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Malta. As World War Two progressed, he found himself travelling further and further afi eld. After some time spent in Egypt, his crew fl ew to Ceylon via Iraq, Oman and Bombay – quite a journey. While he thankfully never had to encounter the Japanese fl eet he did, one night, come face to face with a leopard; the experience was a memorable one among the anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort work his time in the area primarily involved.
In June 1944, after almost three years and countless sorties, Gates and his crew were separated. While the other three gained new posts on the ground, Gates managed to get a fl ying post; he now joined No. 14 Ferry Convoy Unit moving Hudson aircraft from Allahabad to Burma. Upon volunteering for the RAF several
www.raf-ff.org.uk
years before, Gates cannot possibly have imagined how high or how far he was to fl y during the Second World War.
The end of the war
In July 1945 Gates found his time abroad at an end and he set off on the long journey back to Britain, departing from Bombay and travelling via the now-familiar Mediterranean. After a final posting as part of the Metropolitan Communication Squadron – flying VIPs around the United Kingdom – Gates was demobbed in March 1946. He had completed almost a thousand hours of flying during his few years in the Royal Air Force.
A great deal of Derek Gates’ story remains relatable and relevant even
now. The Second World War may be far behind us, but duty, in peace and in conflict, still calls members of the Royal Air Force to locations all over the world. Life around the military – whether as service personnel or civilian partner, child or friend – is unique in its unpredictability. Deployments, changes of address and family time cut short become all too familiar. This has not changed over the decades, but neither has one indisputable fact: our everyday circumstances are extraordinary stories; just like Gates, his crew, and his wife Isobel we, too, are threads in the tapestry that is history.
Reference: BBC History
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