Jonah Jones, centre, second row up. Thought to be from the end of war photograph for 635 Squadron.

Frederick S “Jonah” Jones, a pilot of 635 Squadron, wrote a poem when he was in training in 1942 at Heaton Park. Heaton Park was one of the training centres encountered early in an airman’s career, long before he became aircrew. The poem begins with the arrival of a forlorn airman at the camp:

A drooping object with dismal mien
Meandering along through drizzle and rain,
A forlorner figure you’d scarce hope to see,
He looks rather common, he could even be me …

To read further and see images of a contemporary booklet on Heaton Park, see this page: RAF Training: Heaton Park, 1942