably as a WAG, had ended as a straight air gunner’
Colin Tempe: ‘red-headed, irrepressible … ex-NSW police cadet’
Bill Gorman: close cobber of Johnny’s: ‘a big, easy-going, pleasant fellow who had been a budding solicitor in civilian life’
Other Gunners
Kiwi: ‘a fair-headed, happy, effervescent New Zealander with a perpetual grin’ – assimilated into The Mob
Ron ‘Clarkey’ Clarke: ‘a sallow complexioned bloke who made no secret of the fact he did not intend to fly … in any crew position. His stated intention was to build up a list of fake illnesses’
Dagworth – ‘lurks artist’
Ray Steer: ‘an unpredictable, foul-mouthed half-wit that no-one bothered with’
Place Getters from the Gunnery School in Wales – assimilated into The Mob
Drake: ‘a tall, studious South Australian’
Martin: ‘a dark Italian-looking joker’
Sherwin: a bloke ‘so good-looking he was almost effeminate’
[No Name]: ‘a skinny little fellow from Western Australia’
Part Two – Bomber Command
Beede and Kiwi’s crew
Flight Sergeant Peter Snowden: Pilot, a tall fair-haired solicitor
Flight Sergeant Williams: Co-pilot, ‘a Welshman with a big-toothed grin’
Stan Jones: WAG, ‘a little sharp-faced Cockney’
Bill Ninnes: Navigator, a tall, dark thin bloke
Barnes: cleaner and message boy, former observer
Maxie: little Cockney WAG
Fred Bliss: Australian burns patient
Mrs and Mr Weston and their daughter Helen: provided a place of rest for airmen and soldiers
Part Three – Tactical Air Force
Air Vice Marshal Sir Basil Embry: Commander of 2 Group (which included 464 Squadron) from June 1st 1943 to August 8th 1945
Beede’s crew
Flying Officer Jack Parr: a tall navigator
Flying Officer Wilbur Cronin: a shorter, pleasant-looking pilot
Flying Officer Bill Fogg: open-faced, bubbling, enthusiastic
Tom Hedge: South Australian, one of the original ITS gunners
Parker: pilot of the aircraft Blondie flew in
Ian Potter: a sprog Aussie gunner
Dr Stanton: Beltwell squadron Medical Officer
Claude: ‘in charge of the preparation of food for the mess’
Maria: ‘a tousled red head’
Rip: ‘a young gunner’
Bob: ‘a big Maori’
Tommy: ‘a long stove-pipe of a gunner’
Long ’un and Snowy: gunners
Vincent ‘Bull’ Collins: Pilot, and ‘the roughest bloke … any of us had ever met’
Part Four – Boston Interlude
The Five Gunners from 464
Flying Officer Bryan ‘Smithy’ Smith: ‘handsome … with the crinkly brown hair and irresistible smile, from the Clarence River’
Flying Officer John Beede: the author’s pseudonymous creation
Tommy: ‘a Kiwi’
Tommy: ‘a small Australian from Sydney’
Stan: ‘a big farmer from the Riverina’
Smithy’s crew
Tom ‘the Yank’ Ryan: ‘a hawk-faced flying officer with slightly buck teeth’
Stan Bell: ‘a six foot five giant … English navigator’
Beede’s crew
Flight Sergeant Bill Thomas: Pilot, ‘a chunky, serious-looking joker’
Jock McAlister: Thomas’ ‘navigator, a soft-voiced Scotsman’
Fred ‘Basher’ Williamson: WAG, ‘a tough-looking little Geordie with a broken nose’
464 Odds and Bods
Squadron Leader: ‘a big man with a prominent hooked nose and grey, piercing eyes’
Squadron Leader’s navigator: ‘the picture of the upper-crust Englishman who, because of his class rating, had no need to be anything but himself’
Squadron Leader’s WAG, Des Holstead: ‘a Londoner with a wide-mouthed grin’
Squadron Leader’s straight AG, Jack Stokes: ‘a quiet, easy-going Canadian’
Pearl: ‘a well-dressed, good-looking woman of twenty-five or so’
Beryl: ‘a journalist … in her thirties and … endowed with all the things that make a woman a woman’
Tubby Evans: ‘a little Australian gunner’
‘a major who had won his commission in the Western Desert’
Boofhead: ‘a colonel in the quartermaster’s department; the scion of a noble English family’
Part Five – Victory in Sight
Pete: ‘a quiet, likeable Canadian navigator’
Scotty: Pete and Beede’s batman, ‘a middle-aged Scotsman’
‘the DFC and Bar English gunner’ (who was in the crew who went in last at Brest)
Beede’s new crew
The Skipper, Wing Commander Smith: ‘a tall Wingco … [with] dark wavy hair, stood over six feet tall and looked like a matinee idol.’
Ted Allington: Navigator, ‘a six-footer with a lean, tanned face [and] a shy smile’
Fred Archer: ‘a well-set-up WAG with a DFM and an aloof English air’
The Tour of Soho
The Guide: ‘a little podgy Cockney called Charlie’
Six AIF types from Perth (one is Big Bill, another is a captain)
Flying Officer Bill Fogg: WAG. ‘an open-faced, bubbling, enthusiastic Australian’, last seen in Beede’s 464 crew.
W/O Chief Mechanic: Chiefy, a hard-bitten Australian Warrant Officer
Bluey: ‘A lanky Australian pilot’
Murph: ‘a little Aussie gunner’