John Chester's RAF Experience

The contributor's paternal grandfather, Archie Cunningham, was from Baillieston, outside Glasgow. Archie was in civic defense, working as an air raid warden. Archie was too old to go into the army (the contributor suggested that he may have been injured in WW1).

The contributor's father was born in 1933, into a big community of Cunninghams, a family of poachers who were big into the Orange Lodge. The contributor recalled hearing stories from her father about uncles who had "ferrets down [their] trousers" and noted that they poached to supplement their diet and were"violent domino players." The contributor noted that she had a strong connection with her father, who also did national service.

The contributor's maternal grandfather, John Chester, was in the Royal Air Force. John worked on barrage balloons in Glasgow, and the contributor said that their mother's skipping rope was made from a barrage balloon rope, and"could take the feet off you". John was in the Argyle and Southern Highlanders - enlisted in 1923. The contributor thought he left the army in 1935, before reenlisting in the RAF on 28th March 1939 (says this in the certificate of service for the army).

Propaganda postcards (Italian). The contributor is not totally sure where these came from. Remembers being told about John Chester sweeping ash from Vesuvius off a ship deck, so he must have been in Italy at some point.

Ration books (the contributor suggested these are from the Chester family).

Artefacts relating to John Chester's family. Margaret Chester is this person's aunt. These artefacts include school photos from Rumford Street School, Glasgow. Also, the contributor's mother's ID card and photo, allegedly with German prisoners of war in the background. The contributor's mother lived in Crossford during the war.