VE Day remembered

VETERANS have been recalling the joy and sorrow of World War Two — 65 years after it ended.

VE Day was marked across the UK on May 8 but there's a special southside fundraiser tomorrow in Clarkston for the Royal British Legion.

It is being staged at McCarthy and Stone's Aidan's View where one resident, Bruce Ballantyne, was a wartime flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force and flew 47 bombing sorties to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Germany.

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The 92-year-old recounted his tale to The Extra: "I was first posted as a wireless operator for the RAF in 1940 and began my Morse training in Blackpool.

"It was at the operational unit in Cottesmore I discovered training could be as hazardous as operations.

"When over the Irish Sea I was making room for the air gunner to step down from his turret, and placed my foot on the entry/exit hatch then saw it disappear.

"My leg was dangling out of the hole and all I could see was the hatch falling seawards".

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The father-of-two was then told he would be trained as an air bomber at 97 (Straits) Squadron at Woodhall Spa.

He describes squadron life as a "very easy time except when on operations".

The grandfather-of-three added: "You would get up and have breakfast then the flight commander would go to the wing commander's office to be told what ops we would be on.

"The wing commander would then pull back a curtain that covered a map showing the target and route to be taken.

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"This would cause some groans or smiles as it could be a seven-hour trip to Berlin, a trip to the heavily-defended Ruhr valley or an oil refinery in Poland not heavily defended but a nine-hour round-trip.

"Before boarding, it was tradition to relieve oneself by christening the plane's tail wheel.

"Up in the air, when we were approaching the target I came down from the gunner's turret and set about flicking switches to fuse the bombs.

"The navigator would tell me when we should be close to the target and once sighted the crew heard left, steady, right, steady — bombs gone.

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"A check was made and they were gone. The bomb doors were closed and we were out of it.

"There were times when I was scared of being caught in a master searchlight and all others catching on".

During his service, Mr Ballantyne (now also a great grandfather) met his wife Olive — Loy as she was affectionately known — and married her in 1943.

They had two children together, Patricia (52) and Peter (61) (who still live locally) and stayed in Burnside before Loy died in 2005.

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The fundraiser tomorrow between 2pm and 4pm and includes a 40s-style sing-along for residents and visitors.

For every visitor who attends the event tomorrow afternoon McCarthy and Stone will make a 15 donation to the Royal British Legion.