Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

My dad, Stanley Etherington, who has died aged 92, was one of the few surviving members of the squadron that undertook the daring low-level bombing raid on Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus in Denmark on 31 October 1944, which has been described as the most successful mission of its kind.

Stan was born in Middleton, Manchester, the eldest of three children. He attempted to join the RAF at the outbreak of the second world war but was initially turned down because his job as an apprentice draughtsman was seen as important to the war effort. He instead assisted the air-raid wardens as a fire spotter. Stan finally joined the RAF in 1942 and before long was flying Mosquito fighter bombers.