Bomber Command was not normal. The touching, true story of how 15-year-old Francis Norman ‘Norm’ Crouch first wanted to fly and later became the first Australian RAAF pilot to fly a Lancaster bomber during the second world war. Overhead he heard an aeroplane and looked up to see a Tiger Moth Biplane flying very low. Norm joined 97 Squadron, an RAF ‘Bomber Command’ air unit. He was the only Australian and low flying was something he loved doing, often. Amazingly, it only got him into strife once. On one occasion a policeman reported him for flying so low that the wingtip of his Lancaster was scraping the ground. Norm lost count of the number of crashes he suffered during the war. ‘It was just normal in those days,’ he said. One of those crashes brought Margery, a beautiful WAAF nurse, into his life and romance blossomed. Group Captain Drane Lowe put his hand on Norm’s shoulder and said, ‘Yes Norm, we made a big difference, lost so many friends and in the end we were lucky and survived. We will have to lead good lives to repay that luck.’ Of all the Australian aircrew who departed in 1941, only 8% returned home. Norm was one of the lucky ones.

Norm - Bomber Command: The story of Francis Norman 'Norm' Crouch, the first Australian to fly a Lancaster Bomber in World War II PDF

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