One of our last veterans.

Sad news Friends, one of our last veterans who served at Tarrant Rushton in 1944 has passed on at the grand age of 102. Flight Sergeant Duncan Forrest was a Flight Engineer on the Halifax tugs of 298 squadron. His time at Tarrant must have been like many of the aircrew as related by many veterans, “the time of their lives”. Here he is, circled from that wonderful “school photo” off 298 Squadron, taken after D-Day in July 1944, the entire squadron proving just how durable was the Halifax.

Duncan’s time at Tarrant however was just that bit more demanding. As the operations logs here show his crew, under Halifax captain Flying Officer Anderson, took part in Operation Tonga in the early hours of June 6th 1944. Towing the Horsa glider chalk number 124, carrying a jeep and trailer and 5 men from the Airborne division, across to Normandy their Halifax was the single squadrons’s casualty that morning.