In October 1941, 19-year-old Dennis Varey volunteered for the RAF, despite being in a reserved occupation as an engineer. The bombing of his hometown had pushed him to fight back. After basic training, he became an Observer in December 1941, and by June 1942, he was accepted for pilot training under the Empire Air Training Scheme. He trained in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), then moved to Cairo before joining the Italian campaign. Dennis participated in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, in 1944. As the Allied forces struggled in Normandy, Dennis flew sorties to support the...