I am the nephew of John Douglas Egan who was the husband of my late aunt - my mother's sister.
I was aware of some of the details of my uncle's death, but only through odd comments from my mother who herself died nearly 50 years ago. My aunt never, ever, mentioned her husband and would change the subject or blank you if you touched upon it - obviously her coping strategy for dealing with the reality after only 12 months of marriage. His dress uniform still hung in my aunt's wardrobe, reputedly, in the early 1960s.
My interest was piqued by John Hewitt, who started this this thread, when he contacted me last year.
With the information that John gave me, and subsequent searches online, it is obvious that my memory of stories heard in childhood were accurate: submarine spotting, Bay of Bisque, shot down by friendly fire, missing in action.
At my aunt's house, as a child, I played with a solid brass model aircraft, and whilst I was always aware that it had something to do with my late uncle, it is only in the last 24 hours that I have established it is an accurate model of a Lockheed Hudson, used by Coastal Command, an aircraft I suspect crewed by my uncle before joining 224 Squadron at St Eval.
I notice from the thread that Paul has a photograph of my uncle with his fellow crew members - could I ask, Paul, for a copy, please?
John Charnock
York
07729 814512