A cold, discouraging drizzle fell on 3 October, grounding the aircraft but permitting the pilots and their ground crews to attend to some necessary chores. Keeping clothes clean, for example, had become a major problem since leaving Melsbroek and it was a great comfort to find a laundry in a near by village to attend to the washing.

Two new pilots had now joined the Squadron, F/O J.G. 
Martin and F/L W.L. Saunders, and the Wing had grown to four squadron strength with the arrival of No. 168 (RAF). Conditions around the dispersal were improved by a bulldozer which filled up the numerous bomb craters and began clearing a perimeter track. When the Squadron was asked to detail a pilot for a Fighter Leader's Course at Millfield in England F/O J.H. Stitt seemed to be the logical choice in view of his victory in air combat on 26 September. Johnny accordingly departed, filled with anticipation of the seven days' leave which would follow the course. He had hardly arrived in
England before the Squadron received a signal advising that the course would start earlier than originally scheduled. 

Intentionally left blank

Intentionally left blank

The Adjutant dispatched a message to Stitt, relaying this information. The next day another signal arrived; the course was postponed for a fortnight because of the move of the school to a new location. Off went another signal to Johnny. Then for a week the pilot was left in peace, until advice was received that Stitt would not take the course, another officer having been substituted. The Adj. dispatched signal number three to Johnny, and pondered whether he should also
detach a sub orderly room to help the poor pilot keep his mobile file system in order. Four days later another signal was added to the file, recalling Stitt to the Squadron. Then it was his turn to send a signal, reporting his marriage to an English lassie. He had not wasted his time in England! The file was finally closed late in October with Johnny's return to his comrades at Eindhoven.

Meanwhile the rail interdiction campaign had been proceeding as rapidly as the weather permitted; three attacks on 4 October, three on the 5^th, five on the 6^th and three more on the 7^th. All fourteen were successful, at least 25 cuts being made on lines running northeastward through the Rhine valley from Geldern and Xanten to Dieren. In addition to cratering rails, the pilots damaged a bridge, set fire to a factory, destroyed one vehicle in flames, counted seven more (including a bus) as smokers, and damaged one MET, a locomotive and two freight cars. The junctions and yards at Dieren (northeast of Arnhem) and Geldern were the major targets, receiving three attacks each. In the third sortie against the latter objective F/L Monson did "a marvellous job of navigating" in leading his formation of eight to the pinpoint north of Geldern despite very bad weather and thick haze that restricted visibility to half a mile. The pilots did a good job too, scoring at least six direct hits that definitely cut the rails in three places.

 

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