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Photos from India

In 1945 Leslie Knight’s squadron was transferred to the Palam air base near Delhi where they engaged in civilian relief operations; food drops etc. His pay book shows that the first payment in Indian Rupees was made on 26th April 1945 and his last was 16th April 1946. In the margin of the pay book is noted in pencil ‘Durban Castle’ and one can speculate that his passage back to England was on the Union Castle Line’s S.S. Durban Castle which was built in 1938 and used for troop repatriation and eventually scrapped in 1962. Leslie’s Service Release papers suggest he was demobilised on or about 26th May 1946; presumably the journey home to England and 126 Whipps Cross Road took about six weeks.

One of Leslie’s colleagues in Palam was an amateur photographer, hence the existence of many informal shots from late in 1945 and 1946. The motorcycling picture was taken on 1st January 1946 and endorsed “With all my love Vera darling xxx. Les.” The portrait bottom left was taken just two weeks later and similarly endorsed.
Letter from India - More photographs

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