THE DAUGHTER of an RAF veteran from St Athan who served in Bomber Command during World War Two has paid tribute to her “brave, inspirational” father following his death at the age of 100.
John Henry Meller, who died on 24th September, joined the RAF at the age of 18, and from January 1945 he was part of a crew that flew Lancaster Bombers over Berlin during the final months of World War Two.
John was born in Warrington, Cheshire, and during his childhood, his father’s ability to work and play a full part in family life was hindered by psychological problems caused by his experiences in World War One. John’s mother made a living from running a sweet shop.
To help with the running of the household, John’s mother hired a girl aged 14, and one day, when John was just three, she ran him a bath, and an accident occurred that was to shape the rest of his life.
Scalding water horror
The girl had put the boiling water into the bath, and she briefly left John unattended as she went to get the cold water to add. To her horror, when she returned, she found that John had got into the bath of boiling water and was badly hurt.
John’s daughter, Caroline Brownbill, explained what her father had said about the events that followed: “My father wasn’t expected to survive, but even though he was only three years old, he had a very clear recollection of what happened immediately after the accident.
“He could recall walking along a tunnel and seeing a bright light, and he followed the light before coming to a gate. There was an angel at the gate, and he sensed he was somewhere beautiful and peaceful. He really wanted to go in, but the angel told him he couldn’t, because he only had one shoe.
“He was told to turn around and go back. From then, he went on to make a miraculous recovery from his burns. He had scarring on his back and legs for the rest of his life, but they didn’t cause him significant problems.
“Now that he’s passed on, shortly after his 100th birthday, our family are saying that he’s found his other shoe,” she said.
The title of John’s memoir
The experience inspired the title of John’s memoir of his time with Bomber Command, which he co-wrote with Caroline. The book, called The Boy with Only One Shoe, was published around the time of his 95th birthday in 2019.
John began work at the age of 14 as an aircraft engineer and fitter, but Caroline said he was keen to do his bit as soon as he was able. She said: “My father and his colleagues really believed the Nazis were going to win, and while he was terrified of the risks involved, he nevertheless knew that it was important we took the fight to the Germans, because a Nazi invasion of Britain didn’t bear thinking about.”
John volunteered for the RAF and was based at Mildenhall, Suffolk, where he was part of Squadrons 149 and 15.
With a terrifying 46% combat attrition rate, an Avro Lancaster Bomber was one of the most dangerous places to be during the war, but Caroline described how her father faced the situation bravely and stoically: “Bomber Command were all volunteers. My father didn’t like getting up early and he hated the cold. There was a man who would get up before him and light the fire, and my father would wonder why he wasn’t there, but he’d soon work out the reason.
“He’d sometimes wake up in a room and there would be seven empty beds that were occupied a day or two earlier. In the dining room at breakfast, they would rearrange the tables and chairs to disguise the fact that people were missing,” she said.
Flying over Berlin
During the final months of the war, John came very close to death while flying over Berlin. After his aircraft had dropped their bombs over the city, they became caught in the searchlights and were a sitting target.
Their aircraft was hit straight away, causing one of the engines to catch fire, and John realised they would probably need to vacate, but having just dropped bombs on Berlin, they knew that the chances of them surviving were very slim.
The men did not panic, and they said the Lord’s Prayer repeatedly. After a while, they flew into a cloud, and they had a degree of safety because the searchlight was off them.
The captain managed to put the engine fire out, along with the other fire on the aircraft, but they were still a long way from safety.
Flying through a cloud on three engines, they had no navigation equipment left, but John had his loop aerial tuned into various frequencies, which enabled them to make it back to Mildenhall, where they were met by the emergency services. While the plane itself was close to disintegrating, John and the pilot emerged more-or-less unscathed.
First experience of St Athan
Towards the end of the war, John was set to go to the Far East, but he ultimately was not called upon to do so, though Caroline says that it was not long after the war that he had his first experience of St Athan: “My dad was a keen boxer and there was one occasion, I think just after the war, when he flew into St Athan in a Lancaster for an RAF boxing tournament.
“The area would become his home many years later and you could see the airfield from the house he lived in. He used to tell that story and he said that if you’d told him he’d be living there 70 years later, he wouldn’t have believed you,” she said.
After the war, the family settled in London and John married Barbara, his wife of 75 years who survives him, and they had two children, John David Meller, followed by Caroline.
John joined the police
John joined the Metropolitan Police, where he rose to the rank of Detective Superintendent and was based at New Scotland Yard.
Caroline has fond memories of John as a father and family man: “He was a generous and loving man, and he adored my mother.
“My father was a very decisive man. If something needed building, it would be done straight away. If a wall needed to come down, he’d do it immediately as well,” she said.
There was an amusing incident when Caroline was studying for her Batchelor of Education in London, and her father forgot to pick her up as arranged at the end of term. John realised his mistake while on the motorway after work, and turned around to collect her, arriving several hours late.
As a result of his mistake, Caroline jokingly guilt-tripped her father into buying her flying lessons for her birthday, which led to her career as an airline pilot.
‘The Boy with Only One Shoe‘
Following his retirement, John and Barbara moved to St Athan where they lived close to Caroline, and with some encouragement from his son-in-law, he sat down with his daughter to write The Boy with Only One Shoe. Caroline explained why she was so keen to write the book with her father: “I was interested in creating a historical record, but I was especially keen to learn more about the emotional side of it. My father was very much aware that there was a very real chance he wouldn’t survive the war, and yet he was still keen to take part.
“When his aircraft was struck, he and the pilot held it together and got themselves to safety. I was keen to learn more about what was going through his head during that time of extreme pressure,” she said.
After World War II, many people viewed Bomber Command, including its flight crew veterans and its war dead, with disdain. Despite describing bombers as “the means of victory” in 1940, Winston Churchill did not mention Bomber Command in his speech marking the Victory in Europe in 1945.
This view arose from the use of force in strategic but often imprecise bombing campaigns, and civilian casualties made the issue controversial.
Campaign fronted by Robin Gibb
Public opinion began to turn with the help of a campaign fronted by the late Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, and an appeal was made for £5.6 million to build a lasting memorial to Bomber Command at Green Park, London.
John was present when Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the memorial on 28th June 2012, the year of her Diamond Jubilee, and he took comfort in later years from the shift in public opinion as the contribution of Bomber Command became more properly acknowledged.
In 2021, John shared his wartime experiences in the Channel 4 documentary, The Lancaster Bomber at 80, which was narrated by Sir David Jason.
John and Caroline had begun work on a second book detailing his years in the police, titled On the Beat with Only One Shoe, and although he died before it was completed, Caroline has vast quantities of notes and aims to finish it on her father’s behalf.
Assessing her father’s legacy, Caroline said: “He was a brave and inspirational man, but he also didn’t romanticise his wartime experiences. He was very much of the view that nobody wins in war, and that wars don’t do any good whatsoever.
“My father saw a lot of tragedy in his life, but he had some wonderful times as well. He was a devoted family man and he enjoyed good health in old age. He was still doing the newspaper crossword the day before he died and he remained mentally alert.
“I’m very glad that he opened up and started talking about his wartime experiences in later life. Sadly, our greatest generation is now leaving us, but his book, The Boy with Only One Shoe, can be used to inform and educate future generations, so that lessons can be learned and his legacy will live on.”
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