Author Description

When Don Bennett formed the Pathfinder squadrons in 1942, the majority of the chosen pilots were highly experienced aircrew. Some, however, were exceptions and found themselves flying with this elite band with no previous combat experience. ‘Bertie’ Boulter was one such pilot. The son of British emigrants, when his father died the family returned to their native home in Norwich. In 1942 ‘Bertie’ was accepted for pilot training with the RAF and found himself back in Canada learning to fly. Upon his return to England, and with ‘exceptional’ describing his flying abilities, he found himself in the thick of Bomber Commands destruction of Germany’s industrial centers and communications system. His first mission was to Wiesbaden, followed by raids on Hanover and Cologne. November saw the first of his nineteen visits to Berlin and the first bale-out. Flying at 7,000 ft, Bertie, and his navigator were forced to abandon the aircraft. Eventually he arrived in Dunkerque, where he boarded an MTB for his return to Wyton. Bertie was forced to bale out once more, in January 1945, when he had to abandon his aircraft near his home base because of the dense fog, 12 of 36 aircraft failed to return from this raid.