Australia's Few. 19 August 1940

Ken Holland received orders to go to Warmwell on 17 August. He arrived there late at night and, on reporting to the orderly office, found there was ‘nothing doing’. He met a friend in Weymouth and stayed there overnight. It seems as if the ‘nothing doing’ extended to the 18th as, after breakfast at his hotel, he was off for a swim, then lunch and tea out. ‘Back late and slept at the Albany’. He returned to Warmwell on 19 August where he was introduced to Squadron Leader Devitt, the Commanding Officer of 152 Squadron. He was initially allocated to A Flight but later that day changed to B Flight. It was a grand day for the 20 year old Australian.

 

 

BTW: Have you visited http://www.152hyderabad.co.uk/ or liked the 152 Squadron tribute page on facebook? https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Tribute-to-152-Hyderabad-Squadron-1939-to-1967/622767317757037 

Australia's Few. 9 August 1940

After a session of blind flying in a Harvard on the 8th, during which he ‘was lousy as usual’ Ken Holland was in the air again practising formation flying on 9 August 1940. Things didn’t go as planned as the other pilot managed to get them lost. He landed at New Yeovil to work out how to get home again while Ken circled above. Ken was enjoying his training but did not like night flying in fact, it was ‘always something to avoid’. Even so, he was able to put up with it because ‘I like these Spitfires’. Happily, he was not scheduled for night flying on the 9th, so was off to the flicks at Stroud.

 

 

Australia's Few. 6 August 1940

At Aston Down, Ken Holland was very excited on 6 August 1940. Things were looking up in his training program. ‘SPITFIRES!! Rushed to flights and was sent off on a Spitfire and did two hours this day getting the feel thereof.’ After two hours of acrobatics and dog fighting practice on the 7th, he was allocated a Harvard for a session of blind flying on the 8th, during which he ‘was lousy as usual’. Formation flying was on the agenda the next day but things didn’t go as planned as his companion managed to get them lost. He landed to work out how to get home again while Ken circled above. Ken was enjoying his training but he did not like night flying in fact, it was ‘always something to avoid’. Even so, he was able to put up with it because ‘I like these Spitfires’.