Vernon Smith was born in 1924 in Canterbury, Kent, the son of George and Flo, and the sixth of eleven boys. He became a rear gunner on Flash McCollah’s crew in 7 Squadron.
The crew from L-R in the photograph are:
Eric Wilkin, MU/G
Harold ‘Lucky’ Hudson, Navigator
Hughes, W/OP
‘Flash’ McCollah, Skipper
Gordon Graham, Radar Nav
Vernon Smith, Rear Gunner
Sid Moors, Flight Engineer
After the war, Vernon belonged to the Air Gunners Association, which had the fabulous motto: VIGILANTIA ET VIRTUTE. The Association’s badge of a bullet with wings is a gem.
Photographs and information courtesy of Lorraine Brown.