Growing up
Eric was born in 1918 in Bristol, in the west of England. His childhood was typical of that of many others from the middle class generation. He grew up in a traditional and strict family that stressed manners and courtesy. He was the youngest of three children with two older sisters. His parents often took in other older family members who came and went from the house. As a young boy, he delighted in playing mischievous practical jokes that often got him into hot water with his father, but his hobby was to spend many hours cycling with his inseparable friend, Colin. When he was only 14, he and Colin completed their first 100 miles in one day – quite a feat for a fourteen year old boy.
From 1925 until war broke out in 1939, Eric lived in Croydon, a suburb of London. Times were hard for everyone during the depression years of the “dirty thirties”, and although his father held a position in a London bank, salaries were low and it was a struggle for a family to survive. Fortunately, his mother’s aunt lived with them and she helped with the cost of Eric’s education. He graduated to London University in 1934 at the age of 16, but funds were not available for university. He considered himself lucky to obtain a job as office boy with a worldwide pharmaceutical company in Croydon. Within a few months he was promoted to the sales department and he acquired a small motorbike in 1936. That summer set out to visit his birthplace of Bristol. His manager recommended a bed and breakfast in a rural village called Axbridge on the way to Bristol. There he met a spirited girl, Bobbie with the big blue eyes! He never did get to visit Bristol!
In 1938, when Eric was 20, his father died of undiagnosed toxic thyroid, but fortunately for Eric he was promoted to the position of assistant sales manager with a living wage in those days. He bought a second-hand BSA three-wheeler car and he and Bobbie took off for a tour of southern England much to the disapproval of his mother! However, the clouds of war soon disrupted thoughts of romance and in September 1939 Eric volunteered for pilot training with the Royal Air Force the day after war was declared.
When the fighting in Europe escalated in 1940, he and Bobbie decided to marry. Eric was a young man of 22 and Bobbie was 25 years old. After five months of marital bliss, the two of them were separated when the Royal Air Force (RAF) called up Eric and trained him to become a bomber pilot. Bobbie, like many wartime brides, left London to escape the bombing raids. She went to live with her family in Axbridge and there gave birth to David, a bouncing baby boy. Eric spent the next five years as a captain of a bombing crew(including two of the "Thousand Raids" over Germany) and served to train new RAF pilots. In 1945, when the war in Europe ended, he was transferred to administrative duty in India.
