Hubert James Wheeler Hendy (better known as Jim) was born in Southampton on 25th January 1922. He enlisted with the RAF during WWII at the age of eighteen. To pass the entry exams he had to study hard (having left school at 14), much of which he did by the light of a torch while on night-time fire-watch. At the time, he was working as a farm-hand near Fordingbridge, Dorset, where he was still using Suffolk Punch horses to plough the fields, so a move to the RAF was a radical change for him. When his training was complete he was sent to serve with the Australian 454 squadron based in the Middle East, due to the heavy losses incurred by their crews. Here, he teamed-up with three other men also from the UK (James Baber, Rex ‘Robbie’ Robinson and Leslie ‘Patches’ Weale), and was given the nickname of ‘Horse’ which his crew mates insisted on using for the rest of his life. They flew an adapted Baltimore on reconnaissance missions to photograph enemy positions and prospective targets for the bomber crews, with Jim serving as rear air gunner and radio operator. Together, they survived an almost unprecedented number of sorties over hostile territory and had a number of close calls, including one of their first outings in which a piece of shrapnel pierced the body of the plane and struck Jim Hendy on the head – he remarked at this point that he didn’t see much future in this game. Another reconnaissance mission took them in the footsteps of crews who had disappeared over the same route under unexplained circumstances. This route took them across a mountainous region after which they were required to make a particularly precipitous decent in order to evade radar detection, leading to the engines cutting-out due to the movement of fuel in the wing tanks. Only the quick thinking of the pilot in switching to the reserve tanks saved the plane and its crew. The crew feature in the book ‘Alamein to the Alps’ by Mark Lax which charts the story of the 454 Squadron RAAF over 1941 - 1945. Jim was later promoted to non-commissioned warrant officer and continued to serve alongside his very good friend Les Weale, until they were all eventually de-mobbed after the end of the war in Europe. Falling on hard times after returning home, Jim was particularly grateful to Rex Robinson who helped him to find employment with the Post Office, where he utilised skills learned in the air-force, working as a radio interference investigator officer until he retired. All four crew members remained firm friends after the war had ended and they continued to meet for regular reunions for as long as their health would permit. Jim Hendy and Jim Baber (pilot) remained weekly drinking companions in their home town of Southampton until into their 90s. Jim Hendy was the last surviving member of the crew and died on 26th March 2017. He was warmly loved by his many friends and family and is terribly missed.