Remembering
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- camer
Roland H. Dibnah
Squadron Leader
No 1 Squadron with Royal Air Force, WWII
Distinguished Flying CrossCanadian WWII Ace with known score of
1 damaged and 1 destroyed (ME110) with possibly 9 more unconfirmed claims.With No. 1 Squadron RAF
To 242 Squadron Sept 21, 1940
Left 242 on 30 Dec 1940Short Service Commission as :
Acting P/O on probation - 2 Sept. 1939
Acting P/O on probation to P/O - 28 Feb 1940
From P/O to F/O - 28 Feb 1941
F/O to F/L - 18 May 1942
Relinquished Commission in RAF
To RCAF as S/L - 18 Jan 1945
Having served 3 tours in the RAF
This is my grandfather Dib with his Spitfire in June 1944. I knew him as Dadda, a happy old man that loved my sister and I more than anything. He was told to quit drinking or he'd never see his grand kids again, so he did! I was told he was a heavy drinker from after the war which apparently most pilots either were flying or smashed. Anyway, I just found this passage referring to him as no "teetotaller"... (I had to look it up too: it means someone who does not drink)
p108
"...Some couldn't drink at all. At Northolt, Canadian Roland Dibnah, no teetotaller, found the tension so great even one jigger of liquor drove him vomiting to the washroom. His friend, Peter Boot, felt the same; after one nightmare force-landing amid sharp-pointed anti-invasion stakes, Boot was so angry when he met the defence expert who'd sited them that his fingers itched for a loaded revolver. Already their squadron, No. i R.A.F., felt that
all the strikes were against them: though they'd lost their gear in France, Air Ministry was still quibbling over the 60 kit replacement allowance due to each man."... ["Eagle Day" - Richard Collier 1966]He was a great man and I'm so glad to have known him even though I was so young. It's pretty amazing that I'm able to read about him on the internet! I never thought to search him out until today...
As many who fought and fight in wars, he never fully recovered from the trauma. He died in February 1990 from old age.
He will always be remembered.
I'm pretty sure that's him flying but he could have taken them also since he was also a photographer and developed photos in his darkroom.
Take a moment to remember.
Peace
- dropdown0
moment taken. Thank you.
- MSTRPLN0
Appreciated.
- detritus0
You had to look up 'teetotaller'?