Tom Grossett – the first of ‘The Invincibles’
Two days before his eighty fifth birthday, Tom died peacefully in the hospital in Cardiff where he had been in care for many months and so the proud claim of his crew that they were the only surviving complete crew in bombers came to an end. Largely through the efforts of Tom we kept in constant touch with each other, especially on birthdays. Of all the pilots on Thirty Nine Squadron (and we had some of the best) Tom was the most unflappable I came across even when faced in the early days by an irate Speckled Bird!! Thanks to my son Tim I attended the funeral, a commendably simple affair and realised with what genuine respect and affection Tom was regarded by family and neighbours. As a token of our sympathy we have sent a cheque to The British Lung Society on behalf of 39th Marauders.
I have only vague memories of Tom from early days at home but clearly recall that as my brothers and I grew up, we were increasingly enthralled by the stories our father told of his crew mates in 39 and central to most stories was Tom and his pilotage – the key to going off on adventures and returning home safely from that sandy beach in Italy. On meeting them in later years our admiration grew and all three of us boys recall Tom coming to our parents house, sitting in the garden one warm summer eve not too long ago and telling tales of derring-do about that spring in 1945 when they flew across the Adriatic to Yugoslavia to punish the Hun. The stories were always light-hearted and demonstrated the warmth these men felt for each other years after the event. They also showed what a great human being Tom was. Those were precious moments for me especially because of my interest in aircraft and flying. On going to see the B26 at Le Bourget in 2003, I was amazed at what these men had done and what faith they must have had in Tom and his skill. His like, as an accomplice and comrade are sadly missed but I envy the warmth that their friendship generated and will always be humbled by such men.
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