DAD'S BOOK - Tom Sanderson

Written in his 80's and 90's, this is the autobiography of a car mad Lancashire lad, born in Blackpool in 1920, who grew up moving around Lancashire due to his father's occupation as a Police Officer. He describes his school days at various schools and early cornet lessons in Kearsley St Stephens Church Band, as well as descriptions of the various towns that the family were moved to. After leaving school at the age of 13 he began an apprenticeship at the local garage in Lancaster, which he continued, at various locations, until war broke out and he was called up in 1939. He joined the RAF and after basic training as an Aircraft Engine Fitter in Blackpool, he was eventually posted to South Africa. They sailed down on the Reina del Pacifico. Whilst in SA he was involved in aircraft engine maintenance, as well as training young fitter recruits. They started a jazz band and met local girls and families and at one point spent 2 weeks in the bush helping to fix some vehicles for a man who had a transport business. On his return to the UK in 1945, he was posted to various sites to clear the wreckage of aircraft brought down during the war. He met his future wife and they got engaged and married in 1947. Needing a job with security and the prospect of a house, he joined the Traffic Division of Lancashire Constabulary. He begins to write about his experiences in the Police but as his wife's developing Alzheimer's takes up more and more of his time he never finishes the book. In his final days his daughter promises him that she will complete the story. She fills in the main events in their lives between 1952 and 2014. His reason for writing the book was to pass on, to the next generation, the changes he'd seen in his lifetime, from the early days of the automobile and the aeroplane to the technological revolution. It's a touching and at times, amusing story about how a family adapts to life's circumstances.