Resident Interview – Tiger Moths & Dakotas
Jim Simons lives at our Priory Court Care Home in Stamford and during the war was based at Portsmouth with the Fleet Air Arm. Jim saw active service in WW2 and flew Hurricanes, as well as instructing Allied heavy bomber flight crews and was also stationed out in Burma towards the end of the war. The shot below shows him in front of a Dakota, somewhere in Burma, with colleagues who Jim tells us ‘came from all walks of life’…
But it is Jim’s introduction to flying that we focus on and what would turn out to be a lifelong passion and a sparkling career in the RAF. It’s a story worth telling and shines a light on a largely forgotten time, when planes could land and take off in nearby fields, and where small boys could realise their dreams unexpectedly, and innocently for the price of a small favour. How lucky we are to have people like Jim in our midst, his modesty and service to his country is our blessing, and his stories, too good to not share amongst us! And so it is that Jim picks up his story….
About Life Stories
Life Stories is our commitment to explore in more detail the lives and memories of our residents. Reminiscence is an important part of our daily activities and so we have set about trying to capture, through interview, some of our residents more colourful stories.
