Keith and Robbie pick a fight with a Scotsman

In February 1945 Keith and Robbie's crew still hadn't started flying missions yet. They were annoyed by the delays, and kept getting leave, so would head down to London.

Letter from Keith to his Mom,  22 February 1945.
'Well here I am again, in my last letter I was still in London but as you can see I am back at dear old Wombleton and it is just as bad as ever. We had an awful ride on the train back from London, there was about 200 men and women in a baggage car so I bust a window out for ventilation and some Scotchman started to give me old heck (he was in the army) & I told him that if they couldn’t ventilate the dam car I’d ventilate them for them, old Robby wanted to crack him one but the Scotchman settled down.'

Here's an old baggage carriage. 200 people???! Sounds like a recipe for aggression. 

 

'Robbie' Robinson - Mid Upper Gunner

Stewart 'Robbie' Robinson was the youngest member of the crew. He was from Lethbridge, Alberta.  He was 1 year younger than Keith. They shared the same birthday (2 January), but were born exactly one year apart.

Keith wrote a lot about Robbie. Here are a few things about Robbie that Keith mentions.
- He was hungry all the time, and always seemed to be looking for something to eat.
- He got into fights.
- His sister Melanie lived in Vancouver
- He didn't think much of English plumbing.

Robbie was the Mid Upper Gunner on the Lane End Lancaster.

Click below for a picture of the Mid upper Gunner's turret.
Mid Upper Gunner's turret