Tom Maxwell was only nineteen years old and the rear gunner when he was forced to bale out of his Lancaster bomber over northern France.  The aircraft was returning from an attack on Stuttgart when it was badly damaged and had to be abandoned on the return flight.  He was sheltered by farmers before being taken to Paris and then by train to the Spanish border near Pau.  Together with some USAAF airmen, a guide took him over the Pyrenees into Spain.  After returning to England, he continued to fly on operations and was awarded the DFC.  He later served as an air traffic control officer before spending ten years in the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force.

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