To some people it may seem strange to choose a one event in many during World War Two and to write about it. Well in some ways it was, yet in enaging into one moment of time and the consequences for the people involved allowed me to can better personal understanding of the events of World War Two. For regardless of the mass atrosities committed they always are are kept at a distanced through the passage of time or the dispated amongst the sea of faces. Ulitmately war doesnt happen to races, religions or cultures it happens to people, individuals like you or I.

How did the book come about, well through SCUBA diving. A s part of a dive club I was asked to help identify an aircraft wreck that a trawler had retieved a wingtip from. The dive though attrocious in conditions proved successful and contained hidden in silt a moment in time from the past. As a result of the dive I had a burning desire to dive on more aircraft to recover the stories of the crew.

In my desire to find more aircraft I found a photo negative of an aircraft on the water, at the time no-one could identify where or when for me, curiousity basically did the rest.

Placing third in the competition was all the motivation I required to pursue self publication of the book.

The railway-Researching the Crash of the A16-162

Experiencing the channel in much the way the surviving crew of the crash had was not high on my agenda but never the less I gained a little insight into the conditions as unintended part of my research.

As part of my research I heard that a team of railway fettlers had heard the crash and had reported it on the railway phone (they were later fined for misuse of railway assets) The railway team did attempt to look for the aircraft but were hampered by the conditions.

I was thinking that this had to be fairly close to the crash site I wanted to fine the old railway camp. After guidance from the railways I set out to local the portion of tracked marked by two mango trees and from there to venture to the water and photograph the area for comparision to the recovery photos

As luck would have it there was a dirt track which passed near the old camp and then across the tracks into the thick mangroves to the waters edge some distance into the mangroves.

The solo drive offroad into the forest across the railway tracks and into the mangroves went without a hitch and I spent far too long taking photos and trying to match the hillside to the 1940's photos. As the sun was setting I began the drive back to the highway and it was the uphill crossing of the railway tracks that brought me undone. As the car crested the tracks the vehicle settled with ominous clunk, all 4 wheels spun as the gerbox rested on the rails.

With only visablity only 500meters in either direction any train which came along wasnt going to pull up in time. I wasnt game to leave the car in attempt to get to the highway to try an flag a passing car. Did my insurance cover derailing trains? With the sun already below the tree line I made mulitple attempts to move the car each failure only intensifying my anxiety. With night upon me I dug the railway track ballast out to allow me to jack the car up and support the wheels to drive off. Having successfully extricated myself and taking a moment before the driving I came to the realisation that I was been eaten alive by a black swarm of sandflies and mosquitos that in my panic I hadnt realised were there.

Though I was only exposed to this for maybe an hour all my exposed skin was saturated in bites as well as bites through my clothes. I could but think that even one night in the mangroves would be hell let alone being wounded and isolated