A WALK IN THE VALLEY
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Having left England as a baby, Robert Kensett found himself back in his birhtplace after many years, this time as a member of the RCAF. On his leaves he managed to connect iwth family meembers and to see a side of British life he had not experienced as a member of the armed forces. Mr. Kensett shares with us how it felt to fly on operations as a navigator responsible for getting his fellow crew members to the target and back home again.
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By Robert C. Kensett
ISBN#1-894263-76-6
ISBN#9781894263764
Robert Kensett was a navigator in the RCAF during the Second World War. He says...
"A friend who had been a fighter pilot once told me that, if he could be certain he would survive, every man's son should go through a war. He did not need to say another word. I knew exactly what he meant.
"You were more than just friends with your comrades. Your life depended upon them and you loved them as brothers. You had pride in your uniform, in your country, and most of all in yourself as you overcame obstacles and grew from a youth into a man.
"Every time you took to the air you were walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The excitement and danger you faced brought with them a heightened sense of awareness. You lived every minute at a higher level than you previously had. The strong feelings you had could not be expressed, but you knew they were shared by all of those around you.
"It was a time in your life that was unique. When the war ended and you returned to your ordinary job, you could not recapture those feelings; but having once experienced them, you were never the same."
About the Author
Robert Kensett was born in a pub owned by his grandfather in Wiltshire, England. He was brought to Canada at the age of three months. After three years of high school he had a forty-five-year career as a banker, starting as a pageboy and retiring as an assistant general manager. His banking career was interrupted by some three years in the RCAF in World War II as a navigator in Bomber Command.
Married twice, he lost both wives to cancer. After retirement he turned to writing. In 1999 he self-published a book of poetry, and a second book of poetry is in the works. Essays, anecdotes and some humorous articles have been published in the magazines of the Victoria Naturalist and Ulyssean societies, of which groups he is a member. He is presently working on a book about growing up on a farm.
An avid birdwatcher, he loves to travel, the most recent trip being to Africa. There he amazed his friends (and himself) by sleeping in a tent in Namibia while hyenas roamed the campground at night laughing hysterically!
Now seventy-eight, the author tells everyone he has to live into his nineties in order to finish all the projects on his plate!
