"One of the penalties of being an air cadet and flying in an RAF Anson in the early post-war years was the laborious task of having to wind the undercarriage up".

A memory recalled by Tony Smith of Prince's Street, Nuneaton who sent this photograph into a local newspaper many years ago.

Tony said, "It was much more fun flying in Dakota or an Oxford, when you could just sit back and enjoy the flight".

The photograph shows 411 Squadron of Nuneaton Air Cadets at their annual camp at RAF Honiton in Devon, taken in 1946. Tony Smith kneeling bottom right.

"Our headquarters was on the corner of Prince's Street where we used to meet and parade". "We used to have a rear gun-turret in the window of the building before it was taken over by the Trustee Savings Bank".

"Our Squadron was then merged with 121 Squadron which met at the grammar school, and I believe all the officers on the photograph were teachers there at the time".

"I did not follow a flying career, I had flying and gliding certificates, but to join the RAF for pilot training in those days you had to sign on for 15 years. So I waited for my national service, joined the army and then finished up serving my time on a warship!"

Tony was well known in Nuneaton as a former mace bearer and keeper of the civic silver.