I well remember it was one day during the Easter holiday, 1940, the year of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. I was nine years old, and not a little apprehensive. I stood at my father's side while he rang, by appointment, the bell of the front door of the Southwell Grammar School. I was aware that this was to be a significant event in my young life. Read More...

Tags: Wartime, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Matthews, Doy, Rugby, JWB, Yates, Crash Landing, Ma Slack, Rushby-Smith, Pulford, Codge, John Watts

It's mid August 2010 and we are visiting Alan (Chocker) Yates in a care home in Southwell. Alan is now 96 (his son says 97 but non would argue) but still has bright eyes a strong handshake and a lucid voice that commands that you listen. We are taken to the library on the first floor, which Alan handles with ease and the help of the lift and a wheeled walking frame. This is the story of what came to pass over the next one-hour and a half of fascinating and revealing conversation. You can also read in an interview with the Nottingham Evening Post Read More...

Tags: 96 years old, SMGS, Doy, JKB, Chocker, Wartime, Chocker Yates, French, Bletchly Park, Ghurkas, Goethe