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R.S.C. |
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You will know nothing about my little 32-page
A5-sized booklet (plus 8 pages of photographs) with the title RSC.
This, more than all the other 17 travel guides I’ve written and published,
is the book of which I am most proud. RSC? Raymond Stanley Cumming:
the story of an “unknown” father brought to life. Raymond was an RAF Halifax
pilot who lost his life on February 14, 1945; his daughter Carol was then
twelve months old. For all sorts of understandable reasons Carol’s mother,
Marjorie, after losing her beloved young husband, shut the emotional and
memory doors on that tragic and traumatic part of her life. Carol spent the
next 53 years knowing absolutely nothing about her father; she did not even
know his place and date of birth. The title of Ernest K Gann’s book Fate
is the Hunter is probably the most effective way of describing how I
came to be involved in this eventful story. On May 23, 1998, I discovered,
by sheer chance, that my great friend Carol’s much-missed father was an
“unknown” dad. On May 26 I started my research. RSC is a revealing
story: of joy and sadness; surprising controversy; compelling coincidences;
an invisible “hunter’s” hand; making new friends; compulsive detective work;
unstinting help and advice; a happy reunion; chilling statistics; cruel
deception; and a daughter discovering herself. I promise you’ll shed a tear
or two; and that you’ll feel elated by the satisfying conclusion. I started
RSC for Carol. But as the urge to continue became compulsive I realised,
one fateful day, that I had to complete my work for Raymond and his six-man
crew, lost without trace over the Baltic. All of you, be you mums or dads
or children, will understand immediately my most telling point: Raymond would
have been heartbroken to have gone to his death with the unbearable thought
that his only child would never know the story of his short but eventful
life. Nothing I have done in my publishing and writing life has given me
so much satisfaction and contentment as RSC. Finally, I shall also
attach a poignant colour photograph to the back cover of RSC (taken
on November 14, 1999). The photograph is vivid visual proof that 55 years
after his death Raymond (if he had seen the same churchyard scene –
and surely he has) can now rest, content and in peace.
For further information on the Halifax Squadrons visit their web-site. |
This record was updated on 13th August 2000 |
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