Blog reader Tony Penman has kindly sent me a wartime formal picture of Sgt William Long which I have never seen before. Long was the front gunner in Lew Burpee’s crew in AJ-S on the Dams Raid. He had flown with Burpee since December 1942, clocking up 23 operations with him.
The photograph appears to have a formal signature by the photographer, dated 1942. The reverse has an inscription in different handwriting, obviously composed by someone who knew him personally:
“William Long
Long Road Bournemouth was named after him for bravery in the M. Dam Raid during last war where he lost his life.
He was a most wonderful wonderful boy”
The claim about the naming of the road needs further investigation. Google Streetview reveals it to be houses that look as though they could have been built in the 1950s, but local historians might be able to verify this. Long himself was born in Eastleigh, but the family certainly moved to Bournemouth before the war. Any further information will be gratefully received.