As his existing computer gave up the ghost a few weeks ago, The Lodge of Unity No. 567 decided that it would be appropriate to give Bob his birthday present a few days early so that he can join in his Birthday Zoom Meeting attended by members from across the Province.
Bob attended the local school in Coleshill and went on to serve an apprenticeship as an Electrical Engineer in Birmingham. Following his apprenticeship, Bob stayed with the company, working as a Development Engineer in the then new technology in the UK, that of refrigeration.
Bob was aged 18 when war was declared in 1939. Together with one of his close friends, he enlisted in the RAF, hoping to be trained as a pilot. Within a few months, he was called up, but there were too many potential pilots to train. Typically with the military, the ‘Air Ministry’, not being able to use Bob as a Pilot, they thought that he would do a good job at the other end of the aircraft as a rear gunner.