Left to Right: CO, WGCDR Mike Moore, FLT/LT Gordon Hissey, FLG/OFF Reg Magee, ​FLT/LT Kark Basedow and FLT/LT John Howard​​

Below is an extract from "Alamein to the Alps" by Mark Lax - Page 149

Gordon Hissey, a WOP/AG on the CO’s crew watched both aircraft beside him get hit. He later recalled what happened: We were on a bombing raid north of Florence in Italy and we’d been there before but didn’t hit the target. We went back this time and it was the only occasion we had ever been escorted by fighters. They seemed to be way above us as we came in for the bombing. We settled down on the line, but everything went cock-eyed. On levelling off on our bombing run, the ack-ack opened up and was very accurate. We were the leading aircraft and the aircraft on either side of us were shot down. John [Howard] was the gunner that day, in the turret. When we returned to base and stepped out of the plane I noticed he was bleeding from his right eye. If I’d known that I would have had him out of the turret and given him an injection of morphine but he hadn’t mentioned it. We had the ambulance to him there and off he went to hospital.

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Below was communicated to The Association by John Howard's daughter Susan:

After the war, Dad pursued his passion for flying and flew for some years for Adastra Aerial Survey. The company bought a number of ex-warplanes so Dad got to fly Hudson’s and a DC3.

He then worked as a pilot for the Snowy Mountains Scheme from 1965 until his death in a plane crash in 1976.

Dad joined up with his best friend Gordon Hissey and both were gunners in 454 Squadron. Gordon returned to dairy farming in Bombala and Dad pursued a flying career.