[BITList] WW II RAF Veteran

[John Feltham]

Subject: Fwd: I have met him.

Just in from a lady friend of mine in the UK.....

Story comes from...

http://blog.bandofbrothers.in/2009/01/19/raf-remembers-the-role-of-ethnic-minorities-2/




Begin forwarded message:

From:
Date: 6 February 2009 5:45:00 AM
To: John Feltham <wulguru.wantok at gmail.com>
Subject: I have met him.

He is so sweet and refined.



RAF Remembers the Role of Indian Pilots in WWII
January 19, 2009 by Deepak | No comments
His daring exploits were typical of fighter pilots during the Battle  
of Britain: he shot down Messerschmitts, was forced down twice and  
lost a lung flying at altitude. But how many other RAF squadron  
leaders used to keep a spare turban in their cockpits?

  Mohinder Singh Pujji was one of 18 qualified Indian pilots to join  
the RAF in 1940. Now 90 he is the only one left to tell the tale.

  Pujji was treated as a hero in wartime Britain. He was ushered to  
the front of cinema queues and often treated to free meals in  
restaurants.

A new permanent exhibition opened yesterday at RAF Museum Cosford in  
Shropshire, called Diversity in the Royal Air Force. The launch comes  
in a week when Prince Harry’s comments have reignited the debate about  
racism in the armed forces and the RAF is hoping that the exhibition  
will help to challenge negative perceptions by celebrating the racial  
diversity of its history.

  It features men such as Indra Lal Roy, who fought in biplanes over  
first world war trenches or Princess Noor Inayat Khan, who served in  
the WAAF before being parachuted behind enemy lines to become the  
first woman wireless operator to infiltrate occupied France.


Stereotypes

  The exhibition, in Cosford’s fighting planes hangar, tells the story  
of the role of ethnic minorities in the RAF, using their own words and  
displays of their papers and medals.



Hurricane

  Pujji was the guest of honour at the launch of the exhibition, and  
tales of his wartime exploits stole the show.

  “I loved flying and I wanted adventure,” he said. “I didn’t mind  
when I was shot at. It didn’t frighten me at all.” He related that  
once his dashboard was shattered over France in a dogfight with a  
Messerschmitt by a bullet that had passed through four layers of his  
uniform. And in 1941 he was forced to land in the North African desert  
and was picked up by British troops. Awais Younis, 14, a pupil from  
Alexander High School in nearby Tipton, asked what plane Pujji had  
liked flying best.


Spitfire

  He later recounted how his turban had filled with blood when he was  
forced to land over France. After that he always carried a spare one.  
But he stopped wearing a turban in the 1960s. “Times changed,” he  
said. Pujji’s son, Satinder, said his father’s insistence on wearing a  
turban in combat had cost him a lung. It meant that he could not wear  
an oxygen mask and so one of his lungs was irreparably damaged at high  
altitude.

  Asked if he had faced prejudice, Pujji said: “Only prejudice in my  
favour. In the restaurants people wouldn’t charge me; in the picture  
houses they would let me go to the front of the queue.” He added:  
“Everyone loved me and l fell in love with England.”


Recognition

  Pujji retired to England after a career as a commercial pilot in  
India and now lives in Gravesend.

  “Flying is my first love. It’s always a pleasure to see the planes I  
was flying in.”



denn,
ooroo

If you don't hear the knock of opportunity - build a door.

Anon.


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